The Kingsmen Quartet

The Kingsmen Quartet (better known as The Kingsmen) is an American Southern gospel vocal quartet.

The Kingsmen
Also known as	Carolina Boys (2001–04)
Origin	Asheville, North Carolina
Genres	Southern gospel
Years active	1956–present
Labels	Stars Records Piedmont Records Skylite Records Mark V Records QCA Records Chime Records Kingsmen Colonial Records Heavy Weight Records Supreme Records Canaan Records Heart Warming Records Riversong Records Horizon Records
Members	Ray Dean Reese Alan Kendall Brandon Reese Thomas Nalley Cole Watson Brady Jones
Past members	see Lineups section below
Website	kingsmenquartet.com

Musical career and awards

The Kingsmen are a Southern Gospel vocal quartet based out of Asheville, North Carolina. Many singers of Southern Gospel including Jim Hamill, Squire Parsons, Anthony Burger, Mark Trammell, and others have been members of The Kingsmen. The group was most well known in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s for their live concert recordings and band.

GMA Dove Awards

• Album of the Year – Big and Live (1974)
• Album of the Year – Chattanooga Live (1978)
• Southern Gospel Album of the Year – From Out of the Past (1980)

Singing News Fan Awards

• Favorite Group (1980, 1985)
• Favorite Traditional Male Quartet (1981)
• Favorite Horizon Group (2002, as Carolina Boys)
• Favorite Lead: Jim Hamill (1974, 1975, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985)
• Favorite Male Singer: Jim Hamill (1981, 1984, 1985)
• Favorite Tenor: Johnny Parrack (1976), Ernie Phillips (1980, 1981)
• Favorite Bass: Ray Dean Reese (1979, 1985)
• Favorite Baritone: Wayne Maynard (1981), Parker Jonathan (1992, 1993)
• Favorite Band (1978, 1981 to 1984, 1986 to 1997)
• Favorite Musician: Anthony Burger (1980 to 1989)
• Favorite Musician (non-pianist): Tim Surrett (2004, 2005)
• Favorite Horizon Individual: Bryan Hutson (1997)
• Song of the Year: "Sweet Beulah Land" (1981), "Wish You Were Here" (1992)
• Album of the Year: Wish You Were Here (1992)

Other

• BMI Radio Airplay Award, “Oh Yes I Am” (2016)
• BMI Radio Airplay Award, “Battle Cry” (2017)
• Gospel Music Hall of Fame (Inducted in 2000)
• Christian Music Hall of Fame (inducted in 2007)
• Southern Gospel Hall of Fame
  • Eldridge Fox, inducted in 1998
  • Jim Hamill, inducted in 2004
  • Anthony Burger, inducted in 2007
  • Ray Dean Reese, inducted in 2008
  • Squire Parsons, inducted in 2008
  • Mark Trammell, inducted in 2018
  • Ernie Phillips, inducted in 2019
  • Arthur Rice, inducted in 2022

