Cathedral Quartet
The Cathedral Quartet, often known as simply The Cathedrals, was formed in 1964 by bass singer George Younce, lead singer Glen Payne, tenor Bobby Clark, and baritone Danny Koker. The tenor and baritone position changed often during the Cathedrals long career, but the two most stable versions are George, Glen, Danny Funderburk (tenor), and Mark Trammell (baritone) from 1983-1990, and George, Glen, Ernie Haase (tenor), and Scott Fowler (baritone) from 1990-1999. The Cathedrals were thought by many quartet fans to be the epitome of class during their peak of popularity from the 1980's until their retirement in 1999.
The early years
The Cathedrals began as a trio consisting of Glen Payne (formerly lead singer for The Weatherford Quartet), Bobby Clark, and Danny Koker. They were hired by evangelist Rex Humbard to be the house gospel group of The Cathedral of Tomorrow, taking the name 'The Cathedral Trio'. Within a year, they had become popular enough that Humbard wanted to expand the trio into a quartet. He enlisted bass singer George Younce, then singing with the Blue Ridge Quartet. The newly formed quartet became even more popular with the addition of George's smooth bass. Although performing at the Cathedral of Tomorrow was considered a dream job for a quartet, having a permanent base of operation and steady income, it would not last. Due to the demanding nature of the Humbard ministry, and his desire for the singers to also do counselling, George and Glen decided in 1969 that they should go out on their own instead because they felt they would damage the ministry by doing things outside of their calling. It was a risky move (especially since the group had replaced Koker and Clark who had gone on to other interests while the current group was not yet to the level of the original group). Also, they would now have to travel extensively while not being guaranteed a steady pay check. Their lack of name recognition, and the fact that many considered them a "church quartet" instead of a professional one, made it difficult for them to gain an audience base to start with. There were a lot of lean times in those first few years on their own.
Their being on the Canaanlabel and Marvin Norcross being willing to keep them even when their sales were not great, and Florida Boys lead singer, Les Beasley, giving them time on the Gospel Singing Jubilee TV show both helped give them time to develop their sound and a following. They still struggled and tried about everything they knew such as dressing in styles of the day (but not as dramatically as groups like the Oak Ridge Boys. They had more personnel changes along the way.
Another big "break" eventually came when they made an appearance at Bill Gaither's Praise Gathering in Indianapolis, IN, and shortly afterward, they were inundated with requests for appearances. Gaither also wanted to produce their future albums for Word.
They were popular with crowds due to their superior singing and they also owed much of their popularity to George and Glen's stage presence. George was a wonderful emcee, with a humble demeanor and a terrific sense of humor. Glen was usually the butt of George's jokes. In later years, George often made fun of Glen's age (Glen was two years older than George), calling him 'The Old Man' and using his catch phrase, "I love old people!"
When they thought things couldn't be much better, disaster struck in the late '70's. The three young guys (tenor Roy Tremble, baritone and bass player George Amon Webster, and pianist Lorne Matthews formed their own group after being convinced by a promoter that they were being held back by the "old men." To make matters worse, Glen heard a rumor about it before being told by the three guys, and found it to be true when he checked. It was tough, but many promoters told Glen and George to get a pianist and come anyhow. Soon they got Kirk Talley (from the Hoppers) to sing tenor and Steve Lee to sing baritone and play piano. Steve and Kirk heard a great piano player playing for a local group who was opening for the Cathedrals. They urged George and Glen to listen and after much pleading got them to. They too were blown away and hired him. Later, Steve Lee decided life on the road was not for him, so they hired Mark Trammell, bass guitarist and sometime vocalist from the Kingsmen to sing and eventually play bass for them. This group lasted for a while and became a very successful group with songs like "Step Into The Water", "Moving Up To Gloryland", "I Know A Man Who Can" etc. They eventually left Canaan (Word) and went to Riversong (Benson). They then first recorded Glen's signature song, "We Shall See Jesus."
