I was raised up in the Ozarks attending an old country church not far
from our farm. That old church, in my memory, had a special sound, with
the music filling the old wooden building, kinda like the well seasoned wood of a favorite guitar, it just resonates with a special sound.
When I started doing Television Networks and producing television
shows, I had, in the back of my mind, the desire to create that special
sound on television.
I called my friend, Bob Bilyeu, who had
been involved in my musical journey since it started, in 1958, and told
him about my idea. Bob knows more about Gospel Music than anyone I
know, and I knew he could steer me in the right direction.
First, we had to find a proper church. Bob found one in Cave Springs,
MO, that was just perfect. It was a beautiful wooden building, built in
the 1860's, and it had been closed up for many years. We took our crew
in there and cleaned, polished and repaired whatever needed repairing,
started calling our gospel music friends to come sing with us in our
show called simply, "The Old Country Church". That was in 1993, and we
continued doing the show up to 2008.
It is still one of my
favorite series that I ever created. Here is an example: THE MARKSMEN,
from 1994, at the old country church.
https://vimeo.com/52882403
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