Bailey remembers. “I had never heard that style of singing before, and it captivated me. The group was anchored in those days by their matriarch and mother, Lela Epperson. You could feel it when she sang. “For the past 30 years, I have been blessed to work with the Singing Echoes many times. The current group is doing a wonderful job of carrying on the tradition. Lela and Max would be proud of their boys and grandchildren, continuing in their footsteps.” The original Epperson couple may no longer be here, but the group is still going strong and making their mark in gospel music.
said, ‘that’s not how I wrote it, but I like it.’ “The Inspirations were coming through Cleveland. I stopped them and gave them the album and a few weeks later. They released it, and it went No. 1 everywhere. Later in 1973, the Singing Echoes received a Grammy nomination for the recording and arrangement of ‘When I Wake Up to Sleep No More.’” The song is still noted for being the Inspirations’ and gospel music’s first No. 1 on national charts.
“Lynn is (our) long-time bass singer,” Gary says. “He has been nominated many times by a national gospel music magazine as one of the favorite bass singers in gospel music.” Lynn is also the original bass player and an ordained Baptist preacher. Debbie is still the piano player and is accomplished on other instruments as well.
Does it bother Gary that the Singing Echoes didn’t get that first number one? With their large repertoire of charting hits and group nominations, after five decades, this type of notoriety doesn’t seem to be something he cares about. “The Singing Echoes just want to sing the songs that uplift and bless their friends and fans, songs that get them to think how God has blessed them, songs that excite them for Jesus, songs that will convict and win the lost,” Gary shares. They have won lots of fans and friends with these songs and many remember their first experience with these engaging artists. Bill Bailey, pastor of Happy Gospel Church in Bradenton, Fla., has been a fan of the Singing Echoes for longer than he’s been promoting the Bill Bailey Concerts. “I was 16 years old at the Lakeland Civic Center in Lakeland, Fla., when I first heard the Singing Echoes,”
“She plays a mean organ, guitar, and bass,” Gary points out. “She has been nominated as one of the favorite piano players in gospel music, but she’s always been mine.” Gary and Debbie’s son, Joshua, started singing on stage when he was 8 years old, and Debbie taught him the harmony parts. Joshua now plays 17 different instruments and has opened his own recording studio, Brook-