Chords for Jeff and Sheri Easter on Gospel Music Today
Tempo:
137.9 bpm
Chords used:
F
G
Abm
C
Ab
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[A] We are at the National Quartet Convention [F] sitting with me, Jeff and Sherry Easter and
[Em] Morgan [A] and we want to welcome [E] you guys to [Dm] Gospel Music Today.
[C] Thank you.
It's good to be [G] with you.
Now let me let me first go [C] back a little bit because Jeff and Sherry both came from singing families.
Give me a little bit of that background.
My family's the Lewis family and they traveled up until [Abm] the end of last [N] year,
traveled 58 years in gospel music and Jeff's family's the Easter Brothers.
[B] They've done [F] just about that length of time [Em] as well.
How did Jeff and Sherry meet?
At a concert.
We were [F] actually at a concert in Springdale, Arkansas
and I was with my mom at the [N] time and looked over and saw Jeff and was just completely taken.
I was smitten.
So I told my mom, I said, who is that over there?
I pointed but told her not to look.
Well, she looked and he caught us looking.
And then he turns around and walks over and introduces himself
and
then my mom after he spoke with her,
she then introduced us to each other and we started dating and was married the next year.
How long have Jeff and [Gb] Sherry been traveling as [G] [F] a group?
Well, 25 years.
We just celebrated our 25th anniversary.
As Jeff and Sherry, we [Em]
performed with the Lewis family for three and a half of the years [N] and made records
for Benson Record Company and then in 1988, our first actual with a band was
1989, January of 89, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve of 88, we [E] started our
Jeff and Sherry Easter group.
And now Morgan is in the group and your son.
[Gbm]
Actually, the kids have always been with us on the road.
We've always traveled with our kids.
[E] And so they've always done specials and things, you know, came up on stage and you know,
maybe sing a song, a special, something like that.
But two [B] years ago, Charlotte and Greg Ritchie [F] told us that they would be leaving and I knew that there would be a huge [Bb]
gap
and I looked at [B] Morgan and I said, you're [G] basically
[Abm] accepting the role of an adult.
I said, it's not going to be easy.
You're only [F] 14.
I said, I started traveling and [Abm] singing when I was [Bb] 15.
There's a lot of things you [N] have to give up.
You got to make choices not to do football games and [Eb] things that normal teenagers do on the [Abm] weekends.
I said, it's a great sacrifice.
I said, but the rewards are immense.
I said, if you think you want to do it, I think you're completely qualified.
[Bb] And she said she did and I think she has [Abm] completely [N] blossomed into a wonderful singer with a wonderful heart.
And you know, she's blessed so many [Abm] people and I'm very grateful.
It's nice as a mother to see your kids
come into the job [E] that God [F] has gifted them for.
And Madison is playing guitar with us.
He started at 14.
So he's 22 now.
I'm gonna be 22 in [Eb] another month.
So we love having our kids on stage with us.
They are [Ab] just
incredible, I think.
They take very seriously the job that they do and [A] they love it.
Now we've seen, we've managed [Abm] to see Jeff and Sherry maybe once a year at various places.
And so we've seen Morgan go from looking really nervous
to looking very confident.
Was [Ab] that, was that,
even [N] though you've been in the, in [G] the
atmosphere all this time, is that difficult to get [Fm] out there on stage?
Well, I have been singing [Abm] ever since I was little [F] and I've never really been nervous
[C] ever since I was singing.
Just, I sang one solo a [F] night and I was done.
And then when I accepted the role to be the [Bb] third singer, everything [F] just kind of made me even more nervous.
I'm like, all right, so this means I'm gonna sing all the time.
I can't take any breaks.
I can't do anything.
I was like, okay.
Well, this is gonna, this is gonna be hard.
All right, and
[Eb]
[Gm] but
through the past couple years, I've [Ab] slowly began to [C] become [G] more confident.
I have people tell [F] me like, oh,
I saw [E] you last year and you were just like this little, [Fm] little turtle in a shell and now you just really blossomed.
And so, but.
Well, the funny one too, we've always encouraged our kids on stage to smile.
You know, if you [F] have, if you're smiling in the audience, [C] they're gonna smile back at you.
