Bob Brumley and the late Roy Carter among 2011 Hall of Fame inductees
Bob Brumley Publisher, concert promoter and music industry leader Bob Brumley of Powell, Mo. attended his induction into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame at Dollywood recently in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
“Bob is one of the most respected men in Southern Gospel Music today,” said Charlie Waller, executive director. “He is known for his honesty, integrity, hard work and undying love for his father and mother and his devotion to Southern Gospel Music.
“It is a desire of Robert “Bob” Brumley to keep alive the songs of his father,” he said. “Under his guidance, Albert E. Brumley and Sons/Hartford Music Company have flourished. Bob, President/CEO, still operates the company offices built by his father in the 1940’s in Powell, Missouri.”
The McKameys played tribute to him by performing their hit “The Shepherd’s Point of View.”
“You know when I was growing up with my dad, to know this kind of music was an everyday occurrence,” Bob said. “My heroes were E.M. Bartlett, V.O. Stamps, and James Blackwood
“All those guys that was involved in this music were the people I looked up to and they worked to see that it grew,” he said. “For me to be able to be part of this great industry means more than anything to me in the world. I want to thank my wife Tudy. My son Bob and my daughters, Betsy and Elaine. I thank everybody.
“Willie (Wynn) and Jerry (Kirksey) were right,” he said. “You can’t do this by yourself. What I do has come about because of all the help. I wanted to preserve my dad’s legacy which was a goal I set early in life to see that my dad’s music live forever. This is the greatest music in the world.”
Brumley is a former president of SGMA and serves on its board of directors.
Albert E. Brumley, is recognized as a founding father and preeminent Southern Gospel songwriter. Brumley wrote standard “I’ll Fly Away.”
“Bob is one of the most respected men in Southern Gospel Music today,” said Charlie Waller, executive director. “He is known for his honesty, integrity, hard work and undying love for his father and mother and his devotion to Southern Gospel Music.
“It is a desire of Robert “Bob” Brumley to keep alive the songs of his father,” he said. “Under his guidance, Albert E. Brumley and Sons/Hartford Music Company have flourished. Bob, President/CEO, still operates the company offices built by his father in the 1940’s in Powell, Missouri.”
The McKameys played tribute to him by performing their hit “The Shepherd’s Point of View.”
“You know when I was growing up with my dad, to know this kind of music was an everyday occurrence,” Bob said. “My heroes were E.M. Bartlett, V.O. Stamps, and James Blackwood
“All those guys that was involved in this music were the people I looked up to and they worked to see that it grew,” he said. “For me to be able to be part of this great industry means more than anything to me in the world. I want to thank my wife Tudy. My son Bob and my daughters, Betsy and Elaine. I thank everybody.
“Willie (Wynn) and Jerry (Kirksey) were right,” he said. “You can’t do this by yourself. What I do has come about because of all the help. I wanted to preserve my dad’s legacy which was a goal I set early in life to see that my dad’s music live forever. This is the greatest music in the world.”
Brumley is a former president of SGMA and serves on its board of directors.
Albert E. Brumley, is recognized as a founding father and preeminent Southern Gospel songwriter. Brumley wrote standard “I’ll Fly Away.”
Roy Carter
Shirley Carter and Sherron Carter-Martin attended the induction of their late father Roy Carter (1926-1998), originally of Calumet, Okla., into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame at Dollywood recently in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
“Roy Carter took over the role as bass singer for the Chuck Wagon Gang in 1952,” said Charlie Waller, executive director. “Roy’s arrival came at an important turning point in the group’s history. The ‘Chucks’ had recently begun making personal appearances, after years of being almost exclusively a radio and recording quartet.
“With Dad Carter now past the age of sixty, the role of manager and emcee was quickly thrust upon Roy Carter, he said. “It was a job that Roy would fill admirably for the next forty years. He led the Chuck Wagon Gang into the mainstream of Southern Gospel touring, all the while following his father’s stage advice to keep the sound simple and build on the tradition that had made the group popular in the first place. Few groups in Southern Gospel has made a greater impact on the industry or touched more people.
According to Waller, Roy also wrote a number of popular gospel songs; among them “I’m Going to Rise Up and Meet Him in the Air”, “The Early Morning Hours” and “My Wonderful God”.
He retired from singing and touring in the early 1990s.
Greater Vision played tribute to him by performing their hit “Never Been.”
“These are times that require mercy and grace on everyone’s part towards our neighbors and each other,” said Sherron Carter-Martin. “Our daddy was really good at it. I am real grateful he got this.”
Shirley Carter shared the rest of the acceptance in the prospective of her late father if he was there. She traveled with him in the Chuck Wagon Gang.
“Since the founding of this group by my pioneering granddaddy D.P. Carter in 1936, it grew into a love and tradition that grew into a way of life afforded me by my family and my precious wife Thada,” she said. “The songs I wrote, the shows I performed and the deep felt feelings with which I gave were inspired by God. I owe it all to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.
“The many years of blessings I received from having made these choices have led me into countless homes with fans at their dinner tables, thousands of letters needing prayer and comfort, and more than thousands of handshakes, pictures and autographs with the people that loved and supported my efforts,” she said. “I took something with me each time, which became another thread into whom I have become. Each time wondering if I had made a difference. It has been not only a great deal of sacrifice from my family but a whole lot of fun. I thank everyone for all your parts in it.”
She said the family was first gospel group to appear at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl opposite the Beach Boys and was honored in a Smithsonian Institution musical collection.
Carter said she continues his legacy by introducing a new group called Carter Crossing.
The other members of the 2011 SGMA Hall of Fame class are Doris Akers, Doyle Blackwood, Kenny Gates, Jerry Kirksey, Opal Lester and Willie Wynn.
Country Music Hall of Famers The Statler Brothers received the James D. Vaughn Impact Award at the event.
The Southern Gospel Music Association is a non-profit organization that maintains the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame, the only facility honoring this genre of music, for the historic preservation of the accomplishments of the music and its people. Museum hours match those of Dollywood. Donations are tax-deductible. Individuals and businesses may donate to assist with honoring inductees with special bronze plaques that are displayed in the Hall of Fame. For more information about the museum or its inductees, visit www.sgma.org.