Father of Deon Unthank Passes Away

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Charles William Unthank, father of Deon Unthank (SoGospelNews.com, Sunday Edition) passed away on Friday, December 4, 2009 at 6:10 p.m. EST. Charles (known as Bill to all who know him) peacefully passed into the arms of Jesus at the age of 88.
Deon Unthank said, “While my heart is very heavy right now with the loss of my Dad this weekend, I am evermore rejoicing. He has his mind back, he's no longer old and ailing, and most of all he has already met the Savior of his life face to face.”
Bill was an Army Ranger who fought bravely in World War II. He worked for 52 years as a master painter and paper-hanger. He was a member of the Church of God (Cleveland) where he faithfully served his Savior.
Bill is survived by his wife, Evadean and three children, Brenda (Harold) Downing, Deon (Susan) Unthank, and Chery (Gene) Gray. Bill led a blessed and devoted life to his family and faith. In addition to his three children, Bill was blessed with 10 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren through the course of his life.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 10, 2009 at Lakeview Memorial Funeral Home in Fairview Heights, Illinois from 4:00-8:00 p.m. The funeral will be on Friday, December 11, 2009 at the same funeral home at 10:00 a.m. Bill’s son-in-law, Bishop Harold Downing, will be officiating the service.
Cards and flowers are welcome and appreciated. The Unthank family appreciates your thoughts and prayers during this time.

Southern Tradition Signs with Homeland Entertainment

Nashville, Tennessee- Riversong Records (a division of Homeland Entertainment Group) announces the signing of one of the newest and most exciting quartets to come along recently to the Gospel Music scene: Southern Tradition. Southern Tradition is made up of Lead Ken Taylor, his brother Mark Taylor singing the baritone, Tenor Thomas Nalley, Bass Paul Allman and pianist Brandon Hooker. With their intricate harmonies, detailed arrangements and versatility, Southern Tradition is in a league all their own. These young men have a style that reflects the nostalgia of their predecessors on the classics as well as a modern day sound that is fresh and enlightening. Ken Taylor mentions "We feel that Southern Tradition joining the Homeland family is a winning combination. We admire the work that Homeland has accomplished with their new direction and are anticipating so many doors that God is getting ready to open as we team together for this new project". Homeland Director of A/R Eric Melton states " I am ecstatic to be working with such an outstanding quartet like Southern Tradition. What I admire about their style is the traditional old school quartet with a modern sway to their delivery. Their heart for ministry and their desire to showcase their God given talents sets them apart from your normal quartet. The opportunities will be unlimited for Southern Tradition." Southern Tradition has also recently signed an exclusive booking agreement with Love Song Talent Agency and will begin their new tour in early January. Riversong Records will begin work with Southern Tradition on this new recording in December with the award winning team of Gary Prim leading the tracking session and Michael Sykes producing the vocals. The project will release to the public on Tuesday February 8th 2010 with the first single releasing to radio in January. Be looking for future updates on this and the exciting debut of Southern Tradition by going to http://www.homelandentertainmentgroup.com/ or http://www.southerntraditiononline.com/ where you will find sample clips of their music.

New Day Christian Distributors Celebrate Grammy Nominations

New Day Christian Distributors Celebrates As Exclusive Artists Receive GRAMMY® Nominations
Hendersonville, Tenn. (December 4, 2009) – New Day Christian Distributors is honored to announce that two of their exclusively distributed artists received GRAMMY® nominations during the GRAMMY® Nominations Concert Live: Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night, held Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Calif. Tracy Lawrence and Triumphant Quartet both received nominations for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album.
Country singer Tracy Lawrence’s debut inspirational release, The Rock, produced by Tracy Lawrence and Julian King, was nominated, along with Daywind Records’ artist, Triumphant Quartet’s album, Everyday. Everyday was produced by Wayne Haun and associate producer, Jeff Stice. The Rock is distributed exclusively to the CBA marketplace through New Day, and Everyday is exclusively distributed to all retail and online Christian music outlets by the company. New Day also distributes (on a non-exclusive basis) additional Gospel nominees, including Third Day, Jeremy Camp, Francesca Battistelli, Jason Crabb, Donald Lawrence, and more.
The 52nd Annual GRAMMY® Awards will be held on "GRAMMY® Sunday," Jan. 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live in high definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).
For more information on Tracy Lawrence, visit tracylawrence.com. For more on Triumphant Quartet, visit triumphantquartet.com.
New Day Christian Distributors, Inc. has been a thriving business for 29 years. The company distributes music, books, bibles, and family-friendly DVDs and gifts worldwide. Retailers can learn more about New Day at newdaychristian.com.

