Musical Interlude

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.