[E] And so one [F] of the first nights after one [C] of our concerts, Morgan came to the bus and [Bb] says, okay,
[Eb] can I stop [C] smiling now?
[G] And it just comes [Ab] natural for us to.
Well, and two, it's a lot to do [Fm] with personalities.
Like Deborah Talley and I have talked before.
The both of us love to sing,
[Bb] but when we were younger and coming up, we were bashful.
And if I could have sung without an audience looking at [Eb] me,
I probably would have chosen that route because it was, it's [F] very [Ab] intimidating and, and it's also [Gm] very,
[F]
there's a lot of emotion that goes into
[G] revealing yourself [Ab] and opening up.
And [G] that's the only way that you can get a message [F] across to people is if you open up and show them your true [Bb] self.
So, you know, there's that exposure and you're [F] just kind of there and, and there's a [C] lot of that going [Db] on.
And Morgan and Madison both [F]
have a little of that tendency like [E] me.
Whereas Jeff's the kind of person that walks into the center of the room and he's perfectly comfortable there.
[Eb] You know, he's very comfortable.
[Db] The rest of us kind of stare around the wall and we kind of, you know, [C] have to deal with, you [F] know, the, the insecurities,
I think.
And Morgan has done really well [Eb] at overcoming, you know, those.
And [Abm] two, with every time somebody compliments you, with every recognition, with every award,
you become more confident that you are doing what God has gifted you to do.
[N] Well, I think she's doing a good job with that.
We sing Saturday night in Princeton, West Virginia.
First lady I met when I walked in, she says, wow, [Em] you look better in person than you do on video.
And I'm like, thank you, Lord.
I needed [B] that.
You know, I didn't know what I was looking at because sometimes [F] you travel so much, you [G] say, man, I feel tired.
Do I look like I feel?
And she was precious.
But she don't realize that little [C] sentence and kind words [Em] that she spoke made my night.
[G] You know, she didn't have to [Dbm] say that.
Well, I [F] understand that if you, if you [Ab] take what you do seriously and obviously [Em] you guys do.
[G] So that's a big responsibility every night to hold people's [C] emotions and hopes in your hand.
The thing is being real, [G] being real, yes, being yourself.
[F] And I think [E] sometimes, you know, you feel the responsibility because we have to choose these songs [F] and we have to know and believe that God is leading us to do certain songs.
[Bb] And not only is [Db] that [F] music itself is a very [N]
personal kind of offering.
And it's so varied as far as [C] people's tastes.
Some people [Cm] like this, [Db] some people don't.
So you have to know before [F] you get into it.
Some people are going to love you.
Some people are [A] not.
It's not [Db] like a plumber's job that it's consistently this way.
[Fm] This is very much about [G] taste, [E] you know, and so there's a lot at stake [B] that I wonder ahead of time.
[F] And she's done a wonderful [Abm] job taking that responsibility.
We do want to ask [Eb] you about your health.
You look great.
[Abm] I feel great.
I feel fabulous.
This month actually is 26 months cancer free.
I go in for more [Eb] bone scans and CT scans.
I tell [Db] people [Abm] I said I'm in the best seat in the house because [Ab] they watch [F] you very closely when you've come through a [Ab] battle like this.
But it was July 2nd of 2008 [Db] that I was diagnosed.
[Ab]
I went through about a year of surgeries and chemotherapy.
But [Abm] I am feeling healthy and strong.
I'm [F] exercising every day.
And life is great and getting better.
Good [G] title for a song. [Bb] All [Eb] right.
Well, [F] Jeff and Sherry [Ab] and Morgan, thank you very much for talking to us on Gospel Music Today.
Thank you so much.
There's more coming up
[Em] Morgan [A] and we want to welcome [E] you guys to [Dm] Gospel Music Today.
[C] Thank you.
It's good to be [G] with you.
Now let me let me first go [C] back a little bit because Jeff and Sherry both came from singing families.
Give me a little bit of that background.
My family's the Lewis family and they traveled up until [Abm] the end of last [N] year,
traveled 58 years in gospel music and Jeff's family's the Easter Brothers.
[B] They've done [F] just about that length of time [Em] as well.
How did Jeff and Sherry meet?
At a concert.
We were [F] actually at a concert in Springdale, Arkansas
and I was with my mom at the [N] time and looked over and saw Jeff and was just completely taken.
