Heed the Call is the 25th studio album by Christian music group The Imperials, released in 1979 on DaySpring Records.[2] The group won their third Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational for their album Heed the Call at the 22nd Grammy Awards[3] and were named Male Group of the Year at the 11th GMA Dove Awards.[4] The track "Praise the Lord" won Song of the Year the following year given to its writers Brown Bannister and Mike Hudson at the 12th GMA Dove Awards. The Imperials were the first group to have a number-one song ("Oh Buddha") on all three of the following charts: Contemporary, Inspirational, and Southern gospel. Heed the Call debuted and peaked at number 3 on Billboard magazine's inaugural Top Inspirational Albums chart on March 29, 1980.
| Heed the Call | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 1979 | |||
| Studio | Gold Mine Studio, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:02 | |||
| Label | DaySpring/Word Records | |||
| Producer | Chris Christian | |||
| The Imperials chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Overcomer" | James Hollihan, Jr. | 3:37 |
| 2. | "Praise the Lord" | Brown Bannister, Mike Hudson | 3:35 |
| 3. | "Oh Buddha" | Mark Farrow | 3:28 |
| 4. | "Old Man's Rubble" | B. Bannister | 3:15 |
| 5. | "Heed the Call" | Chris Christian, Paul Smith | 3:01 |
| 6. | "Let Jesus Do It" | Steven Ferguson | 3:27 |
| 7. | "Growing Stronger" | J. Hollihan, Jr. | 3:29 |
| 8. | "First Morning in Heaven" | C. Christian | 2:41 |
| 9. | "Whenever I Speak His Name" | Russ Taff, Tori Taff | 4:33 |
| 10. | "My Mind Forgets a Million Things" | B. Bannister, M. Hudson | 3:48 |
| 11. | "He Didn't Lift Us Up to Let Us Down" | Phil Johnson | 3:21 |
Personnel
editThe Imperials
- Russ Taff – lead vocals
- Jim Murray – tenor, vocals
- David Will – baritone, vocals
- Armond Morales – bass, vocals
Charts
edit| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Inspirational Albums (Billboard)[5] | 3 |
Radio singles
edit| Year | Singles | Peak positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCM AC[6] | |||
| 1979 | "Praise the Lord" | 2 | |
| 1979 | "Oh Buddha" | 1 | |
| 1979 | "Overcomer" | 15 | |
Accolades
edit| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Heed the Call | Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational |
- 1980 Male Group of the Year
References
edit- ^ The Imperials – Heed the Call at AllMusic
- ^ The Imperials: Heed the Call. DaySpring Records. 1979.
- ^ "22nd Annual Grammy Awards". February 27, 1980.
- ^ "Dove Awards Past Winners". Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ "Inspirational LPs" (PDF). Billboard. March 29, 1980. p. 42.
- ^ Brothers, Jeffrey Lee, ed. (2003). CCM Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 - 2001. AuthorHouse. p. 120. ISBN 1-4107-3294-0.