Cathedral Quartet

Formation and early years

The Cathedrals began in 1963 as a trio consisting of former California based Weatherford Quartet lead singer Glen Payne, tenor Bobby Clark, and baritone Danny Koker. Initially an evangelical house gospel group of The Cathedral of Tomorrow, the Weatherfords moved on and the group used the Cathedral as inspiration for naming themselves The Cathedral Trio. The group became a quartet by adding Blue Ridge Quartet bass singer George Younce in 1964, which caused the newly formed quartet became even more popular. In 1969 the group decided to pursue a full-time status as a traveling quartet, leaving the Cathedral of Tomorrow ministry. Koker and Clark would then leave the group to move on to other interests, and were replaced by tenor Mack Taunton and baritone/pianist George Amon Webster completing the first full version of the Cathedral Quartet. The group signed on with the Canaan records label. Canaan records producer Marvin Norcross worked with the group and Florida Boys lead singer Les Beasley to gain the group exposure, such as by giving them performance time on the nationally syndicated TV show The Gospel Singing Jubilee. The group continued to record with Canaan while featuring different styles of dress and stage performance to find their identity as a group.

Rise to prominence

The group landed its first big break when gospel and Christian music performer and promoter Bill Gaither invited the group to perform at his annual Praise Gathering in Indianapolis, Indiana, and shortly afterward, they were inundated with requests for appearances. Gaither also consulted with Younce and Payne to produce their future albums for Word Records. The group's popularity continued to rise with their newly minted identity and the comedy routines of Younce and Payne created a dynamic that caused the following of the group to grow. The powerful sound of the group caused Gospel fans to flock to the new quartet, which had added Roy Tremble at tenor and was becoming a highly demanded group for tours and appearances. In 1979, Tremble, Webster, and pianist Lorne Matthews left the group and started their own trio. The abrupt event was met with surprise, but the group was resolved to fill the spots and press on. Their first replacement was at tenor when they hired a young Kirk Talley (from the Hoppers) and then hired Steve Lee to sing baritone and serve as pianist. Talley was a popular addition to the group and his songwriting and vocal abilities combined with his youthfulness continued to attract southern gospel fans. Talley's song "Step Into The Water" became a massive hit and stayed at number one on the Southern Gospel charts for almost 9 months. This move helped the Cathedrals climb in popularity even more and caused them to become firmly established as one of Southern Gospel's prime groups. Right before 1980, the group hired Roger Bennett as the pianist after hearing him play for a local group that was opening for the Cathedrals. Lee left the group and former member Roger Horne filled in briefly right before another solid addition came in the form of Mark Trammell, bass guitarist and baritone vocalist from the Kingsmen. This group became even more successful with songs like "Moving Up To Gloryland", and "I Know A Man Who Can". They eventually left Canaan (Word) and signed with Riversong (Benson).

The 1980s

Kirk Talley left the group in the fall of 1983 to start a group with his brother Roger and sister in law Debra to form The Talleys. Danny Funderburk, from the Singing Americans, was selected to take Talley's place in December 1983. This version of the Cathedrals with Funderburk along with Younce, Payne, Trammell, and Bennett soon became the most popular they had ever been. This line-up stayed in place for a few years when Roger Bennett decided to leave and help start a record company called Journey Records. Bennett was replaced by a young classically trained pianist and vocalist named Gerald Wolfe. With Wolfe at the piano and contributing to vocals, the group improved more and eventually landed a chance to record part of an album with the London Philharmonic Orchestra named Symphony of Praise in 1987. The album was a huge hit with songs like "This Ole' House" and "Champion Of Love","I Can See The Hand" (written by a then-unknown Steven Curtis Chapman), and "I've Just Started Living". During this period, the group started to experiment with a newer sound, adding Trammell's Bass guitar and other sounds new to the music such as a synthesizer while never leaving the classic quartet sound. From that point forward, The Cathedrals would balance their albums with a combination of different styles that gave them popularity they enjoyed until the group retired. In 1988 Wolfe left the group to pursue a solo career and would eventually launch a trio called Greater Vision that would become immensely popular in their own right. Bennett came back to the group in December 1988.

