Big State, Little Store

We all have dreams. Some come true. Such is the case of my late grandparents. My mom's parents Ekron and Grace spent several years running their own neighborhood store in Lufkin, Texas. The article we're sharing today is from their local newspaper. I added some photos took on a visit out there in the early 90's. The store remained unchanged every time I returned. The store is no longer there, but serves as a charming throwback to a bygone era.

Download the article here.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, The Peanut Whistle Weblog. All rights reserved.

The Beatles of Gospel

Repost from Gospel Aicheck blog December 2009:

A super group took the stage exactly two years to the day prior to my entry into the world. Jake Hess and the Imperials, a hand picked gathering of superstars of the gospel music industry. A band of ringers that included: Jake Hess on lead, Gary McSpadden on Baritone, Sherrill Nielsen tenor, and the incomparable Armond Morales with his trademark silky bass. The night was January 16th, 1964 in Hadleyville, Alabama, Jake’s home town. Gospel music was never again the same. This group was different, they sounded modern. A little too different at first for some. Jake is quoted as saying, “I don’t think we’re going to do it.” Armond lent some encouraging words, “Don’t limit God.” In a March, 1989 article from CCM magazine celebrating the groups’ 25th anniversary, the late Jake Hess concludes, “…If it hadn’t been for those three little words I don’t think there would be an Imperials today.”

Although singers came and went the Imperials sound remained consistently great. They backed Elvis Presley on stage and record, accompanied Jimmy Dean and many other stars of the music industry. The group has numerous Grammy and Dove awards; and in 1998 they were inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame. They’re the Beatles of Gospel.

Founding member Armond Morales suffered through a battle with cancer a while back and relinquished the Imperials’ name to son Jason and a new generation of singers. Now the original group is known as the Classic Imperials. Following a miraculous recovery, Armond continues the heritage began in ‘64 along with Dave Will, Rick Evans and Paul Smith.

In 1983 I made my first Lp purchase for my new stereo. The record was Stand by Power by the Imperials featuring then new lead singer Paul Smith. The album produced many hits including: Lord of the Harvest, Because of Who You Are and Stand by the Power. I have been a fan ever since.

Of course I knew of the group through my dad’s record collection. He had a scratchy mono Lp copy of the first record, Introducing Jake Hess and the Imperials. As a teen I was thrilled to spin their new record that was in itself another triumph in redefining the Christian music art form. Somehow they managed to outdo themselves with every new album just as No Shortage, One More Song for You and Priority had done.

In December 2009, I had the opportunity to chat with new lead singer Rick Evans. We had a delightful conversation via Facebook about the forthcoming new album. I asked Rick how the new project was going, he said, “[It’s] a long process, but we are getting closer each day.” I replied that I could identify seeing that the creative process can be time consuming, my radio days and nights were often spent in countless hours on one 30 second spot. “We are lucky to be have a record company that is willing to take the time to make this right,” Evans continued. I asked if he could give me any glimpse into the songs included on the project. Rick replied, “Very different. We used some of the best writers in Nashville. They came up with a work of art. The record will actually be a journey of a person’s life. It is a cool concept and will be wonderful introduction back into the music marketplace.” Kind of like Styx and some of the other “concept” bands of the ‘70’s I jokingly referred. Not missing a beat the Classic Imperials new lead singer responded, “No actually you are on the right track. It is more like the Beatles and the Lonely Hearts [Club] Band thing. It will be GREAT!”

“It was twenty years ago today, 

Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play 

They've been going in and out of style 

But they're guaranteed to raise a smile. 

So may I introduce to you 

The act you've known for all these years, 

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

Funny how the Classic Imperials started about the same time the Lads from Liverpool made it big in the USA. The good news is we still have the Beatles of gospel here and now. Thanks to Rick and all the Classic Imperials for not only entertaining us, but more importantly ministering in ways those other guys never attempted.

Stay tuned.