I was smitten.
So I told my mom, I said, who is that over there?
I pointed but told her not to look.
Well, she looked and he caught us looking.
And then he turns around and walks over and introduces himself
and
then my mom after he spoke with her,
she then introduced us to each other and we started dating and was married the next year.
How long have Jeff and [Gb] Sherry been traveling as [G] [F] a group?
Well, 25 years.
We just celebrated our 25th anniversary.
As Jeff and Sherry, we [Em]
performed with the Lewis family for three and a half of the years [N] and made records
for Benson Record Company and then in 1988, our first actual with a band was
1989, January of 89, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve of 88, we [E] started our
Jeff and Sherry Easter group.
And now Morgan is in the group and your son.
[Gbm]
Actually, the kids have always been with us on the road.
We've always traveled with our kids.
[E] And so they've always done specials and things, you know, came up on stage and you know,
maybe sing a song, a special, something like that.
But two [B] years ago, Charlotte and Greg Ritchie [F] told us that they would be leaving and I knew that there would be a huge [Bb]
gap
and I looked at [B] Morgan and I said, you're [G] basically
[Abm] accepting the role of an adult.
I said, it's not going to be easy.
You're only [F] 14.
I said, I started traveling and [Abm] singing when I was [Bb] 15.
There's a lot of things you [N] have to give up.
You got to make choices not to do football games and [Eb] things that normal teenagers do on the [Abm] weekends.
I said, it's a great sacrifice.
I said, but the rewards are immense.
I said, if you think you want to do it, I think you're completely qualified.
[Bb] And she said she did and I think she has [Abm] completely [N] blossomed into a wonderful singer with a wonderful heart.
And you know, she's blessed so many [Abm] people and I'm very grateful.
It's nice as a mother to see your kids
come into the job [E] that God [F] has gifted them for.
And Madison is playing guitar with us.
He started at 14.
So he's 22 now.
I'm gonna be 22 in [Eb] another month.
So we love having our kids on stage with us.
They are [Ab] just
incredible, I think.
They take very seriously the job that they do and [A] they love it.
Now we've seen, we've managed [Abm] to see Jeff and Sherry maybe once a year at various places.
And so we've seen Morgan go from looking really nervous
to looking very confident.
Was [Ab] that, was that,
even [N] though you've been in the, in [G] the
atmosphere all this time, is that difficult to get [Fm] out there on stage?
Well, I have been singing [Abm] ever since I was little [F] and I've never really been nervous
[C] ever since I was singing.
Just, I sang one solo a [F] night and I was done.
And then when I accepted the role to be the [Bb] third singer, everything [F] just kind of made me even more nervous.
I'm like, all right, so this means I'm gonna sing all the time.
I can't take any breaks.
I can't do anything.
I was like, okay.
Well, this is gonna, this is gonna be hard.
All right, and
[Eb]
[Gm] but
through the past couple years, I've [Ab] slowly began to [C] become [G] more confident.
I have people tell [F] me like, oh,
I saw [E] you last year and you were just like this little, [Fm] little turtle in a shell and now you just really blossomed.
And so, but.
Well, the funny one too, we've always encouraged our kids on stage to smile.
You know, if you [F] have, if you're smiling in the audience, [C] they're gonna smile back at you.
[E] And so one [F] of the first nights after one [C] of our concerts, Morgan came to the bus and [Bb] says, okay,
[Eb] can I stop [C] smiling now?
[G] And it just comes [Ab] natural for us to.
Well, and two, it's a lot to do [Fm] with personalities.
Like Deborah Talley and I have talked before.
The both of us love to sing,
[Bb] but when we were younger and coming up, we were bashful.
And if I could have sung without an audience looking at [Eb] me,
I probably would have chosen that route because it was, it's [F] very [Ab] intimidating and, and it's also [Gm] very,
[F]
there's a lot of emotion that goes into
[G] revealing yourself [Ab] and opening up.
And [G] that's the only way that you can get a message [F] across to people is if you open up and show them your true [Bb] self.
So, you know, there's that exposure and you're [F] just kind of there and, and there's a [C] lot of that going [Db] on.
And Morgan and Madison both [F]
have a little of that tendency like [E] me.