Lineups

1956–1957 (Under the Name "The Kingsmen Quartet")	first half 1957	last half 1957
Charles Collier – tenor Everett McKinney – lead (departed after a few weeks) Louis McKinney - lead (replaced Everett) Raymond McKinney – baritone Reese McKinney – bass Charlie Matthews – piano	Charles Collier – tenor Louis McKinney – lead Harold Bailey (sang for several months while Raymond McKinney was in military service) – baritone Reese McKinney – bass David Young – piano	Louis McKinney – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Raymond McKinney – baritone Reese McKinney – bass Martin Cook – piano
1957-1958	early-mid 1959	late 1959
Jack Henderson - tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Raymond McKinney – baritone Reese McKinney – bass Eldridge Fox – piano	Jack Henderson – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Raymond McKinney – baritone Reese McKinney – bass James Ward – piano	Jack Henderson – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Raymond McKinney – baritone Reese McKinney – bass Eldridge Fox – piano
1960-1964	1964-1965	1965-1966
Jack Henderson – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Raymond McKinney – baritone Reese McKinney – bass Ray Talley – piano	Jack Henderson – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Raymond McKinney – baritone Calvin Runion – bass Ray Talley – piano	Jack Henderson – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Raymond McKinney – baritone Calvin Runion – bass Eldridge Fox – piano
1966	1967	Late 1967-mid 1968
Jack Henderson – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone & piano Calvin Runion – bass	Kermit Jamerson – tenor (during late 1966-early 1967, replaced by Jerry Redd, then returning in late 1967) Jerry Redd - tenor (briefly during mid 1967, after which Jamerson returned to the group) Frank Cutshall – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone Calvin Runion – bass Ray Talley – piano	Kermit Jamerson – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Ray Talley – piano
1968-1969	1970	early 1971
Kermit Jamerson – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone Calvin Runion – bass Ray Talley – piano Tommy Hensley – bass guitar (added in 1969)	Jerry Redd – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone Jim McCallister – bass Ray Talley – piano	Jerry Redd – tenor Frank Cutshall – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone & piano Ray Dean Reese – bass John Broome – bass guitar Leonard Hollifield – guitar
Spring-Summer 1971	Summer-late 1971	late 1971-1973
Jerry Redd – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone & piano Ray Dean Reese – bass John Broome – bass guitar Leonard Hollifield - guitar	Jerry Redd – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Charles Abee – piano John Broome – bass guitar Leonard Hollifield - guitar	Johnny Parrack – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Charles Abee – piano Jim McCauley – bass guitar John Broome - drums Leonard Hollifield – guitar Eddie Trent – steel guitar
1973–1975	1975–1976	1976–1977
Johnny Parrack – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Nick Bruno – piano Jim McCauley – bass guitar John Broome – drums (1974) Chester Arms – drums Gary Dillard – steel guitar (1974)	Johnny Parrack – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Squire Parsons – baritone Eldridge Fox – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Nick Bruno – piano Jim McCauley – bass guitar Chester Arms – drums Gary Dillard – steel guitar	Johnny Parrack – tenor (leaves group January 1977) Jim Hamill – lead (departs July, 1976 to join the Senators quartet; rejoins January, 1977) Squire Parsons – baritone, lead (switches to lead after Hamill leaves the group to sing lead with the Senators quartet) Eldridge Fox – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Nick Bruno – piano Jim McCauley – bass guitar Bob Conley – guitar (1976) Gary Dillard – steel guitar
1977–1978	1978–1979	1979
