The Hemphills "The Country Gospel Style Of Joel And Labreeska" (Canaan Records, 1967-?) (LP)
(Produced by Rusty Goodman, Marvin Norcross & Chuck Seitz)
This is one heck of a debut album, with LaBreeska Hemphill stepping out of the shadow of the Happy Goodman Family and her husband Joel emerging as a major southern gospel songwriter. Recorded at the RCA studios in Nashville, this makes judicious use of Nashville Sound production values, elegantly arranged with shimmering electric guitars and slick tones, along with an undercurrent of brisk, rollicking twang. All but three songs are credited to Joel Hemphill as composer, along with one by LaBreeska ("Life Evermore"), a song called "Led Out Of Bondage" (which is listed as a public domain tune here, but is credited elsewhere to Robert L. Prather) and a version of Rusty Goodman's gospel hit, "I Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey." Listening back to this lively set, you can see why the Hemphills became such popular songwriters and performers -- this is more vigorous and joyful than wide swaths of contemporary southern gospel... And for more country-oriented fans, they certainly had a lot to offer in the way of pure, undiluted twang. Recommended!
The Hemphills "In Gospel Country" (Canaan Records, 1968-?) (LP)
The Hemphills "Take Us Home With You" (Canaan Records, 1969-?) (LP)
This edition of the group included Joel Hemphill, LaBreeska Hemphill, Tim McKeithen, Dixie McKeithen, and Bill Tharp.
The Hemphills "Old Brush Arbor Days" (Canaan Records, 1970-?) (LP)
(Produced by Rusty Goodman)
Another solid set, one great song after another, though they are clearly edging into a more modern sensibility, mimicking various country styles and stars of the era, with a rock-solid band behind them. The album opens with the title track, an upbeat, gosh-heck nostalgia tune that sounds like something the Statler Brothers would record. Later on, Joel Hemphill adopts a more rugged, honkytonkin' tone, sounding quite a bit like George Jones, while Labreeska continues to channel the same rural forces as Loretta Lynn. Recorded at the Goodman Sound Studios in Madisonville, Kentucky, this features Joel and LaBreeska Hemphill on vocals, their twelve-year old son Joey joining the act as the band's drummer, and -- joy of joys! -- the liner notes also provide us with the names of the sidemen: the husband-wife duo of Dixie McKeithen (piano) and Tim McKeithen, (guitar), with David Robbins (steel guitar), and Bill Tharp on bass, providing a solid, no-nonsense country backdrop throughout. Only one song lapses into a hokey southern gospel mode, Joel Hemphill hamming it up on their own "No Disappointment In Jesus," in an arrangement that distracts from the countrified glory of the other tracks (even though the song itself is pretty darn good.) The liner notes by producer Rusty Goodman also reveal that Labreeska Hemphill was his niece(!) and mention the family leading a "wonderful congregation" at the Pentecostal Temple in Bastrop, Louisiana. Bet they had some great Sunday meetings!
The Hemphills "Make Mine Gospel" (Canaan Records, 1972-?) (LP)
The Hemphills "Sweet Zion's Song" (Canaan Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Rusty Goodman & Larry Maglinger)
The Hemphills "In Action" (Heart Warming Records, 1973-?) (LP)
The Hemphills "Ready To Leave" (Canaan Records, 1974-?) (LP)
The Hemphills "Sing The Glory Down" (Canaan Records, 1974-?) (LP)
The Hemphills "...One Live Family" (Heart Warming Records, 1975) (LP)
(produced by Phil Johnson)
A live double-LP concert album which captures a snapshot of the Hemphills (presumably) at the commercial peak, recorded at the Huguley Congregational Christian Church, in Lanette, Alabama... By now, dozens of the group's songs had made their way into the southern gospel canon -- and indeed twangfans sifting through the Record Hut quarter bins would do well to look for a "Hemphill" composer credit if in search of rootsier religious material. That being said, I have to admit that on this album the Hemphills may appear to have been victims of their own success, in a way. What I mean is that they seem to be straining to put on a big, ritzy, professional show, worthy of a 700 Club national audience, and even though they retain their rural roots, the posh presentation obscures the clarity and directness of their earlier style. This is still better than jillions of snoozier southern gospel records, though not as appealing as the earlier Hemphills albums. Guess it was a fine line to thread... The four album sides all contain single, disc-long tracks that include the music, applause and stage patter without providing any grooves between songs. Also, the ensemble is pretty large, with a half-dozen family members joined by Harold Timmons on piano and Bruce Watkins playing banjo, fiddle and guitars.
