She was the queen of Southern Gospel music. If you said her first name, no one asked to whom you were referring. I once heard her tell a story about her voice. Her dream had been to sing in the Metropolitan Opera. She had trained as a soprano, but her voice did not carry well without amplification. One night the group was to sing in a venue where the sound system was not functioning or non-existent. She was concerned as she had solos which she doubted the crowd would be able to hear. Still, she trusted the Lord, stepped out on stage, and out came this:
I had trouble deciding on versions. I finally settled on this one despite the bootleg sound quality because this is Vestal as I remember her. It got extra points for the suborbital hairdo.
Here's another version from a television program. She was probably heading for the deer stand right after the performance.
And then the Gaither version -- not long before her passing in 2003.
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4 comments:
Thanks, Mushroom.
Wonderful song and wonderfully sung.
Never knew it. There are some parts in there when she is looking up that remind me of when Stevie Ray Vaughn puts the guitar behind his back -- and it's not a guitar anymore. And he's not there anymore. He could be holding a stick for all he knows. I don't know how he gets the sound he gets. Since we're on the subject of Communion lately, these parts I'm talking about qualify in my opinion. And why she is moved to tears.
I don't know if Vestal was aware of SRV. I hadn't thought of it until you mentioned that -- they do have a lot in common.
Lol!
Clearly, all that energy and buzz comes from the beehive.
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