Ernie Phillips – tenor (joins group mid-January 1977) Jim Hamill – lead Squire Parsons – baritone Eldridge Fox – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Nick Bruno – piano (departs late July 1978) Jim McCauley – bass guitar Greg Fox – drums (debuts late July 1977) Gary Dillard – steel guitar	Ernie Phillips – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Squire Parsons – baritone (leaves group June, 1979) Eldridge Fox – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Anthony Burger – piano (debuts August 1978) Mark Trammell – bass guitar, lead singer (debuts October 1978) Gary Dillard – steel guitar, dobro, harmonica and banjo Greg Fox – drums	Ernie Phillips – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Eldridge Fox – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Anthony Burger – piano Mark Trammell – bass guitar, lead, baritone Greg Fox – drums Gary Dillard – steel guitar, dobro, harmonica and banjo
1979–1980	1980–1983	1983–1984
Ernie Phillips – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Mark Trammell – lead, baritone, bass guitar (departs late March 1980 to join The Cathedral Quartet) Wayne Maynard – baritone (debuts late 1979) Eldridge Fox – baritone (Fox scales back his singing - appearing at select concerts and doing on average one song per album - to focus on the business side of the group from here on out until health issues end his performing career in the late 1990s.) Ray Dean Reese – bass Anthony Burger – piano Otis Lynn Dillon – bass guitar (1979) Greg Fox – drums Gary Dillard – steel guitar, dobro, harmonica, and banjo (leaves group mid June, 1980)	Ernie Phillips – tenor (departs November 1, 1983) Jim Hamill – lead Wayne Maynard – baritone (switches to lead & bass guitar February 1982) Ed Crawford – bass guitar (debuts September, 1981; switches to baritone February 1982) Ray Dean Reese – bass Anthony Burger – piano Sam Crowe – steel guitar, lead guitar, harmonica, banjo and dobro (Joins late June, 1980; departs late April,1983 Jim McCauley – bass guitar (rejoins April,1980; departs late August, 1981) Greg Fox – drums Gary Dillard – steel guitar, banjo, dobro, harmonica (rejoins May, 1983)	Garry Sheppard – tenor (debuts November 1983) Jim Hamill – lead Wayne Maynard – lead, bass guitar (departs late April 1984) Ed Crawford – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Anthony Burger – piano Greg Fox – drums Gary Dillard – steel guitar, banjo, dobro, harmonica
1984–1988	1988–1989	1989–1993
Garry Sheppard – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Arthur Rice – lead, bass guitar (debuts May 1984) Ed Crawford – baritone (departs July 1988) Ray Dean Reese – bass Anthony Burger – piano Greg Fox – drums Gary Dillard – steel guitar, banjo, dobro and harmonica	Garry Sheppard – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Arthur Rice – lead, baritone, bass guitar (becomes baritone when Ed Crawford leaves. Rice departs in April 1989) Eldridge Fox – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Anthony Burger – piano Greg Fox – drums Gary Dillard – steel guitar, dobro, harmonica and banjo Tim Surrett - baritone, bass guitar (debuted with group in March 1989 and split some concerts at baritone with Eldridge Fox, who was recovering from a heart attack, until the hiring of Parker Jonathan in September 1989.)	Garry Sheppard – tenor (departs late July 1993) Jim Hamill – lead Parker Jonathan – baritone (debuts September, 1989) Ray Dean Reese – bass Anthony Burger – piano (left group March 1993) Tim Surrett – lead singer, baritone, bass guitar (first date was March 1989) Gary Dillard - steel guitar, dobro, banjo and harmonica (left group in 1991) Greg Fox – drums
1993–1995	1995–1996	1996–1997
Chris Collins – tenor (debuts August 1993) Jim Hamill - lead Tim Surrett – lead, bass guitar Parker Jonathan – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Randy Matthews – piano Greg Fox – drums Randy Miller – guitar	Chris Collins – tenor Jim Hamill – lead Tim Surrett – lead, bass guitar (departs March 1996) Parker Jonathan – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Randy Matthews – piano Rory Rigdon – drums, bass guitar Greg Fox – drums Randy Miller – guitar	Chris Collins – tenor Jim Hamill – lead (departs in September 1996) Bryan Hutson – baritone, lead (joins April, 1996) Parker Jonathan – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Tim Lovelace – piano Rory Rigdon – bass guitar Greg Fox – drums Randy Miller – guitar
