July 2002 ~ Featuring Devin McGlamery
Soon after I joined the Dixie Echoes in 1998, we sang at a concert in South Georgia along with a young soloist. I remember meeting and becoming friends with him and his parents. Little that I know that very soon he would join one of Southern Gospel Music's premiere quartets. When McCray Dove left the Dixie Melody Boys to start his own group, some may have thought that the Dixie Melody Boys would loose the excitement on stage that they had for so many years. Well, those people obviously haven't seen the current group with the new lead singer. The Dixie Melody Boys are one of the best sounding groups traveling today and I am glad to call each of those guys my friends. I want to share a little this month about their lead vocalist as well as their youngest member, Devin McGlamery.

Devin McGlamery is the son of Don and Sandra McGlamery. He was born on June 9, 1982 in Valdosta, Georgia. He is the youngest child. He has two brothers, Omar and Ron, and one sister, Kim. He is twenty years old and not married, however he wanted to mention that he does have a girlfriend, Karen Ham. Devin is a member of Morning Side Baptist Church. He was saved in May of 1993 at a Bill Fay Seminar.

Devin currently lives in Kinston, North Carolina, where the Dixie Melody Boys are based. He says that he gets to see his parents usually every other month. When I was gathering information for this article, at the Suwannee River Jubilee in Live Oak, Florida, Devin's mother and father were there so I got to hear both sides of every story. Devin's hobbies include hunting, fishing, and he enjoys going to the gym. His collections include old Dixie Melody Boys records and old microphones. Devin has been singing solos since the age of five and was performing throughout the southeast as a soloist before joining the group.

His biggest influences are Glen Payne and Charles Waller. The Dixie Melody Boys are now on the Grand Ole Gospel Reunion each year, but prior to Devin joining the group, he was a featured soloist at the Greenville, South Carolina concert. Charles Waller began featuring Devin at the 1994 Grand Ole Gospel Reunion. In June 2000 at only seventeen years old, Devin joined the Dixie Melody Boys. He had heard that the group was looking for a lead singer, so he called Ed and auditioned for the job. The group had already heard Devin sing, but he tried out for them and got the job. He joined them just two days after his high school graduation. On the road, his job is setting up and breaking down the product table.

When asked to share an interesting story for my readers, Devin shared a good one. The Dixie Melody Boys were in Georgia and were driving through the town of Quitman. Devin has family involved in Law Enforcement, and his brother is a deputy. His brother was working that night and didn't get to see Devin perform with the group while they were in town, so in order to see his brother, he had some of his fellow deputies pull the Dixie Melody Boys bus over. There were two deputies following the bus, and they had the group pull into a parking lot. They instructed the group to step off the bus and were very convincing. The guys had no idea that Devin's brother was involved in doing this, they didn't know what was going on. Then Devin's brother steps out of the car just in time for a good laugh. He got to see his brother that night and after giving the group a good scare they had a little laugh. Next time they go through Quitman, GA, they might not stop for the deputy. But wouldn't it be funny if they didn't and it wasn't Devin's brother. I would have loved to seen the look on Eric Ollis' face as he was talking with the deputy. I'm pretty sure he wasn't smiling.

Devin has a very supportive family and faithful following of fans across the country. He is one of the most popular young artists to step on stage today. I'm glad to see young people like Devin doing well in Southern Gospel music. I love Southern Gospel Quartets, and appreciate all of the young people who will work to keep them going for many years to come.

To find out more on Devin McGlamery and the rest of the Dixie Melody Boys, visit them online at: www.dixiemelodyboys.com. Ed O'Neal, bass vocalist and owner of the DMB, has surrounded himself with some of the most talented people in Gospel Music. Hiring Devin gave the group that youthful energy on stage, and added to the awesome bass voice of Ed O'Neal, along with one of my favorite pianists, Eric Ollis, a super high tenor, Harold Reed, and baritone Derrick Selph adding a very solid baritone part, creates one of the best traditional quartet sounds in Southern Gospel Music! Next time they are in your area, be sure to go see them in concert. They would love to meet you and share some great quartet singing with you!