The Hemphills "Without A Doubt" (Heart Warming Records, 1976) (LP)
The Hemphills "In God's Sunshine" (Heart Warming Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Clark & Phil Johnson)
A pretty darn satisfying country gospel set, employing the best of contemporary 'Seventies pop-country twang, that bright, melodic style heard on the best Nashville records of the era. Of course, they had booked time with a bunch of Music City's best a-list artists, including pickers such as Doyle Grisham, Weldon Myrick, Hargus Robbins, Pete Wade, Bruce Watkins, and others. And they sure made the most of it... other than a few drippy would-be Contemporary Christian anthems showcasing daughter Cindy Hemphill, this set is pretty solidly full of cheerful, propulsive twang. Nice male lead vocals as well, sounding like a smooth but robust blend of Merle Haggard and George Jones. Plenty of original material, and sweet vocal harmonies. Recommended.
The Hemphills "Home Cookin' " (Heart Warming Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Joel Hemphill, Bob Clark, Brent King & Travis Turk)
Steadily moving towards a more pop-oriented production style, the Hemphills continue to showcase daughter Cindy Hemphill, who had a lovely voice, though also a tendency towards what I would consider pretty cheesy arrangements. She's not as mannered as on the albums that follow, but the group is clearly veering away from the rawer, rootsier sounds of their early years. There's plenty of overtly country-sounding stuff, to be sure, though it's tempered by the glossy, contemporary country-pop production of the era -- very professional sounding, though in more of a Gatlin Brothers/Statler Brothers mode. The Nashville studio crew seems to have drawn largely on the family's own road show, including Michael Allen on drums, Jerry Burnside (lead guitar), Joe Edwards (banjo and fiddle), Trent Hemphill (bass), Glen Paul (steel guitar), Gary Smith (piano) and string arrangements by Joe Huffman. The Hemphills continue their tradition as prolific composers: all of the songs are Hemphills originals, except for the album closer, "Beautiful Lights Along The Shore."
The Hemphills "Workin' " (Heart Warming Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Crutchfield & Bob Clark)
More up-to-date country arrangements, which is both a bad and a good thing. On the plus side, there's a lot of slick but sincere pop-country delivered in the late-'Seventies/early-'Eighties style, including several tunes that fans of, say, Don Williams might appreciate, as well as some jovial group vocals that may remind you of groups like The Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama. The downside is a persistent effort to tap into the drippier, more cloying Contemporary Christian genre, led in particular by the group's younger female vocalist, daughter Cindy Hemphill, who I found pretty annoying, particularly when she showboats and drowns out the other members of the band. (Her wailing vocals are even more irritating when held in contrast to her sweeter, more restrained harmonies on the syrupy but effective "Blow Ye The Trumpet.") The album is about evenly divided between these two styles -- if you wanted to separate out the twangier tunes, there's some fun stuff on here, but the slower, more unctuous pop tracks seem stuffy and joyless, at least to my ears. And as always, there's a wealth of original material from Joel Hemphill, further adding to the country gospel canon.
The Hemphills "Good Things" (Heart Warming Records, 1981) (LP)
The Hemphills "Louisiana Live" (Heart Warming Records, 1983) (LP)
The Hemphills "Together" (Heart Warming Records, 1984) (LP)
The Hemphills "Excited" (Heart Warming Records, 1985) (LP)
The Hemphills "I Can Smile" (Riversong Records, 1986) (LP)
The Hemphills "Revival" (Riversong Records, 1987) (cassette)
The Hemphills "Celebration" (Homeland Records, 1989) (cassette)
The Hemphills "Walking In The Light" (Trumpet Call Music, 2003)
The Hemphills, a gospel singing family band that started out with the husband-wife duo of Joel and Labreeska Hemphill (1940-2015), were core members of modern Southern Gospel scene of the 1960s and '70s. Like their contemporaries such as Bill Gaither, Laverne Tripp and the Rambos, the Hemphills are known as prolific songwriters, penning countless songs of praise that went straight into the white gospel canon. They started out as a duo, then expanded into a full band in the late 1960s... in the 'Seventies the Hemphills became true family band when they were joined by their children, notably Cindy Hemphill, who became a featured vocalist and also recorded some solo work. For country music twangfans, the Hemphills offer a peppy, distinctly countrified sound, an often bouncy, uptempo style and rough-edged, rural sincerity that clearly echoes the earnest fundamentalism of the Louvin Brothers. If you're skirting the edges of the old country-gospel scene, wary of the more "churchy" sounding artists, the Hemphills may have a few nuggets you'd enjoy. Here's a quick look at their work...