The 1990s and Gaither Homecoming years

In February 1990, Funderburk left to help start a new quartet Perfect Heart. The Cathedrals hired tenor Kurt Young to fill Funderburk's place, but left the quartet after only two months with the group. Young was replaced by Ernie Haase, a young tenor from Indiana who would eventually become Younce's son in-law via marriage to his daughter Lisa. Later that year, Trammell left to form Greater Vision with Gerald Wolfe. Another young musician was selected to take Trammell's spot as Scott Fowler, former lead singer of the group The Sound, became the baritone and bass guitarist. This was the final version of Cathedrals. In 1995, the group recorded a reunion concert The Cathedral Quartet: A Reunion. The rest of the former and present members appearing are Bobby Clark, Mack Taunton, George Amon Webster, Roy Tremble, Haskell Cooley, Kirk Talley, Roger Bennett, Mark Trammell, Danny Funderburk, Gerald Wolfe, Ernie Haase and Scott Fowler.

During the early 1990s, southern gospel was starting to experience a reemergence in large part to Bill Gaither and the Gaither Vocal Band recording 'Homecoming', a tribute album to classic Southern Gospel songs. For one of the songs, "Where Could I Go", Gaither wanted to include as many of his childhood Southern Gospel heroes as possible. Along with many others, George Younce and Glen Payne were in Gaither's group of singers he called on to sing. Out of this recording, the Gaither Homecoming videos were born. At first, the whole group of Cathedrals were not included, however several Homecoming videos later, the full quartet was included, where they gained a whole new fan base. The Cathedrals soon became one of the most popular groups to be featured on the Homecoming videos. The Cathedrals sang many of their classic songs on the Homecoming videos, as well as some of their new hits (Haase and Bennett were songwriters and the group recorded songs co-written by both members). The Homecoming Friends paid tribute to Glen Payne for 50 years in gospel music in another taping.

Final years and farewell tour

In addition to the regular touring and appearing in the Gaither Homecoming tapings, the group reached its apex in the 1990s. They appeared three times in that span on NBC's The Today Show. However, the health of both Younce and Payne was starting to decline. By 1999, George Younce was suffering from kidney failure and heart disease and Payne was diagnosed with liver cancer. Due to their declining health, Younce and Payne made the decision to retire the group. There was a planned farewell tour of selected concerts, as the group's health permitted. The Gaithers and the Cathedrals decided to record a Cathedrals Farewell Celebration video. The video which was recorded live on May 18, 1999. They were joined on the video by The Statler Brothers, The Oak Ridge Boys, Sandi Patty, Guy Penrod, and the Gaither Vocal Band. The final Cathedrals concert was held in Akron, Ohio.

Post-disbanding

In 2000, former Cathedrals Scott Fowler and Roger Bennett formed the popular traditional Southern Gospel group Legacy Five. In this group, Fowler became the lead singer and bass guitarist while Bennett became the group's emcee and remained a pianist. Haase went on to continue a solo career he had already been developing. With the Help of Gaither, Haase started The Old Friends Quartet with Younce, Jake Hess, Wesley Pritchard, and Gold City alumnus Garry Jones as their pianist. The group recorded two albums, and did a concert video for the Gaither Homecoming series. Younce and Hess's poor health brought an end to the Old Friends 2 years later. In 2003, Haase and Garry Jones put together The Signature Sound Quartet. After a short time, Jones and Haase had different visions of a new quartet, resulting in the departure of Jones. Signature Sound later became associated with Gaither and his Homecoming tour, and eventually were called Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. They have collaborated with the Gaither Vocal Band on a video/CD.

After leaving The Cathedrals, Mark Trammell was the original baritone of Greater Vision before leaving it to join Gold City. Gerald Wolfe still sings lead with Greater Vision, and Danny Funderburk has recorded solo recordings and has been in several groups since leaving Perfect Heart. Kirk Talley started a solo career after the Talleys broke up which lasted until December 2012 when Talley lost his singing voice due to prolonged vocal problems. On April 11, 2005, George Younce died, and on March 17, 2007, Roger Bennett died after a long bout with leukemia, and on February 17, 2008, Danny Koker died. The Cathedrals are still seen on reruns of old Homecoming videos, and their albums are still selling and are popular recordings, especially on vinyl. In 2007, shortly after Bennett's funeral, Danny Funderburk, Scott Fowler, Mark Trammell, and Gerald Wolfe joined with Legacy Five members Glenn Dustin & Tim Parton and started doing Cathedrals tribute concerts. They recorded a live album together at the National Quartet Convention in September 2009. Ernie Haase & Signature Sound also released a Cathedrals tribute project in 2010 called A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet.

Musicians

Albums