Sounds great, Jerry. I'd sign up in a minute--except I'm not really a tenor--actually a bass. I don't know if I could sing high all the time.

It must be a real challenge to make up harmonies without the aid of sheet music. Somebody must be the main person who does it--and the others must agree that it sounds good. Sounds like an awful lot of diplomacy is involved. Suppose you have 2 people each thinking that his harmony sounds the best? Do you take a vote? And once you have the harmony do you rehearse it so it's ingrained in everybody's mind--and voice?

I remember having some of these problems when I had a sea chantey group--we also used no sheet music. But of course we had an even worse problem--we couldn't even find a time when all 7 of us could rehearse. Fortunately sea chanteys are a very forgiving genre--rough edges are just fine.

I wouldn't think gospel is quite so easy-going.


And you have everything memorized--just amazing.

I'll tell you, my hat is really off to you guys--what you've done on the Gospel Messengers CD is just great.

And I think the idea of doing it with no instruments is just right--it's so easy for electric guitars and drums to overwhelm the sound--and kill your voice.

I've done a lot of singing in nursing homes, hospitals etc.--but we always had sheet music. (Which is of course another problem--people seem to lean on it pretty heavily as a crutch--even when they are so close to having the part memorized.   And it's so much better--and really important especially there--to make eye contact with your audience---and to smile at them.)

Sure hope the tenor you need is out there--in your area--and you make contact soon.