Whereas Jeff's the kind of person that walks into the center of the room and he's perfectly comfortable there.
[Eb] You know, he's very comfortable.
[Db] The rest of us kind of stare around the wall and we kind of, you know, [C] have to deal with, you [F] know, the, the insecurities,
I think.
And Morgan has done really well [Eb] at overcoming, you know, those.
And [Abm] two, with every time somebody compliments you, with every recognition, with every award,
you become more confident that you are doing what God has gifted you to do.
[N] Well, I think she's doing a good job with that.
We sing Saturday night in Princeton, West Virginia.
First lady I met when I walked in, she says, wow, [Em] you look better in person than you do on video.
And I'm like, thank you, Lord.
I needed [B] that.
You know, I didn't know what I was looking at because sometimes [F] you travel so much, you [G] say, man, I feel tired.
Do I look like I feel?
And she was precious.
But she don't realize that little [C] sentence and kind words [Em] that she spoke made my night.
[G] You know, she didn't have to [Dbm] say that.
Well, I [F] understand that if you, if you [Ab] take what you do seriously and obviously [Em] you guys do.
[G] So that's a big responsibility every night to hold people's [C] emotions and hopes in your hand.
The thing is being real, [G] being real, yes, being yourself.
[F] And I think [E] sometimes, you know, you feel the responsibility because we have to choose these songs [F] and we have to know and believe that God is leading us to do certain songs.
[Bb] And not only is [Db] that [F] music itself is a very [N]
personal kind of offering.
And it's so varied as far as [C] people's tastes.
Some people [Cm] like this, [Db] some people don't.
So you have to know before [F] you get into it.
Some people are going to love you.
Some people are [A] not.
It's not [Db] like a plumber's job that it's consistently this way.
[Fm] This is very much about [G] taste, [E] you know, and so there's a lot at stake [B] that I wonder ahead of time.
[F] And she's done a wonderful [Abm] job taking that responsibility.
We do want to ask [Eb] you about your health.
You look great.
[Abm] I feel great.
I feel fabulous.
This month actually is 26 months cancer free.
I go in for more [Eb] bone scans and CT scans.
I tell [Db] people [Abm] I said I'm in the best seat in the house because [Ab] they watch [F] you very closely when you've come through a [Ab] battle like this.
But it was July 2nd of 2008 [Db] that I was diagnosed.
[Ab]
I went through about a year of surgeries and chemotherapy.
But [Abm] I am feeling healthy and strong.
I'm [F] exercising every day.
And life is great and getting better.
Good [G] title for a song. [Bb] All [Eb] right.
Well, [F] Jeff and Sherry [Ab] and Morgan, thank you very much for talking to us on Gospel Music Today.
Thank you so much.
There's more coming up
Key:
F
G
Abm
C
Ab
F
G
Abm
[A] We are at the National Quartet Convention [F] sitting with me, Jeff and Sherry Easter and
[Em] Morgan [A] and we want to welcome [E] you guys to [Dm] Gospel Music Today.
[C] Thank you.
It's good to be [G] with you.
Now let me let me first go [C] back a little bit because Jeff and Sherry both came from singing families.
Give me a little bit of that background.
My family's the Lewis family and they traveled up until [Abm] the end of last [N] year,
traveled 58 years in gospel music and Jeff's family's the Easter Brothers.
[B] They've done [F] just about that length of time [Em] as well.
How did Jeff and Sherry meet?
At a concert.
We were [F] actually at a concert in Springdale, Arkansas
and I was with my mom at the [N] time and looked over and saw Jeff and was just completely taken.
I was smitten.
So I told my mom, I said, who is that over there?
I pointed but told her not to look.
Well, she looked and he caught us looking.
_ _ And then he turns around and walks over and introduces himself
_ and
then my mom after he spoke with her,
she then introduced us to each other and we started dating and was married the next year.
_ How long have Jeff and [Gb] Sherry been traveling as [G] [F] a group?
Well, 25 years.
We just celebrated our 25th anniversary.
_ As Jeff and Sherry, we [Em]
performed with the Lewis family for three and a half of the years [N] and made records
for Benson Record Company and then in 1988, our first actual with a band was _
1989, January of 89, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve of 88, we [E] started our
Jeff and Sherry Easter group.
And now Morgan is in the group and your son.
