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The Inspirations

Friday, June 22, 2012
7:00PM - 9:00PM

The Inspirations not only launched a phenomenon in gospel music that is still making history almost 50 years later, but they set a unique standard of presentation and character that remains today.

Gospel music saw much change during the decade of the 1960s. Television brought gospel music before new audiences, with programs such as the Gospel Singing Caravan, Bob Poole's Gospel Favorites, Singing Time In Dixie, and the Gospel Singing Jubilee. Longtime names such as the Harmoneers, Sunshine Boys, and Homeland Harmony entered into either full-fledged or semi-retirement, and new groups such as the Cathedrals, Imperials, Downings, and Dixie Echoes were formed. The Happy Goodmans and Kingsmen emerged from recent obscurity and joined the elite among full-time gospel groups. But when Jake Hess was once asked what probably changed gospel music the most during this period, he responded with, "It changed when those boys from Bryson City came along."

The Inspirations have continued t