This month, I’d like to take a look at a most renowned gospel group that achieved such recognition in the southern gospel genre that they are frequently among the first ones thought of when anyone mentions “southern gospel music” in conversation.

So from rural northeast Alabama to worldwide fame via recordings and television, here is a look at the “Happy” Goodman Family, one of the most popular and enduring artists of the 1960s and 1970s.

The story begins with the birth of Howard Goodman in 1921 to a very close knit Christian family. Church and music were two essential ingredients of Howard’s life, and he learned to play and sing gospel music early on. The Goodmans were a large family, and as they grew in number, Howard taught each of his siblings to sing and play musical instruments.

Early on, Howard pursued evangelism as a calling, but as his brothers and sisters grew older, the notion of forming a family singing group became more evident in Howard’s mind. Eventually all eight Goodman children would be in the family group, Howard, his sisters Gussie Mae, Stella, Eloise, and Ruth, along with brothers Sam, Charles(better known as “Rusty”), and Bob formed the original “Happy” Goodman Family.

Howard’s smiling, cheerful disposition earned him the nickname “Happy” Howard early on, and eventually that nickname was applied to the entire family aggregation. From the beginning, their style was distinctive, with Howard flailing his arms up and down while playing the piano, and others in the group playing various string instruments, they had a unique, infectious sound while singing gospel songs they all loved.

Like many groups of that postwar period, they sang everywhere they could…at churches, street corners, tent meetings, and on the radio. Eventually, they got a television program of their own in Asheville, NC.

They even made a few 78 RPM records for the Bullet label(which had recorded the Speer Family in the 1940s), but at that time, the group was not well-known on record.

Eventually, life began to interfere with the career of the Goodman Family…the girls would all get married one by one, and start lives and families of their own. Rusty would go into the service as well, and Bob would play for some rock and roll bands(a new phenomenon in those days!), and drive trucks as well.

Howard would find the love of his life during that time as well, a girl with a powerful voice who just happened to be the sister of a well-known gospel quartet singer. Vestal Freeman, whose brother Claris(better known as “Cat” to gospel music fans)sang with such quartets as the Blackwood Brothers and the Statesmen, fell in love with Howard, married him in 1949, and joined the Goodman family singing group.

Vestal had dreams of singing opera, but since she was from the same Sand Mountain region of Alabama that spawned such great gospel singers as Erman Slater, Bobby Strickland, Bill Hefner, and Seals "Low Note” Hilton, perhaps she was destined by birth to sing gospel music. Certainly as Vestal Goodman she would sing it with Howard the remainder of their lives.

But when Rusty returned from the service, he would first work with the famous country gospel singer/songwriter Martha Carson(famous for “Satisfied” in the 1950’s), and subsequently join the Plainsmen Quartet from Kansas, for which he would sing an outstanding bass for several years. Perhaps Rusty’s best known recording with the Plainsmen was on the Johnny Horton 1959 hit “North To Alaska”, on which they sang backup.

With all the girls gone from the group and Rusty otherwise occupied, Howard and Vestal went back into evangelistic work. Eventually, they would found a church in Madisonville, Kentucky which they called Life Temple, which became their headquarters for many years and for which they would structure their touring schedules to allow for themselves to return to each Sunday in subsequent years as often as possible.

But by 1963, Sam was anxious to reform the group. And when Rusty decided to leave the Plainsmen, he too wanted to return to singing with Howard and Sam. He had, in his opinion, fallen away from the walk with God he had known while singing with his family, and he wanted(as so many of us do in similar situations)to come home and start over again.

So Howard, Vestal, Sam, and Rusty joined together to form a new “Happy” Goodman family group. They began to make records for Russell Sims’ Sims Records in Nashville, a small but ambitious label that specialized in country music but wanted to establish itself in gospel as well. Their first LP for Sims, 1963’s “I’m Too Near Home” began to put the Goodman name back on the gospel music map.

Two more LPs for Sims followed. Then, things really began to take off for the Goodmans. Word Records’ new southern gospel label, Canaan, signed the Goodmans away to give them more nationwide exposure, and along with a hit song that Rusty had written for them, “I Wouldn’t Take Nothin’ For My Journey Now”, helped Canaan establish itself in the gospel field as well.

Rusty was perhaps the most gifted Goodman musically. An excellent singer with a wide range(capable of easily singing every quartet part from bass to second tenor), he also blossomed into one of gospel music’s finest all-time songwriters with such songs as “Journey”, “Who Am I”, “Had It Not Been”, and “Leavin’ On My Mind”. He was also a gifted instrumentalist and had a dynamic stage presence that always pleased the Goodmans’ many fans.

Each of the Goodmans had something to contribute to the group’s appeal. Sam was a funny man who could emcee a program and leave crowds in stitches with his friendly stage personality and his quick wit. He also was a capable harmony vocalist as well.

But the “stars” of the group were always Howard and Vestal. Vestal’s strong voice helped the Goodmans have many hit recordings all through the 1960s and 1970s…and she was a striking sight onstage as well with her elegant dresses, her enormous beehive wigs, and her always present white handkerchiefs…and Howard’s constant smile and distinctive piano style remained the crowd attraction it had been since the earliest days of the group.