_ [Gbm] _
Actually, the kids have always been with us on the road.
We've always traveled with our kids.
[E] And so they've always done specials and things, you know, came up on stage and you know,
maybe sing a song, a special, something like that.
But two [B] years ago, Charlotte and Greg Ritchie [F] told us that they would be leaving and I knew that there would be a huge [Bb]
gap
and I looked at [B] Morgan and I said, you're [G] basically
[Abm] accepting the role of an adult.
I said, it's not going to be easy.
You're only [F] 14.
I said, I started traveling and [Abm] singing when I was [Bb] 15.
There's a lot of things you [N] have to give up.
You got to make choices not to do football games and [Eb] things that normal teenagers do on the [Abm] weekends.
I said, it's a great sacrifice.
I said, but the rewards are immense.
I said, if you think you want to do it, I think you're completely qualified.
[Bb] And she said she did and I think she has [Abm] completely [N] blossomed into a wonderful singer with a wonderful heart.
And you know, she's blessed so many [Abm] people and I'm very grateful.
It's nice as a mother to see your kids
come into the job [E] that God [F] has gifted them for.
And Madison is playing guitar with us.
He started at 14.
So he's 22 now.
I'm gonna be 22 in [Eb] another month.
So we love having our kids on stage with us.
They are [Ab] just
_ incredible, I think.
They take very seriously the job that they do and [A] they love it.
Now we've seen, we've managed [Abm] to see Jeff and Sherry maybe once a year at various places.
And so we've seen Morgan go from looking really nervous
_ to looking very confident.
Was [Ab] that, was that,
even [N] though you've been in the, in [G] the
atmosphere all this time, is that difficult to get [Fm] out there on stage?
_ Well, I have been singing [Abm] ever since I was little [F] and I've never really been nervous
[C] ever since I was singing.
Just, I sang one solo a [F] night and I was done.
And then when I accepted the role to be the [Bb] third singer, everything [F] just kind of made me even more nervous.
I'm like, all right, so this means I'm gonna sing all the time.
I can't take any breaks.
I can't do anything.
I was like, okay.
Well, this is gonna, this is gonna be hard.
All right, and
[Eb] _
_ _ _ [Gm] but
through the past couple years, I've [Ab] slowly began to [C] become [G] more confident.
I have people tell [F] me like, oh,
I saw [E] you last year and you were just like this little, [Fm] little turtle in a shell and now you just really blossomed.
And so, but.
Well, the funny one too, we've always encouraged our kids on stage to smile.
You know, if you [F] have, if you're smiling in the audience, [C] they're gonna smile back at you.
[E] And so one [F] of the first nights after one [C] of our concerts, Morgan came to the bus and [Bb] says, okay,
[Eb] can I stop [C] smiling now?
[G] _ _ And it just comes [Ab] natural for us to.
Well, and two, it's a lot to do [Fm] with personalities.
Like Deborah Talley and I have talked before.
The both of us love to sing,
[Bb] but when we were younger and coming up, we were bashful.
And if I could have sung without an audience looking at [Eb] me,
I probably would have chosen that route because it was, it's [F] very [Ab] intimidating and, and it's also [Gm] very,
_ _ _ [F]
there's a lot of emotion that goes into
[G] _ revealing yourself [Ab] and opening up.
And [G] that's the only way that you can get a message [F] across to people is if you open up and show them your true [Bb] self.
So, you know, there's that exposure and you're [F] just kind of there and, and there's a [C] lot of that going [Db] on.
And Morgan and Madison both [F]
have a little of that tendency like [E] me.
Whereas Jeff's the kind of person that walks into the center of the room and he's perfectly comfortable there.
[Eb] You know, he's very comfortable.
[Db] The rest of us kind of stare around the wall and we kind of, you know, [C] have to deal with, you [F] know, the, the insecurities,
I think.
And Morgan has done really well [Eb] at overcoming, you know, those.
And [Abm] two, with every time somebody compliments you, with every recognition, with every award,
you become more confident that you are doing what God has gifted you to do.
[N] Well, I think she's doing a good job with that.
We sing Saturday night in Princeton, West Virginia.
First lady I met when I walked in, she says, wow, [Em] you look better in person than you do on video.
And I'm like, thank you, Lord.
