Blue Ridge Energy

If when I saw the Blue Ridge Quartet for the first time at the age of 7, I'd been asked to describe that performance using just one word, I might have used "energy."  So it was very fitting for me to be able to leave that concert with some "Blue Ridge Energy!" Just seeing Donnie Seabolt fly off the stage on the album cover brought back memories before even placing it on the turntable!

From the beginning steel guitar licks of Larry Orr on "You Can't Be A Beacon", to the last strain of Donnie Seabolt on "I Found Peace In The Old Rugged Cross", a first time or millionth time listener will feel the same energy I did that night 44 years ago in Eastern Pennsylvania. 

LaVerne Tripp contributes 3 songs he wrote to this timeless collection - "I Never Knew How It Felt (But I Know Now)", "Lord Please Come Back", and "I'm In Love With Jesus." Bill Crowe is smooth and steady on "Who", a song written by his mother Mabel. Donnie sings another of Mabel's songs "He'll Go With me Each Step Of The Way." Donnie also has three songs which he wrote - "He's A Good Man", "Happy", and "I'm Depending On Jesus." One can't forget Burl Strevel's testimony in the self-penned "It's Who You Know That Counts" - 

"All of my life I've heard people say IT'S WHO YOU KNOW THAT COUNTS. Over the years I've lived, I faced many problems, some of them I couldn't solve alone. Many times a friend would say 'I know a man that can help you.' Sometimes this man would be a stranger to me, perhaps a banker, a lawyer or a minister, or maybe even a friend that I hadn't thought of. But I got to know a Man that is all of things in one. He walks in front of me. He protects me. He leads me. He opens doors that I couldn't open. So, if it's really who you know that counts, let me introduce you to the top Man. His name is Jesus, the Son of the living God."

The remaining two songs are "One Day At A Time" and "That's The Man I'm Looking For." 

As Jan Cain says in her dedication on the back cover, "Like a beacon of light, "Blue Ridge Energy" will brighten the drab, soothe the broken-hearted, refresh the weary, energize the weak, and beam a path of light through the dark spots of life."

What is your favorite of the "Lucky 13" songs on this album?