blog 36

Our second release on the Impact Records label was recorded in 1968, one year before Elvis called. We were beginning to get more calls for concert appearances and our label wanted to do another release. Back then, most artists recorded one LP per year. We were no different. This LP introduced our first version of Great Gettin’ Up Morning, an acapella song that we still continue to sing occasionally. Reach Out to Jesus was written by a prominent writer/arranger, Ralph Carmichael from Los Angeles. That song was later recorded by Elvis on his He Touched Me LP. A Thing Called Love was written by our good friend, Jerry Reed. He was an up and coming artist/writer and a good friend to Jake. He came into our offices one day and we were having a great conversation with him, he was so funny and authentic. The subject evolved into new songs. He said he had a new song he just recorded and just happened to have his guitar with him, so he sang it for us. We LOVED that song. His guitar intro was so unique we had to somehow convert it from guitar to vocal. Thus, our counterpoint vocal intro that we still do today and it has become a song we still do quite often. Elvis recorded this one as well on his last gospel album. Swing Down, Sweet Chariot made its first debut on this release. The remaining songs were not noteworthy but we were beginning to develop a unique style that no one else had.

A great story about a style that was so funny: Andrae Crouch had just written I’ve Got Confidence and wanted one of his singers, Billy Thedford, to sing the feature lead. Andrae was trying to teach him how he wanted him to sing his song. Billy was having a hard time with it and after a while, Billy blurted out, “Andrae, I can’t sing that song like that. It ain’t my style”. To which Andrae retorted, “Billy, until you’ve had a hit song, you ain’t got no style”!