I needed [B] that.
You know, I didn't know what I was looking at because sometimes [F] you travel so much, you [G] say, man, I feel tired.
Do I look like I feel?
And she was precious.
But she don't realize that little [C] sentence and kind words [Em] that she spoke made my night.
[G] You know, she didn't have to [Dbm] say that.
Well, I [F] understand that if you, if you [Ab] take what you do seriously and obviously [Em] you guys do.
[G] So that's a big responsibility every night to hold people's [C] emotions and hopes in your hand.
The thing is being real, [G] being real, yes, being yourself.
[F] And I think [E] sometimes, you know, you feel the responsibility because we have to choose these songs [F] and we have to know and believe that God is leading us to do certain songs.
[Bb] And not only is [Db] that [F] music itself is a very [N]
personal kind of offering.
And it's so varied as far as [C] people's tastes.
Some people [Cm] like this, [Db] some people don't.
So you have to know before [F] you get into it.
Some people are going to love you.
Some people are [A] not.
It's not [Db] like a plumber's job that it's consistently this way.
[Fm] This is very much about [G] taste, [E] you know, and so there's a lot at stake [B] that I wonder ahead of time.
[F] And she's done a wonderful [Abm] job taking that responsibility. _ _
We do want to ask [Eb] you about your health.
You look great.
[Abm] I feel great.
I feel fabulous.
This month actually is 26 months cancer free.
I go in for more [Eb] bone scans and CT scans.
I tell [Db] people [Abm] I said I'm in the best seat in the house because [Ab] they watch [F] you very closely when you've come through a [Ab] battle like this.
But it was July 2nd of 2008 [Db] that I was diagnosed.
[Ab]
I went through about a year of surgeries and chemotherapy.
_ But [Abm] I am feeling healthy and strong.
I'm [F] exercising every day.
And life is great and getting better.
_ _ Good [G] title for a song. [Bb] All [Eb] right.
_ Well, [F] Jeff and Sherry [Ab] and Morgan, thank you very much for talking to us on Gospel Music Today.
Thank you so much.
_ There's more coming up
[Em] Morgan [A] and we want to welcome [E] you guys to [Dm] Gospel Music Today.
[C] Thank you.
It's good to be [G] with you.
Now let me let me first go [C] back a little bit because Jeff and Sherry both came from singing families.
Give me a little bit of that background.
My family's the Lewis family and they traveled up until [Abm] the end of last [N] year,
traveled 58 years in gospel music and Jeff's family's the Easter Brothers.
[B] They've done [F] just about that length of time [Em] as well.
How did Jeff and Sherry meet?
At a concert.
We were [F] actually at a concert in Springdale, Arkansas
and I was with my mom at the [N] time and looked over and saw Jeff and was just completely taken.
I was smitten.
So I told my mom, I said, who is that over there?
I pointed but told her not to look.
Well, she looked and he caught us looking.
_ _ And then he turns around and walks over and introduces himself
_ and
then my mom after he spoke with her,
she then introduced us to each other and we started dating and was married the next year.
_ How long have Jeff and [Gb] Sherry been traveling as [G] [F] a group?
Well, 25 years.
We just celebrated our 25th anniversary.
_ As Jeff and Sherry, we [Em]
performed with the Lewis family for three and a half of the years [N] and made records
for Benson Record Company and then in 1988, our first actual with a band was _
1989, January of 89, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve of 88, we [E] started our
Jeff and Sherry Easter group.
And now Morgan is in the group and your son.
_ [Gbm] _
Actually, the kids have always been with us on the road.
We've always traveled with our kids.
[E] And so they've always done specials and things, you know, came up on stage and you know,
maybe sing a song, a special, something like that.
But two [B] years ago, Charlotte and Greg Ritchie [F] told us that they would be leaving and I knew that there would be a huge [Bb]
gap
and I looked at [B] Morgan and I said, you're [G] basically
[Abm] accepting the role of an adult.
I said, it's not going to be easy.
You're only [F] 14.
I said, I started traveling and [Abm] singing when I was [Bb] 15.
There's a lot of things you [N] have to give up.
You got to make choices not to do football games and [Eb] things that normal teenagers do on the [Abm] weekends.
I said, it's a great sacrifice.
I said, but the rewards are immense.
