It had to be back around 1989 or 1990 the first time I remember meeting Kirk. I'd heard the Cathedral Quartet sing "Step Into the Water" and gillion times, and thought the guy singing tenor was awesome. But I never really paid close attention to who was writing and who was singing back then unless it was somebody named Rambo.
Kirk and Roger are brothers. Debra is Roger's wife. When Kirk left the Cathedrals in 1983 Roger and Debra left the group they were singing with and put together a group called the Talleys. They worked as the opening act for a lot of the Cathedrals shows. This put them in front of lots and lots of people right off the new bat, and these were the most loyal of gospel music fans.
About six years later, after he heard our group perform at an awards show, Glen Payne of the Cathedral Quartet asked the group's booking agent to start scheduling our group, the Bishops, on as many of their dates as possible. The very first one was in Dayton, Ohio at the Memorial Hall. It was a big place with a real neat history in gospel music. All the biggies had sung here, and here we were on the bill with the Cathedrals and their warm-up act. I don't know if it ever occurred to me that we were there to be the warm up to the warm up. It didn't matter though. This was one of our first opportunities to play in the big leagues.
Two very distinct things I remember about that night. George Younce took it upon himself to mentor and teach us young'ns like we were his own children. We sat around his chair backstage and listened to years of wisdom until the building manager said time was up.
I also met Kirk Talley that night. Through his crazy life and mine we've remained dear friends. Only the honestly broken can really recognize others who are there or on the edge. That's why some never get it. They've never been broken honestly. (Ask me what the difference is.)
Today is Kirk's birthday. Twenty years of doing your thing has been good to you and wonderful for us. Happy birthday! I hope all of your surprises are really, really good ones.
1 comment:
I missed this post when you did it. Though I don't know him personally (I did shake his hand once or twice, as have many others, I'm sure), I have always thought a lot of his musical talents. I know some have been less than kind to him, and I've prayed many times for him, his heart, his life, his ministry. I can't seem to find out much about him lately, but I for one would like to let him know that people out here still trust him and believe in him.
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