Top Moment of 2012 - #8

In continuing my countdown of memorable personal moments of 2012, #8 comes from a lady sharing a personal testimony toward the end of a Karen Peck and New River concert.

Karen asked as they were wrapping up their concert if anyone there wanted to share a word. One lady spoke up and talked about how her son had died at 17 after a life filled with many struggles. She said that at his funeral they played "I Wanna Know How It Feels," and she talked about how much the song meant to her and had helped her. She thanked Karen for the song and asked if she would sing it. Karen said of course she would.

I don't know if they lady realized then or not that Karen actually wrote the song. Karen shared how she wrote it. She had been humming the melody for a while. But one day when she was missing her dad who passed away, she was folding towels and the song started coming to her. She had John Darrin Rowsey help her with it.

They sang it for the lady, and it was such a sweet moment. Karen, Susan and Jeff were getting emotional along with everyone else in the audience after hearing the lady's touching testimony, but they sang through and delivered an amazing performance!

The countdown continues later this week!

Fun Clip Friday - Triumphant Quartet Christmas

Hope everyone has had a great week! For this week's Fun Clip Friday post, enjoy hearing the Triumphant Quartet spread a little Christmas cheer!

Christmas Playlist

It seems that every group has done a Christmas album at one point their career. And I love Christmas music. However, there are only so many versions of "The First Noel" or the "The Christmas Song" that I can take. I'm sure we all have our favorite versions of the classic Christmas songs and carols. But some of my favorite songs aren't necessarily the traditional Christmas songs. So I put together a playlist of my favorite Christmas songs by the artists whose renditions are my favorites:


1. "O Holy Night" - TaRanda Greene (hands down, my favorite version of this song)
2. "Glory to God in the Highest" - Ernie Haase and Signature Sound
3. "Mary Did You Know" - Mark Lowry (With so many versions, I still love hearing the writer sing his own song.)
4. "The Greatest Gift of All" - Jeff and Sheri Easter
5. "Christmas Shoes" - Brian Free and Assurance
6. "Go Tell It on the Mountain" - Lynda Randle
7. "Mary Had a Baby" - Karen Peck and New River
8. "Mary's Little Boy Child/ Jesus, What a Wonderful Child" - Collingsworth Family
9. "Carol of the Bells" - Sisters
10. "Little Drummer Boy" - Kingdom Heirs
11. "What Child Is This?" - The Isaacs
12. "Grace Has a Face (Hope Has Hands)" - Greater Vision
13. "We Believe" - Spoken 4 Quartet
14. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" -  Ball Brothers (not your typical version)
15. "Joy, Joy" - David Phelps


Some of these are on the artists' Christmas projects or others are simply versions I've seen live in concert or on YouTube. As many as I could find, I've linked to a performance of the song. Which Christmas songs would make your list?

Top Moment of 2012 - #9

The #9 Moment of 2012 for me occurred at the National Quartet Convention. I'm a sucker for scrap iron quartets and the all-sings, where group members from various groups all join together on stage for a song or two. So I loved the end of Quartet Night at National Quartet Convention.

Gerald Wolfe came on stage after the last group and said that he couldn't believe that no group had sung the ultimate quartet song, "Have a Little Talk With Jesus." It provided for some comedic banter between him and several quartet members. He called members of Mark Trammell Quartet and Legacy Five back to the stage to join Triumphant who was already there. It was some great quartet singing!

When they got to the second verse, they weren't sure what to do, which provided more comedic moments between Gerald Wolfe, Scott Fowler and Mark Trammell. It was decided to let the tenor take the verse like usual. Mark said that would be great if they had a tenor, not realizing that David Sutton was still on stage. Somehow he ended up being the only tenor there from the three quartets. He got the chance to showcase his strong tenor skills and ham it up a little. Paul Harkey also joined the bass singers on stage.

This moment provided not only comedic relief but also quartet singing at its finest which made the list at #9!

Top Moments of 2012 - #10

This year, I've been blessed to attend and watch some incredible gospel concerts and events. So for the month of December, I'll be counting down the most memorable moments for me personally that I've either seen in person at a concert or through an online broadcast. (There were some moments that I watched online that were too good not to include!) Some of these top moments are the full concerts themselves while some are just a song or testimony from the night that really set it apart. So here we go with #10.


#10 - Sisters' Performance at the Absolutely Gospel Music Awards

Sisters opted to sing the Dottie Rambo classic, "Until He Comes," instead of a recent single or song from their 2012 project. With just piano accompaniment courtesy of Josh Singletary, Sisters wowed the crowd, and it was the performance everyone was talking about the next morning. Sisters are known for their incredible harmonies and breath-taking a cappella numbers. But this performance really showcased how incredible this all-female trio is.

The song was one they recorded in 1975. And Kim mentioned before singing that it's one that had been on her heart to sing. The emotionally-stirring performance had the audience on its feet. If there was any doubt about the vocal strength of this group, it was removed.

While the video of their performance was removed from YouTube, you can watch the full awards online in its entirety. Sisters' performance comes just after the one hour mark.

Their performance from April comes in at #10 of the year. Keep reading this month as I count down!