After dinner the Kingdom Heirs hit the stage singing. The group consisted of Dennis Murphy on drums, Kreis French on bass guitar, Andy Stringfield on piano and singing baritone, Arthur Rice singing lead, Jeff Chapman singing bass and Jerry Martin on tenor. 2014 marked the 29th year the group had been singing at Dollywood. Prior to that they sang at the same location, which was called Silver Dollar City. In 1986, Dolly Parton became a part of the group that owned Silver Dollar City and they changed the name to Dollywood. The Kingdom Heirs perform two to three shows daily during the season. They sing to more folks each year than most other groups. The theme park gives them the opportunity to sing to folks that have never heard Southern Gospel music and minister to those that don’t know Jesus.
The Kingdom Heirs have recorded on the Sonlite label since 1986 and their latest CD Redeeming The Time has had three number-one releases. This is probably a record for a Southern Gospel group having that many number one songs on a single CD.
The Kingdom Heirs’ band is the recipient of six Singing News Fan Awards for Band of the Year. Each year the members of the group and the group itself always receive nominations for many awards. Their on-the-road journey will continue until March 21, 2015 when then return to Dollywood for their 30th season. The park also dedicates the month of October to Southern Gospel music having many of the major groups there performing during the month.
We were blessed with a great evening of Southern Gospel quartet singing from the Kingdom Heirs, and strongly suggest that Gospel music fans journey to hear this group while they are on the road. The quartet will be traveling in the Southeast and Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Virginia during their winter break. You can keep up with their schedule on their website. Www.kingdomheirs.comÂ
By Robert York
