Bill & Gloria Gaither and Their Homecoming Friends - A Tribute To Jake Hess

Reviewed by Dave Brassington

Jake Hess was one of the true greats of Southern gospel male quartets, and this DVD reviews both his earlier life and the last few years which he spent as a performer with the Gaither Homecoming Friends. The basis of the DVD is from an interview Bill Gaither recorded with Jake in 1999, which provides some fascinating insights about the very popular Statesmen group and the Imperials which Jake founded and is commonly regarded as the first contemporary Christian group. Jake was a great singer and here is a very good selection from recordings Jake made in many different concerts he performed and recorded with the Gaithers. It is hard to pick a real favourite, but I did enjoy "That's Enough", "So Many Reasons" and "The Fourth Man" where the group Jake was singing with had a hilarious time on a number Jake originally recorded with the Statesmen which can be found on part of the bonus material. Having recently had the pleasure of visiting Memphis and also beginning to read a book about the early life of Elvis Presley, I had already discovered that Elvis was a real fan of the Statesmen and that Jake Hess was arguably his favourite singer and certainly one of his biggest musical influences. This comes out in the interviews with Bill on what is in my opinion a very good tribute DVD to one of gospel music's finest singers.