©2010 Neal Rhoden, The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Light Chop on the Inland Waters

One of the fond memories of broadcasting in a coastal climate is reading the marine forecast. "Choppy waters tonight" must have been important to our fishermen, although I never understood the term. Today we are reposting a blog from August of 2009 concerning one of my radio heroes and adding a sample of his work that we recently found and edited for podcast on YouTube. 

The radio station I listened to most as a kid was Z-102 in Savannah, Georgia. Now, I realize that the station was only another Z-100 New York clone. This CHR format over populated the FM dial all across the USA in the 1980’s. Yes it was derivative but I enjoyed the station and copied their style often when I became a Contemporary Christian Music DJ. One unique element of good old WZAT-FM was Burl Womack. His show “Breakfast with Burl” was on my car radio every morning on my way to high school. Burl was allowed to play Southern Gospel music along with Adult Contemporary and hits of the day. Strange combination of styles but it worked! Burl had the number one show on the number one station in the market for years.

Womack was a mature man with an easy going style and mellifluous baritone. He’d get to a point in the show where he would pour another cup of coffee (a sound effect from a cart tape, no doubt) address the topics of the day, read the school lunch menu and, as best as I can recall, played his choice of Gospel music until at least 8:00 AM. He seemed to be actually having breakfast with you. The show was aptly named. To this day I wonder why he didn’t make the jump to television, he reminded me of David Hartman, one time host of ABC’s Good Morning America. Here is a brief sample:

I met Burl on two separate occasions once at at the Savannah Skate Inn roller rink where I hosted a Christian Youth Skate and then again a few months later when he emceed a Dixie Melody Boys concert at a private school auditorium in Garden City. What struck me most about the main was his vocal power in person. His speaking voice was laid back and boomed even though he spoke softly. I was intimidated and our exchange was minimal, after all what did I as an 18 year old upstart have to offer? It was a mystery to me why he was at the skating rink and at the time I felt he gave me the brush off although he was probably hurried or surprisingly, shy. A few months later at the Gospel concert he did a splendid job as emcee and I saw a humorous side to the man not always evident on his radio show. That night I was asked to stand as representative of my radio station during the concert. Typical of me I was embarrassed, quickly stood, waved, said nothing and sat down.

Burl was nominated in 2009 for a lifetime Career Achievement Award by the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame. Mr. Womack, however deserving, did not win. His many years on the Savannah airwaves are fondly remembered by many, including me.

Stay tuned.

©2010 Neal Rhoden, The Peanut Whistle blog. All rights reserved.

Lazy Sunday

I was very surprised this morning when I checked the statistics for our companion blog, Gospel Aircheck. It has seen the single biggest jump in readership since I started the dang thing 19 months ago. The funny thing is that we have no idea how that happened. The only difference is that more audio clips have been featured. Maybe it is due to offering more frequent posts. Just how big a jump, you ask? Well, about 50 times the readers on average over the last two days alone! The amount of new international guests to the site is staggering—many of them from countries that are traditionally non-English speaking. Internet discovery is a very tricky thing; you can’t make people find you. I think it’s luck. Here’s to many more posts to come.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle blog. All rights reserved.

Wings Over Atlanta

Every other year Dobbins Airforce Reserve base in nearby Marietta, Georgia, puts on an awesome air show. In 2008 we didn’t get to attend the show, but living within a few miles of the base we were able to get a glimpse of the jets’ acrobatic displays. I was very excited this year when my son, Luke, went with me to get up close to the action. The best thing of all, the show was free. My best buddy and I packed our lawn chairs 7:00 this morning and bounded for Wings Over Atlanta. Off site parking was available with free shuttle buss service to the base.  I had not seen the Navy Blue Angels since 1979 when I was 13, so I was probably more excited than my 6 year old.

The first show was at 10:00. It turned out to be only a preview. The Blue Angels would not perform until 3:00 in the afternoon. Luke had become bored by this time, so we left and were shuttle-bussed back to our car by noon. The show we saw did not compare to the one I attended in ‘79, but Luke was thrilled nevertheless. We had a great time. I missed the Blue Angels this time; we’ll try again in 2012.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Get a Job

This weblog provides a great hobby for me. But, it does not pay the bills. I’m ok with that. With my last little one in school Mister Mom is compelled to go back into the workforce.

