Bill Lawrence
Bill Lawrence, who happens to be a great Bass singer was the perfect replacement for Tim Riley. Of course nobody wanted Tim to leave, but there had to come a day when he was going to retire. Nobody fits the bill better than Bill Lawrence. Daniel Riley informed me that he personally felt that Bill was the perfect replacement for his Dad vocally, and in fact Tim Riley hand picked Bill as his replacement.
Bill’s story somewhat different than most because he got started in Gospel Music a little later in life. Bill didn’t get saved until he was thirty years old, and he didn’t even know that there was such a thing as a bass singer until after he got saved. He has always had a very low voice and as a child of eight or ten years old, he was answering the phone at his Dad’s automotive store, and the customers were always astonished to find out that they had been talking to a youngster.
Bill's interest in Southern Gospel Music began a few years after he was saved and he sang with a local group for a while before joining the Kellys. He left the Kellys to join Brian Free and Assurance and stayed there for approximately three or four years. Bill’s wife had a terrible car wreck about three years ago during his time with BF&A and he felt the need to come off the road to be with his family. A short time after Bill left the road, God miraculously healed his wife, and she was able to go back to running his trucking company, which he still owns, and she still operates.
After a short time off the road, Bill noticed that he was unhappy not singing. As it would happen, Tim Riley talked to Bill about filling in for him because he needed knee surgery. It is a good thing that Bill started learning Gold City songs, because Tim decided to have that knee surgery sooner than expect, and Bill was pressed into duty.
It was not long after that when Tim asked Bill if he would be interested in filling in for him as he “transitioned” into retirement. Bill was interested, but knew that he had better be prepared, because Tim’s decisions had a history of happening sooner than later. Sure enough, history repeated itself, but Bill was ready once again.
Bill said that singing with the Kellys was a learning experience, and that joining Brian Free and Assurance took him to another level, but singing with Gold City has been like going to the top step of the ladder. Bill agreed with Steve that the crowds are different and that the Gold City crowds seem to be larger. He also says that there has been no pressure from either the crowds or the fellows in the quartet. Replacing Tim has produced no pressure at all, but has been a wonderful experience.
If you have kept up with Bill in the past you cannot help but notice that Bill has lost a lot of weight. In the last year Bill has lost over 90 pounds and is maintaining it well. When asked about what motivated him he replied that he had been having some chest pains and went to see a Doctor about them. They could not find anything wrong, but he thought that it would be a good idea to make sure that there wouldn’t be a problem in the future, so he started losing weight. Now his feet and knees don’t hurt and he can breathe better, so it was worth it. Life on the road is hard for maintaining weight. He stated that he seems to be gaining 2 to 3 pounds during the weekends, but loses it when he gets home.
Good things just seem to happen to Bill Lawrence and joining Gold City was just one more good thing. We think Gold City feels the same way!
Visit Bill and Gold City at http://www.goldcityqt.com
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[12] Comments
Thanks, Deon, for a great article about Bill. He is simply awesome & is doing a fabulous job for GC.
Written: 11/30/2004 
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