Collecting Southern Gospel LPs
About two years ago, I wrote an article ‘introducing’ my collection of over 1,000 southern gospel LPs. Well, as you can imagine, the collection has grown substantially since that writing. Plus, The Chimney Rock has welcomed scores of new readers. So, if I may, let’s revisit that topic this month and ‘check in’ on where the collection now stands.
First up, you may be wondering ‘what is a radio station doing playing vinyl records?’ Well, consider this: unlike many other genres of music, a vast majority of southern gospel LPs have yet to be released on CD and – quite frankly – probably never well. This is a bit concerning. We’re talking ‘big name’ groups like the Cathedrals, Florida Boys, Happy Goodmans, Inspirations, and the Hemphills. A few months back I ran a series of articles discussing exactly why this is. In short, the record companies that produced these albums (and ultimately controlled the ‘master tapes’ from which the LPs were produced) have been bought out down through the years. Often times, southern gospel is not at the forefront of those companies’ interests. And thus, the masters are tucked away in storage or – even worse – discarded entirely.
So, this provides a unique opportunity to not only collect the vinyl, but also to re-introduce these songs to new generations of listeners. Furthermore, with today’s technologies, we can digitize each LP and give it some ‘TLC’ – removing much of the ‘record noise’ like clicks and pops.
My collection spans 1956 to 1992. Overall, I focus more on the 1970s and 1980s. There are a good number of collectors that seek more ‘vintage’ southern gospel of the 1950s and 1960s and yes, I do have a good many of those albums. However, I find it increasingly difficult to find playable copies of many of these 1950s and 1960s albums. Everything you see on the shelf that’s pictured in this article is playable (not too much record noise). Secondly, many of these ‘classic’ LPs were recorded for companies like RCA Victor, which has done a phenomenal job of making these albums available on digital streaming platforms, direct from the master tapes.
This past March, the LPs were moved back into our main studio. For the last two years, the collection had been growing in the adjacent production studio. I repainted and refurbished one of our original record racks. Felt was added to the cubbies to provide a soft surface upon which the records to slide. The organization is rather straightforward – the collection is sorted alphabetically by artist, and then albums are sorted by year within each artist.
(I do need to briefly reiterate that, approximately 13 years ago, WBTX did give away a vast majority of their LPs simply in an effort to ‘clean up’. I do not consider this necessarily a huge loss, as I have been able to reacquire many of the same LPs in, often times, mint condition. Recall that many of the WBTX albums, having been played regularly over a span of 20+ years, were not necessarily in the best shape.)
So, how did I re-build this collection? It’s largely been thanks to listener donations. I asked for southern gospel LPs, and many listeners came forward ready to donate their collections – I know they had the assurance that the albums would be properly cared for and would be able to minister to a new generation of southern gospel listeners. I have also purchased albums from thrift stores both locally and regionally. And yes, I have purchased a few online. (At this point, I’m proud to say that the most I’ve ever spent on a single LP is $45). The entire collection, as it stands, has been acquired for, I would say, less than $1,000 total.
What’s pictured here is only half of the collection. At home, I keep a collection of ‘everything else’, so to speak. A custom-build shelf (roughly of equal size) contains duplicates of many of the albums – always good to have backups. I also keep a collection of contemporary Christian albums, and select country and Christmas albums.
The collection continues to grow. As of this writing, bidding is about to close on perhaps the largest lot of albums I have ever acquired. Roughly 3,000 LPs are about to be received into the collection. A good many of these albums will make it into the ‘official’ WBTX library, where they will be digitized and digitally restored, ready to reach a new generation of southern gospel listeners.
So, I conclude this article with a little ‘public service announcement’…if you, or perhaps someone you know, have a collection of southern gospel LPs and would like to find a good home for them, please reach out to me. I’d be glad to add them to my collection and ensure that they’re preserved for years to come.
