National Quartet Convention
Encyclopedia
The National Quartet Convention (NQC) is an annual gathering of Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel music—at one time also known as "quartet music"—is music whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...

 quartets and musicians. It is currently held at Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall is a multipurpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky...

 on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center
Kentucky Exposition Center
The Kentucky Exposition Center , formerly Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center , is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States...

 in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

.

History

The first National Quartet Convention was held in 1957. J. D. Sumner
J. D. Sumner
John Daniel "J. D." Sumner was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and music promoter noted for his extremely deep bass voice, his use of the vocal technique known as vocal fry, and his associations with Elvis Presley....

, Cecil Blackwood and James Blackwood
James Blackwood
James Webre Blackwood was an American Gospel singer and one of the founding members of legendary Southern Gospel quartet The Blackwood Brothers.-Biography:...

 of The Blackwood Brothers
The Blackwood Brothers
The Blackwood Brothers Quartet are an eight-time Grammy award-winning American Southern Gospel group. They have been around for 76 years, and were pioneers in the Christian music industry.-Musical career:...

 were the founders of the famous National Quartet Convention formerly held in Memphis, Tennessee. The National Quartet Convention featured all the major gospel groups at a three-day event at the Ellis Auditorium
Ellis Auditorium
The Ellis Auditorium was a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. It hosted local sporting events and concerts. It was demolished in 1997....

 in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

. After breaking even the first couple of years, the NQC was moved to Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

 in 1959 and Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 in 1960. It returned to Memphis in 1961 and was drawing annual crowds of 20,000 by the mid-1960s. Sumner bought the convention in 1971 and moved it to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, where it remained until 1993. Since then, the convention has made its home in Louisville.

J. G. Whitfield
J. G. Whitfield
Jesse Gillis Whitfield , also known as J.G. or Whit, is a gospel musician, music promoter, and member of the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame.-Biography:...

 owned the convention from 1980-1982. A group of industry-member investors then bought the convention from Whitfield. A board of directors currently operates NQC.

2007 marked the 50th edition of the National Quartet Convention. NQC is still marketed and described in the words of its founder J. D. Sumner
J. D. Sumner
John Daniel "J. D." Sumner was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and music promoter noted for his extremely deep bass voice, his use of the vocal technique known as vocal fry, and his associations with Elvis Presley....

 as "the Granddaddy of them all".

Events

Over the years, the National Quartet Convention grew from three days of concerts to a six-day multi-purpose event. A main attraction at Louisville is the exhibit hall with approximately 500 booths where artists, record labels, CD duplication plants, media entities, booking agents, Christian bookstores, and other industry related organizations display their products and offer their services. The week is by largely attended by the older generation but lately due to the popularity of groups such as the Booth Brothers, Signature Sound, The Collingsworth Family and the Gaither Vocal Band, the fans are becoming younger. Fans have an ample opportunity to meet personally their favorite artists in the exhibit area.

A concert is held each evening in Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall is a multipurpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky...

, typically approaches sellout numbers for the weekend concerts. These concerts years past ran for approximately six hours but in 2009 they have shortened the evening to five hours, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and feature non-stop music from the major Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel music—at one time also known as "quartet music"—is music whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...

 artists spaced at 10-20 minute intervals. The Singing News
Singing News
The Singing News is an American magazine which focuses on the Southern Gospel music industry....

used to present the Fan Award on the Thursday night of the week but they are changing it to Saturday night in 2009. Afternoons are devoted to showcases, some for new talent and others for conceptual events. For example, a couple of popular showcases in recent years have been Mike Speck
Mike Speck
Mike Speck is a Gospel musician and ordained minister from Lebanon, Tennessee. Together with his wife, Faye, and daughter Melody VanNus, Speck tours with a Gospel music trio called the Mike Speck Trio. Speck has performed as a guest artist in ministries with Dr. Charles Stanley, Dr...

’s "Choral Music Extravaganza." and "Glorious Piano Extravaganza" featuring the best in southern gospel music piano players. These are usually the highlights of the afternoons. There is a talent competition during the week as well.

In addition to the events for the fans, industry members routinely schedule meetings and even recording sessions to coincide with the convention. Groups needing to replace a member make new contacts at NQC and sometimes conduct auditions during the week. Various business deals are made or renegotiated. Hoping to gain exposure, up and coming artists schedule showcases at nearby hotels. Record labels court radio and media by feeding them meals, taking them on riverboat cruises and facilitating access for interviews with the artists.

In the late 1990s, the convention added three additional events designed to take the Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel music—at one time also known as "quartet music"—is music whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...

 convention experience to regions distant from Louisville. These new events were the Great Western Convention in Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...

; the Canadian Quartet Convention in Red Deer, Alberta
Red Deer, Alberta
Red Deer is a city in Central Alberta, Canada. It is located near the midpoint of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor and is surrounded by Red Deer County. It is Alberta's third-most-populous city – after Calgary and Edmonton. The city is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

; and the Central Canada Gospel Quartet Convention in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, Canada. Within a few years, though, they had sold or abandoned those events in favor of focusing on the main event in Louisville.

Nomenclature of "Quartet"

The National Quartet Convention may be a factor in the sense development of the word "quartet" in Southern Gospel music. In music in general, "quartet" refers to any group of four vocalists singing four different parts simultaneously. In Southern Gospel music, the original definition of a quartet was an all-male group of four vocalists, each filling one of the four roles: first tenor, lead tenor (called "second tenor" in general music), baritone, and bass. The accompanist, as a rule, while in the group, is never referred as a "member" of the quartet. Since the inception of the NQC, the word "quartet" in Southern gospel has come to mean any (usually all male) group containing a bass vocalist and either four vocalists altogether with the accompanist. Although a departure from the root word of quartet meaning "four", the word is increasingly used to describe so-called "quartets of five". The Dove Brothers and Legacy Five
Legacy Five
Legacy Five is a Southern Gospel Quartet founded by former Cathedral Quartet members Roger Bennett and Scott Fowler after the owners of the Cathedral Quartet, Glen Payne and George Younce, decided to retire in 1999. Group members attribute their success to the changing face of gospel music and...

 are two examples of Southern gospel groups that have five members but are still referred to as quartets, with the fifth member an accompanist. The Singing News uses the term "traditional male quartet" to describe all-male quartets having a first tenor, a lead tenor, a baritone, a bass, and no other vocalists.

Noteworthy incidents at National Quartet Conventions

1965: James Blackwood sneezed into the bass microphone just before JD Sumner and the Stamps took the stage. When JD sang "Blessed Assurance", the audience laughed.

2005: Lauren Talley, Jason Crabb
Jason Crabb
Jason Crabb is the oldest of the Crabb sons and the lead male vocalist for the group The Crabb Family. His debut solo album, Jason Crabb, won a 2010 Grammy...

, and several other young Southern Gospel vocalists joined together to record an album called "The Torch". "The Race", a song from the album, was voted #1 on some local charts in late 2005.

2007: Ivan Parker
Ivan Parker
-Musical career:Ivan Parker was raised in Sanford, North Carolina, where his father was a pastor in a Pentecostal church. In 1982, Parker joined the Singing Americans, and in 1983 he became lead vocalist of the Dove Award-winning group the Gold City Quartet...

became the first soloist to take the Convention stage in 25 years.
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