I grew up listening to Rex Nelon, The Florida Boys, The Blackwood Brothers, Jane Keel, The Inspirations, The Gaithers and of course The Happy Goodmans, Id know this ladies voice anywhere, today...... Celebrating what would have been her 84th birthday today, Vestal Goodman was without doubt The Queen Of Southern Gospel for more than half a century. She is known both as a solo performer and as a founding member of official The Happy Goodman Family, the first was actually her husband and his brothers and sisters, one of the pioneering groups in southern Gospel. Vestal Goodman was the fourth of six children. She began singing in her home church. Her original intent was to study for the Metropolitan Opera, but being raised in church she felt compelled to sing Gospel music. She married Howard Goodman, a preacher nine years her senior, on November 7, 1949. They had a son Rick, and a daughter Vicki. He pastored churches and they sang for congregations across the country, and they, along with Howards two brothers Sam and Rusty, soon became known as The Happy Goodman Family, helping pave the way for Southern Gospel music during the 1960s. With the formation of Word Records in the early 1960s, Vestal and The Happy Goodman Family were the flagship artists signed to the company. In 1969, she won the first ever Female Vocalist of the Year Dove Award. As a natural step in her career, Vestal Goodman released her first solo album, Hallelujah! in 1971, from which came the well-known single, Itll All Be Over But the Shoutin. Vestal Goodman was honored repeatedly as The Queen of Southern Gospel Music and was one of the most beloved artists in the genre. The Happy Goodmans won multiple Grammy and Dove awards, charted 15 #1 hit songs including “I Wouldn’t Take Nothin’ For My Journey Now, and performed more than 3,500 concerts, including performing at the White House for President Jimmy Carter in 1979. Her title of “Queen of Southern Gospel Music was proclaimed in a wide array of magazines, from Rolling Stone, Billboard Magazine, Time, People, and The Singing News. She and Howard worked with many well-known musicians on the Gaither Homecoming music projects in the 1990s. Her autobiography was released in 1999, and she was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2004. The Happy Goodmans group was inducted in 1998. Dress worn by the late Vestal Goodman on display at the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame in Dollywood Theme Park. Vestal Goodman was known for her trademark handkerchief, which she held in her hand during virtually every performance, sometimes waving it over her head. Comedian/singer Mark Lowry used to joke, The anointings in the hanky, during their Gaither Homecoming concert appearances. Howard Goodman died on November 30, 2002, after the couple made a farewell recording and singing tour dubbed The Final Stand. Vestal Goodman died at the age 74 of complications from influenza while on Christmas vacation in Florida with her family. She died in the ambulance on the way to Celebration Hospital in Celebration, Florida. Her son Rick Rick said it was very appropriate for her passing that it would happen in a place called Celebration. Happy Birthday Vestal we know you are singing your heart out on the Banks Of Jordan and I have no doubt the song you are singing the loudest to is.......
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 18:40:01 +0000
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