The 1980s
After a while, Kirk Talley decided around in 1983 that he wanted to start a group with his brother Roger and Roger's wife Debra Talley. They toured with the Cathedrals for a while when they first started out. The Cathedrals hired Danny Funderburk from the Singing Americans to take his place. Danny and his genuine love for people was an instant hit, and when he found his place in the groups arrangements, he became much more so. This version of the Cathedrals with Funderburk along with George, Glen, Mark Trammell, and piano player Roger Bennett soon became the most popular they had ever been. The Cathedrals had finally reached the peak of their creativity and popularity. Funderburk had a distinctive voice that stood out from other tenors. He had soul, passion and pathos in his voice unlike other gospel tenors of the day who usually were often more thin and feminine sounding. His unique, powerful tenor voice was used to good effect on songs like "I Just Started Living" and "Somebody Touched Me" in which he had the lead. This lineup stayed in place for a few years when Roger Bennett decided to leave and help start a record company. He was replaced by Gerald Wolfe. With Wolfe at the piano and doing some singing, the group improved more and eventually recorded half of an album with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the other half of it acappella. Out of this came songs like "This Ole' House" and "Champion Of Love" (which had Gerald Wolfe on lead vocals. Combined with Mark Trammell's fine baritone and George and Glen's usual excellence, they were regularly reaching the top of the gospel charts, with #1 singles "Champion Of Love", "I Can See The Hand", and "I Just Started Living". During this period, they began doing more contemporary songs with larger production, while never leaving their simple "four-guys-and-a-piano" sound. From now until their retirement, The Cathedrals would balance their albums with a combination of styles. Other groups began copying The Cathedrals' use of taped music tracks on stage, which allowed them to do the larger-production style songs.
After being with the Cathedrals a couple of years or so, Gerald Wolfe moved on to a solo career. His replacement, Roger Bennett. Roger had missed the work on stage and was glad to be back. Within a year or two, Danny Funderburk left to start a solo career. After recording a cassette, he was tapped to sing tenor in a new group, Perfect Heart.
The 1990s and Gaither Homecoming years
After Funderburk left, the group hired a tenor, Kurt Young. Kurts sound was somewhat like Kirk Talley's, but he was not the high and loud type of tenor that they needed. After singing with them for a time probably less than half of a year, they hired Ernie Haase. Around a year after this (perhaps less) Mark Trammell left to form a trio with Gerald Wolfe. Upon recommendation by Ernie, the group hired Scott Fowler as baritone and bass guitarist. This was to be the last "official" version of the Cathedrals. Around this time, gospel songwriting legend Bill Gaither and his group, the Gaither Vocal Band, were recording a tribute album to classic Southern Gospel songs called 'Homecoming'. For one of the songs, "Where Could I Go", Gaither wanted to include as many of his childhood Southern Gospel heroes as possible. Among many others, George Younce and Glen Payne were among Gaither's little group of singers he called on to sing on the song. Out of this recording, the Gaither 'Homecoming' videos were born. At first, the whole group of Cathedrals were not included, just George and Glen. Several Homecoming videos later, the full Cathedrals were included, where they gained a whole new fan base. The Cathedrals soon became one of the most popular groups to be featured on the videos. George even starred in some of Gloria Gaither's children's Homecoming videos with Vestal Goodman (children wrote many fan letters to the Gaithers, and George Younce and Vestal Goodman were the favorites). George used his onstage clowning to good effect on these children's videos, riding a tandem bicycle with Vestal and singing fun songs like "The Laughing Song" and "Led Out Of Bondage", as well as a tender duet with young Madison Easter on "God Loves To Talk To Little Boys When Their Fishin'". The Cathedrals sang many of their classic songs on the Homecoming videos, as well as some of their new hits, like "Tryin' To Get A Glimpse" and "He Made A Change". Ernie Haase delivered a stirring rendition of the Rosie Rozell classic "Oh, What A Savior" which he had earlier recorded on a solo cassette and on his first CD with the Cathedrals as well. George sang one of his favorites, "Suppertime". Glen and Guy Penrod sang a classic version of "The Haven Of Rest". The Homecoming Friends gave a tribute to Glen Payne for 50 faithful years in gospel music.