Isreal Houghton and Mary Mary Nominated for Grammy Awards

2010 Shaping Up To Be a Year of Recognition for The Power of One and The Sound with GRAMMY Noms Added to Previously Announced Stellar Award Nominations MOBILE, Ala. – Dec. 3, 2009 – Integrity Music artists Israel Houghton and Mary Mary were among the nominees announced last night for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. Israel Houghton received two GRAMMY nominations. “Every Prayer,” from Houghton’s critically acclaimed The Power of One, earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Gospel Song. The Best Gospel Song category recognizes the songwriters which for this song include Houghton, Dayna Caddell, Aaron Lindsey and Ricardo Sanchez, songwriters. Fellow labelmates and also Grammy nominees Mary Mary appear on the recording of “Every Prayer.”
Houghton’s second GRAMMY nomination is for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album for The Power of One. Houghton has two GRAMMY Awards to his credit. Recent American Music Award winners Mary Mary are also nominated for Best Gospel Song for their hit song “God In Me.” The nominees for “God In Me” are Mary Mary (Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell) and Warryn Campbell. “God In Me,” is on the duo’s current hit album The Sound. The Columbia Records and Integrity Music distributed Mary Mary has previously won two GRAMMYs. The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on "GRAMMY Sunday," Jan. 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). Prior to the GRAMMYs, the music awards season kicks off with the 25th Annual Stellar Awards where Hougthon has three nominations and Mary Mary has four nominations. Follow the artists on Twitter: @israelnewbreed, @therealmarymary and @integritymusic.

Triumphant Quartet Receives Grammy Nomination

Triumphant Quartet Receives GRAMMY® Nomination
Hendersonville, Tenn. (December 3, 2009) – During the GRAMMY® Nominations Concert Live: Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night, held last night in Los Angeles, Calif., the Recording Academy® announced the nominees for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY® Awards. Daywind Records’ artist, Triumphant Quartet received the nomination for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album, for their recent release, Everyday.
The recording was produced and arranged by award-winning producer, Wayne Haun. Triumphant Quartet’s pianist, Jeff Stice, was associate producer on the album. This nomination comes on the heels of Southern Gospel music fans voting the group Quartet Of The Year at the annual Singing News Fan Awards, held in Louisville, Ken.
Triumphant Quartet’s Eric Bennett shared how the group is feeling about the nomination. “We are amazed and honored. We constantly stand in awe of the ways God moves in our ministry. If this nomination will help further our opportunities to tell people about the goodness of God, it is a tremendous gift. We thank the members of the Recording Academy® and all of the people who are a part of helping Triumphant Quartet to reach people through this music.”
The 52nd Annual GRAMMY® Awards will be held on "GRAMMY® Sunday," Jan. 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live in high definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).
Daywind Records is based in Hendersonville, Tenn., and is distributed worldwide through New Day Christian Distributors. Everyday can also be found at Christian retailers everywhere and on iTunes. In addition to Triumphant Quartet, Daywind is home to many other great artists such as Karen Peck & New River and the Booth Brothers, among others.
For more information on Triumphant Quartet, visit triumphantquartet.com. For more information on Daywind Records, visit daywindrecords.com.