1997–1998	1998–2001	2001–2002 (Under the Name "Carolina Boys")
Chris Collins – tenor Bryan Hutson – lead Parker Jonathan – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Andrew Ishee – piano Rory Rigdon – bass guitar (departs in 1997) Greg Fox – drums Randy Miller – guitar	Jerry A. Martin – tenor Bryan Hutson – lead Jason Selph – lead, baritone, bass guitar (debuts April 1999. He sings baritone for underneath you are the everlasting arms only until 2001) Parker Jonathan – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Andrew Ishee – piano (He sings vocals for he gave me the well only until 2001. departs September 2001) Colby McClatchey – bass guitar (1998) Randy Miller – guitar, vocal (departs in 1999) Greg Fox – drums (comes off the road in 1999 to handle the business side of the group as his father's health continued to decline. Still plays select dates and sings lead for one song per album until 2001) Brandon Reese – drums (1999)	Jerry A. Martin – tenor Randy Crawford – lead (Crawford is the final lead singer prior to the Kingsmen's name retirement, joining the group in mid-2001 after the departure of Bryan Hutson) Parker Jonathan – baritone (departs mid July 2002) Ray Dean Reese – bass Nick Succi – piano (debuts September 2001 right after the Kingsmen name retirement) Brandon Reese – drums Jason Selph – bass guitar, vocal
2002–2003	2003–2004	2004–2005 (Under the Name "The Kingsmen")
Derrick Boyd – tenor Randy Crawford – lead Tim Surrett – baritone, guitar Jason Selph – baritone, bass guitar Ray Dean Reese – bass Nick Succi – piano Brandon Reese – drums	Derrick Boyd (is the only group member from the Carolina Boys era to never perform under the Kingsmen banner) – tenor Tim Surrett – lead, guitar Jason Selph – baritone, bass guitar Ray Dean Reese – bass Nick Succi – piano Brandon Reese – drums	Jeremy Peace – tenor Phillip Hughes – lead Tim Surrett – baritone Jason Selph – baritone, bass guitar Ray Dean Reese – bass Nick Succi – piano Brandon Reese – drums
2005–2007	2007–2008	2008–2009
Jeremy Peace – tenor Phillip Hughes – lead Jason Selph – lead, bass guitar Tony Peace – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Nick Succi – piano Brandon Reese – drums	Harold Reed – tenor Phillip Hughes – lead, baritone Bryan Hutson – lead, baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Nick Succi – piano Brandon Reese – drums Grant Barker – bass guitar	Harold Reed – tenor Phillip Hughes – lead Bryan Hutson – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Brandon Reese – sound system
2009–2010	2010–2011	2011–2012
Harold Reed – tenor Phillip Hughes – lead Bryan Hutson – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Cody McVey – piano Brandon Reese – sound system	Harold Reed – tenor Bryan Hutson – lead, baritone Randy Crawford – lead, baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Cody McVey – piano Brandon Reese – sound system	Ernie Phillips – tenor Bob Sellers – lead, baritone Randy Crawford – lead, baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Brandon Reese – sound system
2012–2016	2016	2016–2017
Chris Jenkins – tenor Bob Sellers – lead, baritone Randy Crawford – lead, baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Brandon Reese – sound system	Ernie Phillips – tenor Bob Sellers – lead, baritone Randy Crawford – lead, baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Brandon Reese – sound system	Josh Horrell – tenor Bob Sellers – lead, baritone Randy Crawford – lead, baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Brandon Reese – sound system
2017–2018	2018-2022	November 2022-December 2023
Chris Jenkins – tenor Bob Sellers – lead Randy Crawford – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Justin Nehrkorn – piano Brandon Reese – sound system	Chris Jenkins – tenor (departs October 2022) Chris Bryant – lead (departs July 2022) Alan Kendall – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Brandon Reese - sound system	Thomas Nalley – tenor Cole Watson – lead Alan Kendall – baritone Ray Dean Reese – bass Drew Laney - bass (begins sharing bass duties with Reese in September 2022, resigns November 2023 but stays on road until early December) Brandon Reese - sound system