The Cathedrals scaled back on traveling so they could last longer. They had had many successes over the years, but in addition to some of the struggles above, George had also had health problems off and on with his heart, and later his kidneys. Glen, on the other hand seemed healthy. And yet he got cancer and died fairly quickly a couple of months before they finished their farewell tour. Roger Bennett covered Glens vocals and they finished out the tour for the fans as well as the fact that Glen made George promise to meet their obligations. Glen and the younger guys had sung before without George a few times when he was ill, and George felt like he owed him and the fans. Instead of calling Glen the old man, George turned the old man jokes on himself. However, as well as they sang, and as good as they put on these shows, going on without Glen was tough. They did it the same way they always sang, with class.
Roger Bennett and Scott Fowler started a quartet called Legacy Five. Ernie went on to continue a solo career he had already been developing before he and George started The Old Friends Quartet with Jake Hess and Wesley Pritchard, with Gold City alumnus, Garry Jones as their pianist. After the old men were unable to travel, Garry Jones and Ernie started The Signature Sound Quartet. Mark Trammell eventually left Greater Vision and was hired as baritone of Gold City after lead singer Ivan Parker and tenor Brian Free both quit the group and their baritone Steve Lacey moved up to lead. After several years there, he quit and formed the Mark Trammell Trio so that he could preach as well as sing. Danny Funderburk has recorded solo recordings and had several groups since leaving Perfect Heart. Kirk Talley started a solo career after the Talleys broke up.
The Cathedrals' farewell
In 1999, George Younce was suffering from kidney failure, and his heart was too weak for a kidney transplant. He was put on dialysis, and was noticeably paler and thinner on the Gaither videos. George and Glen decided it was time for the Cathedrals to retire. They had decided to do a farewell tour of selected concerts, as George's health allowed. Bill Gaither wanted to do a Cathedrals Farewell Celebration video. The video is a great example of the Cathedrals stage style, and was highlighted by George's hilarious emcee job. They were joined on the video by The Statler Brothers, The Oak Ridge Boys, Sandi Patty, Guy Penrod, and Bill Gaither himself. In the late summer of 1999, Glen Payne was diagnosed with liver cancer. It was a shock to everyone, as George Younce's health was the reason the Cathedrals were retiring. Roger Bennett filled in as lead vocalist in Glen's absence. Glen was in Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, TN when the Cathedrals traveled to the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, KY. Much to the surprise of the audience, he made a special appearance, over the phone from his hospital room, with a stirring rendition of "I Won't Have To Cross Jordan Alone." It would be his last public performance, as he died almost two months later. The final Cathedrals concert was held where it all started for the group, in Akron, OH.
After the cathedrals
George recovered from his health problems enough to continue to appear on some more Homecoming videos, contributing a memorable version of the old Statesmen quartet song "Up Above My Head" with former Statesemen lead singer Jake Hess. Later George, Jake, Ernie Haase, and singer Wesley Pritchard formed "The Old Friends Quartet" with the help of Bill Gaither. They recorded two albums, and did a concert video for the Gaither Homecoming series. George and Jake's poor health brought an end to the Old Friends a couple of years later. In 2000, former Cathedrals Scott Fowler and Roger Bennett formed the popular traditional Southern Gospel group Legacy Five. In 2003, tenor singer Ernie Haase(with the help of George Younce) put together Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, one of the most popular new groups, and joined the Gaither Homecoming Tour as a featured quartet. After leaving The Cathedrals, Mark Trammell joined another legendary group, Gold City. He left Gold City in 2002 to form the Mark Trammell Trio. Gerald Wolfe formed and sings lead with Greater Vision. Kirk Talley, after leaving the Cathedrals, formed the Talley Trio, and now has a successful solo career. On April 11 2005, George Younce died. The Cathedrals are still seen on reruns of old Homecoming videos, and their albums are still selling. The Cathedral Quartet has left a rich legacy in Southern Gospel Music, and will not soon be forgotten.