Heirloom (Part One)
For the next two months, we are going to take an “in-depth” look at one of my all-time favorite (albeit, short-lived) southern gospel groups, a trio of ladies known as “Heirloom”.
It appears that the idea for such a ladies trio was first suggested in the early 1980s by Tanya Goodman Sykes (the daughter of Rusty Goodman of the famed Happy Goodman Family) to her cousin, Candy Hemphill Christmas (of the Hemphills). The idea faded, until Candy’s brother, Trent, brought it up once again several years later.
In March of 1988, Dan Cleary of the Benson Company (a prominent Christian recording label) suggested the idea of such a ladies trio to record executives. At the time, Tanya was in solo ministry alongside her husband, Michael, and Candy was still traveling with her family, the Hemphills. To “complete” the trio, they brought in Sheri Easter of the Lewis Family. Sheri had just recently teamed up with her husband, Jeff, to launch the duo of Jeff & Sheri Easter.
Norman Holland of the Benson Company was credited with suggesting the name “Heirloom”, reflecting the ladies’ Gospel heritage. Their official “debut” was in front of some record executives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in early December, 1988. A few days later, on December 19, Heirloom traveled to the Great Circle Sound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, to cut their first, self-titled album.
Heirloom’s first public concert was on January 6, 1989, at Travecca Nazarene College in Nashville, alongside Jeff & Sheri Easter and Gerald Wolfe.
Their first album, released in the spring of 1989, was self-titled (“Heirloom”), and was produced by both Tanya’s husband, Michael Sykes, and Candy’s brother, Trent.
One listen to this album, and you’ll immediately notice how well the “blend” of Tanya, Candy, and Sheri worked – the harmonies are absolutely beautiful. The project is filled with decidedly country overtones, and features songs written by Tanya, Candy, Joel Hemphill (Candy’s father), and even Bruce Carroll, just to name a few. There’s also two hymns included on the project: “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior” and “All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name”. Two songs were “singled” out to southern gospel radio, and did rather well on the Singing News airplay charts: “There’s Still Power In The Blood” (peaked at #5 in September, 1989), and “Crying In The Garden” (peaked at #43 in May, 1990).
What’s more, at the 1990 Dove Awards, the album was voted Country Album of the Year for 1989.
Now, there was a little “catch” to Heirloom…they were, largely, a “studio group”. In other words, the group rarely toured and performed very limited concert dates. Recall that, although Tanya was in solo ministry, Candy was still traveling full-time with the Hemphills, and Sheri was touring with her husband, Jeff.
Heirloom was a tremendous (and somewhat unexpected) success – and the demand for more concert dates increased. At the same time, the success of Jeff & Sheri Easter was also increasing. Therefore, in September of 1989, it was announced that Sheri was resigning from Heirloom, allowing her more time with Jeff & Sheri Easter.
Her replacement was name that was familiar to many on not only the gospel music scene, but also the country scene – Barbara Fairchild. Perhaps best known for her 1970s hit “The Teddy Bear Song”, Barbara began recording gospel music in the early 1980s, and had recently been ministering in churches with her husband, Milton Carroll.
Soon, Barbara, Tanya, and Candy would return to the studio to cut their second project, “Apples Of Gold”. We’ll “dive in” to that recording, and continue the story of Heirloom next month!
