July 2004 ~ The Southern Gospel Players
I have finally completed the most time consuming and interesting recording that I have ever been a part of putting together. Several months ago, I shared that I was working on a project that compiled most of the musicians of Gospel Music. That dream has now become a reality! It started back in Oct. 2003, when I headed to Nashville to lay down some basic tracks with just the piano, so that I could send out tapes to all of the different musicians so they would have something to go by when they recorded their instruments. I had planned on recording ten songs all instrumentally, but when the legendary Dottie Rambo stepped in the studio that day, I couldn't resist the opportunity to add her to the recording. Then I figured, since we had one great vocalist, why not add a couple more? So I gave Squire Parsons and Loren Harris a call. For the most part, this is an instrumental recording. On three songs, our special guest vocalists simply sing a verse and a chorus of the song, and different instruments play the rest. With the addition of the vocalists, I then decided to bump the number of songs on the project up to twelve, so that the listener would get that much more of the players picking.

I have been playing the piano for the Dixie Echoes since 1998. During that time, I've had the pleasure of working with some of the best musicians in Gospel Music. For this recording, I wanted to feature these musicians by assembling them into different combinations and showcasing their individual talents. Most people buy recordings that feature singing, and may only have one or two instrumental recordings. With this in mind, I wanted to give the fans one great instrumental recording that features all of their favorite musicians. Putting this recording together was a huge undertaking. With our busy schedules, it wasn't possible to get all of these musicians together at once, so with the conveniences of modern technology, all of your favorite musicians have contributed to this recording by doing their part at recording studios across the country.

Once I had the piano recorded, I took the tapes to a studio just west of Atlanta, GA, called Red Hill Digital. It's an excellent studio ran by my good friend Jason Singleton. We began to lay down some bass guitar and drums there in early Dec. 2003. Adam Borden came in to add his part on the bass guitar, and Ricky Free recorded drums on a few of the songs that day. After that, I decided that it would be much easier to send adat tapes to each musician instead of traveling all across the country doing them one at a time. Our first step was to get all of the bass players and drummers done. Doug Riley, Mike Hopper, Scoot Shelnut, and Ricky Free were the drummers that I used. Then on bass guitar I added Ben Isaacs, Scoot Shelnut, Aaron Crabb, Corey Pearson, and Adam Borden.

After the piano, bass, and drums were all recorded, I sent tapes out to the rest of the musicians. Randy Miller played harmonica and electric guitar. Steve "Rabbit" Easter added some steel guitar, dobro, and banjo. Channing Eleton played the accordion and organ. Andrew Ishee added organ to a song as well. Adam and Jason Crabb played harmonica and electric guitar, while Jeff Tolbert and Mike Riddle added fiddle and acoustic guitar. Sonya Isaacs, Becky Isaacs Bowman, and John Bowman played mandolin, guitar, and banjo on our bluegrass number. On both acoustic and electric guitars, we have Randy Shelnut and Roger Fortner. David Johnson, a fellow who plays on many of your favorite artists recordings, joined in by playing steel guitar, fiddle, harmonica, and guitar on a couple of songs, while Milton Smith added some orchestration. While I was in Fresno, CA, at the Gospel Music Fan Festival, I took my recorder and when the Carolina Boys came off stage, I got Tim Surrett to play dobro and electric guitar on the project. I also had my good buddy Tim Lovelace come in the studio in Pensacola to add some additional piano to a couple of songs.

Wow, what a list of musicians! Now add Dottie Rambo singing "I Go To The Rock", Squire Parsons on "Beulah Land", and Loren Harris of the Perrys singing the Kenny Hinson classic "Call Me Gone", and you have a great line-up of singers to add to the music. I needed some background vocals on the project, so I stayed home in Pensacola, Florida, and got that done by calling my Florida Boys buddies Josh Garner and Gene McDonald, along with Randy Shelnut Jr.

I call this project "Stewart Varnado presents THE SOUTHERN GOSPEL PLAYERS". I am very proud of all of our musicians in Southern Gospel Music, and tried to use as many as I could fit on one project. Time and space didn't allow me to get every musician, but I tried to cover as many as possible. This recording will only be available on compact disc, and will be released by Crossroads Music on July 20, 2004. It is available now on my website at www.stewartvarnado.com. Or you can send check or money order for $15 per cd (please add $3 per order for shipping) to: Stewart Varnado - 2185 Kathleen Avenue - Cantonment, FL 32533.

Hope you enjoy the Southern Gospel Players!