January, 2024–present
Thomas Nalley-tenor Cole Watson-lead Alan Kendall-baritone Brady Jones-bass Ray Dean Reese-bass Brandon Reese-sound system

Discography

• 1956 Single: If Everybody Prays/This World’s Gonna Bow to the King of Kings
• 1959 EP: House of Gold/Till I Found God/New Jerusalem/This is a Mean World
• 1960 What Love
• 1961 New Jerusalem
• 1962 Closer to Thee
• 1963 That Kingsmen Sound
• 1964 From the Land of the Sky
• 1965 A Visit with the Kingsmen
• 1966 Carolina's Favorite Quartet
• 1966 Songs and Spirituals
• 1967 Sing Out!
• 1968 Kingsmen Kountry
• 1968 Daddy Sang Bass
• 1968 Crown Him King
• 1969 Try a Little Kindness
• 1969 Standing Room Only
• 1970 The Kingsmen
• 1971 Then and Now
• 1971 Suddenly There's a Valley
• 1971 America's Favorite Hymns
• 1971 Presented by Colonial Mobile Homes
• 1972 May Day
• 1972 Turn Your Radio On
• 1972 It's Time to Ring the Bell
• 1972 Johnny Parrack Out Front
• 1972 Hymn Time in the Country
• 1973 High and Low: Johnny Parrack and Ray Dean Reese
• 1973 Sing a Lot of Gospel
• 1973 Reverend Everett Beverly and Anna Laura
• 1973 Just Plain Singin'
• 1973 Just As the Sun Went Down (same album as above)
• 1973 Big and Live
• 1974 1686 lbs. of Gospel
• 1975 Jubiliation
• 1975 The Old and the New: Jim Hamill and Squire Parsons
• 1975 24 Carat Gospel
• 1976 It Made News In Heaven
• 1976 Just In Time
• 1976 Golden Gospel
• 1977 Just a Little Closer Home
• 1977 Chattanooga Live
• 1978 The Upper Window
• 1979 From Out of the Past
• 1980 Ring the Bells of Freedom
• 1981 Live...Naturally
• 1982 Your Ride Is on the Way
• 1982 With Grady Nutt
• 1983 Live from the University of Alabama
• 1984 Kingsmen Silver (compilation album with two original featuring Garry Sheppard)
• 1984 The Game of Life
• 1985 Better in Person
• 1986 Stand Up at Opryland USA
• 1987 Mississippi Live
• 1988 Anchors Aweigh
• 1989 The Judgement (released on cd as "The Kingsmen")
• 1990 Live in Dayton
• 1991 Wish You Were Here
• 1992 Singin' in the Sun Live
• 1992 Walking with Jesus
• 1992 Singing News Hits
• 1992 Living by Faith
• 1993 27 Great Gospel Songs
• 1993 New Life
• 1993 Kingsmen Band
• 1994 Ridin' High
• 1994 Live from the Alabama Theatre
• 1994 A Kingsmen Christmas
• 1994 30 Great Gospel Songs
• 1995 Georgia Live
• 1996 40th Anniversary Reunion: Perfecting the Crown
• 1996 Beyond the Clouds
• 1997 You're Not Alone
• 1997 Southern Classics Volume 1
• 1997 Kingsmen Standards Volume 1
• 1998 The Old Time Way
• 1998 Kingsmen Standards Volume 2
• 1999 Southern Classics Volume 2
• 1999 Shelter
• 1999 Not Quite as Big, But Just as Live
• 2000 Proven Time and Again
• 2001 I Will
• 2001 Honoring the Heritage 1 (as Carolina Boys)
• 2002 Good News! (as Carolina Boys)
• 2003 Ready (as Carolina Boys)
• 2004 Born Again
• 2005 My Past Is Past
• 2006 Good, Good God
• 2007 I'll Not Turn Back-Live
• 2007 Honoring the Heritage 2 - Live
• 2008 When God Ran
• 2009 Missing People
• 2010 Honoring the Heritage 3
• 2010 Live Performances from the National Quartet Convention
• 2011 Grace Says
• 2012 Once Again
• 2013 Front Row Live
• 2014 Battle Cry
• 2016 Classic Live Performances
• 2017 They Don't Know
• 2019 Victory Shout
• 2020 40th Anniversary Reunion: Live, Extended, Remixed, Remastered
• 2021 More to the Story
• 2022 ‘Tis the Reason
• 2023 Decades, Volumes 1 & 2
• 2024 Unstoppable God

External links and references

• The Official Kingsmen Quartet web site
• Southern Gospel Music history: Kingsmen Quartet
• Illustrated discography