A couple of years ago Angie and I decided to switch roles. She would work while I kept our four babies in check at home. Guys, being a house-husband is not easy! On Monday I reported for an interview that I believe will produce a j-o-b for this blogger.

I have worked most of my teens and all my adult life, so returning to work should be a breeze. The thing is this is only the second time I have had a panel interview. The company that is considering me had four, count them four, supervisors drill me on work related questions. None of the inquiries were yes/no, I was expected to give in depth essay answers. when I was younger thinking on my feet was second nature. The problem is that a majority of my days are spent with the kids. I have fallen out of practice conversing with adults. Quickly I acclimated to their questions: I felt grown-up again. We’ll see…

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle blog. All Rights reserved

Bye Bye Bell

Call  me an old fogey, but I just don’t understand what is all the hubbub about phones these days? I just want to talk. I don’t need my telephone to take pictures, display email or repave the driveway. I remember a time when only private eyes, doctors and rich guys in Rolls Royce Silver Shadows had a mobile phone, now everybody has a cell (unrelated to the old fashioned mobile phone.) The first cellular phones were the size of a small suit case; thank God for miniaturization.

Although I got my first cell phone in ‘96, I’ve been resistant to getting on the “smart phone” bandwagon. And, I have refused to let go of my landline—until now.

Angie and I have agreed to drop landline service forever and go total wireless. Now you can have a home phone and a cell through Bluetooth® technology. New to me is a base unit phone that has two extensions than run via your wireless provider as long as your Bluetooth enabled phone is within range. So cutting the cord will be less painful. Now this old fogey can talk on a conventional home set (with talking caller ID, mind you) while permanently freeing myself of Ma Bell.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Z Marks the Spot

“Lock it in and rip the knob off!” Clever imaging, listenable music, and personalities characterized my favorite radio station as a 1980’s teenager, Z-102 WZAT in Savannah, Georgia. I have written about this station previously in a post called “Breakfast with Burl.” The FM station began life in 1971 as a top 40 automated station. Many FM stations began this way as an offshoot of a more popular AM sister. In those days AM was king. FM was merely a curiosity. By the early 80’s AM music formats almost disappeared having been dethroned by its protégé, FM.

It was during this time I really got into listening to popular music and Z-102 was the station I tuned my Walkman to most. The station was unstoppable in the market and constantly led in the ratings. Now, in an unprecedented boneheaded move, the current owners have decided to drop music and go all sports. It has been at least 16 years since I last visited the area and heard the station live. Through the magic of the Internet I have occasionally listened to their stream. What a waste of a huge signal. Just a bit of my youth is gone. Rest in Peace Z.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Nathan

Meet my new brother-in-law, Nathan, a four year old long hair Dachshund. My mother-in-law brought him over today to see how well he will play with the kids. So far, so good. My middle daughter is spooked so easily by his bark. All Abbey needs to do is learn that he is only trying to say hello. The other kids have acclimated to him fairly well. Welcome to the family!

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Rock On

Welcome to October or as I like to call it, ROCKtober.

Yesterday I rambled on about my first encounter with the Compact Disc. Although every effort has been made to proofread each post, sometimes an error will slip through. Previously I wrote:

“Christmas 1982 the audiophile community was all abuzz over the shiny 12 millimeter disk that would revolutionize sound forever.”

The date is correct, but it should have read “12 centimeter disk.” Recalling the original press reports of 1982, designers of the CD made the disks 12 centimeters as an homage to the 12 inch Long Play vinyl record album. Further, they made the 74 minute capacity of the CD standard length because it is roughly the length of Beethoven's fifth symphony, which was very popular among the Japanese, who through Sony partnered with Phillips to invent Compact Discs.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle blog. All rights reserved.