CDs, LPs, and Singing News
Back in May, I celebrated seven years at WBTX in Broadway. As I reflect upon these last several years, I am just amazed at how everything seemed to “fall into place”. You have to realize that, before I began working at WBTX, I knew practically nothing about southern gospel music. But, not too long after “coming aboard”, I took an immediate interest in the history of the music, and began to give myself a “crash course” in southern gospel history. Seven years later…well, here we are.
In all honesty, though, it truly is a blessing to be able to work at WBTX. It really is a “one-of-a-kind” station, especially for someone who is a die-hard southern gospel music fan. I realize, though, that I have access to many resources that very few southern gospel stations have, particularly nowadays.
First, we have a tremendous library of CDs. Sure, doesn’t every radio station have CDs? And, aren’t they relatively easy to come by? Well…it’s a bit of a different story for southern gospel. Hundreds of our CDs are “out of print”. For most other music genres, the 21st century “solution” is that these albums can still be purchased digitally from platforms such as Apple Music, Amazon, etc. However, if one searches these sites, as well as streaming platforms like Spotify and YouTube Music, you’ll discover that many of these CDs are nowhere to be found. Dozens of recordings from “premier” groups like Gold City, the Cathedrals, the Rambos, and the Hemphills are nowhere to be found.
A few years ago, we discussed exactly why this is. In short, the original record companies were “bought out” by larger companies. This means that control of the music (or, the “masters”), now belongs to those companies. Unfortunately, it seems that releasing these recordings to streaming platforms is not a “top priority” for most of these entities. What is even more frustrating is that these same companies also control the rights to 80s and 90s contemporary Christian recordings, and many of those have found their way into the digital market.
WBTX began its “shift” towards southern gospel in the mid-80s, and that’s when we began our CD library. Therefore, we’ve had close to 40 years to build this tremendous archive!
So, we’ve got the CDs…and on the adjacent wall in the studio we have the LPs. Vinyl! Isn’t this more of a “novelty” that’s making a comeback? Well, yes…but for southern gospel it’s not so much a “novelty”, but more a “necessity”. Hundreds of these albums exist only in this format (well, some made it to cassette or even 8-track), but most were never issued on CD.
The reason is very similar to that of the CDs – record companies being “bought out” in later years. But really, this issue begins as far back as the 1980s, when CDs were entering the market. It seems that some southern gospel labels were quick to jump on the CD “bandwagon”, while others held on to LP and cassette formats…even while these same companies were providing CD releases for their contemporary artists on their “sister” labels.
Yes, it’s frustrating…but it’s also fun to “track down” these albums. It is no secret that WBTX gave away many of our LPs some 15 years ago, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed rebuilding our LP library. In many cases, I’m replacing our “well-worn” copies with albums that are in mint condition, sometimes even never opened! I’m then able to digitize the albums and add them into our ever-growing music library.
Finally, we have a large collection of back-issues of Singing News Magazine, southern gospel’s leading publication since 1969. I mainly use these behind-the-scenes for various research projects, including my weekly Retro Countdown program. But, why am I researching the “old-fashioned way”? Why not just do a ‘Google search’?
Well, that works for most other music genres…but not southern gospel. Yes, there are some fantastic websites out there (like sghistory.com), but they are few and far between. I have found so much valuable information in these back issues of the magazine that is nowhere on the Internet. So, I’ve spent close to two years “indexing” these magazines to where I can query exactly what I’m looking for, and “walk” to the appropriate back-issue. While this sounds a bit foreboding (especially considering I’ve got close to 600 back-issues in my collection), it is something I thoroughly enjoy doing.
With these CDs, LPs, and magazines, we’re able to program a unique blend of southern gospel music. If you compare our playlist with other southern gospel stations, you’ll notice many differences. We’re airing a ton of ‘classic’ recordings that cannot be found elsewhere, and we’re also programming a good many new recordings that have yet to be featured on most mainstream southern gospel stations. Also, we are completely “freeform”, which means there is no “rotation” – you will rarely, if ever, hear the same songs played each day (after all, we’ve got more than 10,000 already in the library – and it keeps growing!)
Reminder: Light 96 is back, but only online! You can now enjoy 1980s and 1990s Contemporary Christian music 24/7! Go online to wbtxradio.com. Click on “Listen Live”, and then click on the yellow “Light 96” button.
