James Hales

James Hales

James is a lifelong fan of Southern Gospel Music. Being exposed to the music through his dad's record collection as a 7 or 8 year old boy in the late 70's, James grew to love the music of the Happy Goodmans, Kingsmen, Inspirations, Rambos, Florida Boys and others. James has been a staff writer for Absolutely Gospel since 2000 writing music reviews and various articles, and he has contributed to Musicscribe and SGHistory.com for several years as well. James also writes for his own music page on Facebook as well, via James' Music Page (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063484056683).
The Downings – “Take One” (1969)

The Downings – “Take One” (1969)

In our next series of LP reviews, we’ll be going through each album by the Downings. Though the group was relatively short lived, they made a huge mark in Southern Gospel music. Check out James’ review of their very first album, “Take One”!

The Rambos – “Rambo Reunion” (1981)

The Rambos – “Rambo Reunion” (1981)

After a 2 year hiatus from recording, the Rambos came back together in 1981 for one final studio album of all new songs. “Rambo Reunion” was a marvelous piece of work and one of their finest recordings ever made.

The Rambos – “Crossin’ Over” (1979)

The Rambos – “Crossin’ Over” (1979)

One of the Rambo’s most creative offerings was their 1979 album, “Crossin’ Over”. Filled with lots of contemporary sounds, it’s their most progressive recording. Check out this review and see if you agree…

The Rambos – “Naturally” (1977)

The Rambos – “Naturally” (1977)

This week, James reviews one of the most iconic albums in the Rambo’s repertoire, their 1977 album, “Naturally”, which featured their #1 classic, “I’ve Never Been This Homesick Before”. Check it out…

The Rambos – “There Has To Be a Song” (1975)

The Rambos – “There Has To Be a Song” (1975)

1975 saw the Rambos releasing 2 very different albums. The first one, “There Has to Be a Song”, leaned more country, while the second one (which we’ll talk about next week), was quite progressive. Check out what James has to say about this one…