About the time that the Goodmans signed with Canaan, they were also chosen to be among the featured groups for a brand new syndicated gospel music TV show. They, the Florida Boys, the Dixie Echoes, and the Couriers were the regular cast members of the Gospel Singing Jubilee. The Goodmans were instantly popular because of the show, and would remain a weekly TV presence on that show until they left in 1974 to start their own show, the Happy Goodman Family Hour. Between those programs and their regular guest appearances on shows like the PTL Club, the Goodmans were one of the most visible gospel groups in television history, securing many lifelong fans as a result.

More changes and modifications would come for the Goodmans during the 1960s. In 1965, Bob would return to the group, providing instrumental support on bass and sing leads on special songs. In fact, about this time, the Goodmans became one of the first gospel groups to hire a full band of backing musicians, making their sound bigger, and their concerts and records more well-received.

Many fine musicians would be a part of the Goodmans’ band through the years, including Dwayne Friend(1965-67) , Ernie Maxwell(1966-70), and “Duke” Dumas(1972-74)on guitar, and Steve “Rabbit” Easter(1977-82) on steel guitar. And even Eddie Crook(1971-75 and 1978-82)and Johnny Minick(1975-77)on piano were part of the backup band to free up Howard to take center stage with Vestal and his brothers. The Goodman band would influence other gospel groups to also hire live backup musicians. Howard and Vestal’s son Rick joined in on drums during the 1970s and helped produce the group’s recordings up to 1980.

The Goodmans’ records would gain more and more attention and acclaim. Their 1967 album, "The Happy Gospel Of The Happy Goodmans” won their first Grammy Award, a feat they would repeat 10 years later with their album “Refreshing”.

By the mid 1970s, Vestal’s health began to be a source of concern. Since she was such an important part of the Goodman’s sound, it behooved Howard to look for someone to fill in for Vestal and duplicate her sound as much as possible.

The answer came not with another female, but in 1974 the group got a male first tenor who had sung in many regional and local groups who sounded amazingly like Vestal when he sang. Johnny Cook became the first non-Goodman to be a regularly featured singer with the group.

Fortunately for the Goodmans, Vestal didn’t have any serious health problems. So the group kept on going with both Vestal and Cook a part of their sound. One of the group’s most popular songs from that period, “Looking For That City”, featured both singers battling to literally “top” each other, going higher and higher with each verse
By 1976, Rusty’s daughter Tanya had joined as yet another singer. Not only were they large physically, but they were large in numbers, too...what with a full band and extra singers as well.

By 1980, there seemed to be no worlds the Goodmans couldn’t conquer. Their records were best sellers, their concerts were packed, and they were on TV on almost a weekly basis.

But all seemingly good things come to an end, and new challenges confront. About that time, Rusty and Sam were anxious to take the group into a more contemporary musical direction, but Howard and Vestal were determined to keep the group on the more traditional(and proven successful for them)path. So in 1980, Rusty, Sam, and Tanya split off from the group, rehiring Cook to join them, and in the process, retained the Hsppy Goodman name. Howard and Vestal became a duo of their own.

The newest Happy Goodmans got a young singer named Michael English to join them in 1982, but soon after, that group stopped recording. Howard and Vestal continued to sing on their own, but except for a reunion of Rusty, Sam, Howard, and Vestal at the 1984 National Quartet Convention, the Happy Goodman name was inactive in gospel music.

And so it stayed until 1990, when Rusty was diagnosed with life-threatening cancer. This inspired Rusty, Sam, Howard, and Vestal to record once more as the Happy Goodmans. The album(“The Reunion”) was memorable for Rusty’s inspired performances while in constant discomfort because of his cancer. Some think that the album may have sustained Rusty’s will to live during that time.

A tour was planned to cover Rusty’s medical bills, but Rusty’s health deteriorated quickly, and he died in November of 1990. Sam would also pass away just a few months later.

Howard and Vestal would continue to travel and sing, and by 1996, Minick would again join them onstage. The Happy Goodman name would return one more time. They began to release new albums, and by 2000 Howard and Vestal would become key artists in Bill Gaither’s “Homecoming” videos, earning a whole new generation of fans and friends.

By 2001, Howard and Vestal decided to limit their activity to the Gaither videos, and with Minick, recorded their last album, the appropriately titled “The Final Stand”. A tour was conducted with that theme. Then, in November of 2002, Howard Goodman passed away after a long, colorful life.

Vestal continued on, appearing on Gaither videos and other cameos in person and on TV. She released several solo albums before her powerful voice was stilled on December 27, 2003.

As I mentioned, the Goodmans received a great deal of recognition during their lifetimes. Besides the Grammys, Vestal had won many Dove and Singing News Fan Awards. Rusty was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1997, Vestal in 2002, and Howard posthumously in 2003.

The Goodmans were big people that left a big legacy in the history of gospel music…in concert, on record, and on radio and TV. They were among the most popular and influential gospel artists in the history of the genre, and this writer feels it appropriate to remember the legacy they left us this month.

Thanks also to Dean Adkins for supplying some of the pictures used for this article.

Howard Goodman	Vestal Goodman
Rusty Goodman

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