I said, if you think you want to do it, I think you're completely qualified.
[Bb] And she said she did and I think she has [Abm] completely [N] blossomed into a wonderful singer with a wonderful heart.
And you know, she's blessed so many [Abm] people and I'm very grateful.
It's nice as a mother to see your kids
come into the job [E] that God [F] has gifted them for.
And Madison is playing guitar with us.
He started at 14.
So he's 22 now.
I'm gonna be 22 in [Eb] another month.
So we love having our kids on stage with us.
They are [Ab] just
_ incredible, I think.
They take very seriously the job that they do and [A] they love it.
Now we've seen, we've managed [Abm] to see Jeff and Sherry maybe once a year at various places.
And so we've seen Morgan go from looking really nervous
_ to looking very confident.
Was [Ab] that, was that,
even [N] though you've been in the, in [G] the
atmosphere all this time, is that difficult to get [Fm] out there on stage?
_ Well, I have been singing [Abm] ever since I was little [F] and I've never really been nervous
[C] ever since I was singing.
Just, I sang one solo a [F] night and I was done.
And then when I accepted the role to be the [Bb] third singer, everything [F] just kind of made me even more nervous.
I'm like, all right, so this means I'm gonna sing all the time.
I can't take any breaks.
I can't do anything.
I was like, okay.
Well, this is gonna, this is gonna be hard.
All right, and
[Eb] _
_ _ _ [Gm] but
through the past couple years, I've [Ab] slowly began to [C] become [G] more confident.
I have people tell [F] me like, oh,
I saw [E] you last year and you were just like this little, [Fm] little turtle in a shell and now you just really blossomed.
And so, but.
Well, the funny one too, we've always encouraged our kids on stage to smile.
You know, if you [F] have, if you're smiling in the audience, [C] they're gonna smile back at you.
[E] And so one [F] of the first nights after one [C] of our concerts, Morgan came to the bus and [Bb] says, okay,
[Eb] can I stop [C] smiling now?
[G] _ _ And it just comes [Ab] natural for us to.
Well, and two, it's a lot to do [Fm] with personalities.
Like Deborah Talley and I have talked before.
The both of us love to sing,
[Bb] but when we were younger and coming up, we were bashful.
And if I could have sung without an audience looking at [Eb] me,
I probably would have chosen that route because it was, it's [F] very [Ab] intimidating and, and it's also [Gm] very,
_ _ _ [F]
there's a lot of emotion that goes into
[G] _ revealing yourself [Ab] and opening up.
And [G] that's the only way that you can get a message [F] across to people is if you open up and show them your true [Bb] self.
So, you know, there's that exposure and you're [F] just kind of there and, and there's a [C] lot of that going [Db] on.
And Morgan and Madison both [F]
have a little of that tendency like [E] me.
Whereas Jeff's the kind of person that walks into the center of the room and he's perfectly comfortable there.
[Eb] You know, he's very comfortable.
[Db] The rest of us kind of stare around the wall and we kind of, you know, [C] have to deal with, you [F] know, the, the insecurities,
I think.
And Morgan has done really well [Eb] at overcoming, you know, those.
And [Abm] two, with every time somebody compliments you, with every recognition, with every award,
you become more confident that you are doing what God has gifted you to do.
[N] Well, I think she's doing a good job with that.
We sing Saturday night in Princeton, West Virginia.
First lady I met when I walked in, she says, wow, [Em] you look better in person than you do on video.
And I'm like, thank you, Lord.
I needed [B] that.
You know, I didn't know what I was looking at because sometimes [F] you travel so much, you [G] say, man, I feel tired.
Do I look like I feel?
And she was precious.
But she don't realize that little [C] sentence and kind words [Em] that she spoke made my night.
[G] You know, she didn't have to [Dbm] say that.
Well, I [F] understand that if you, if you [Ab] take what you do seriously and obviously [Em] you guys do.
[G] So that's a big responsibility every night to hold people's [C] emotions and hopes in your hand.
The thing is being real, [G] being real, yes, being yourself.
[F] And I think [E] sometimes, you know, you feel the responsibility because we have to choose these songs [F] and we have to know and believe that God is leading us to do certain songs.
[Bb] And not only is [Db] that [F] music itself is a very [N]
personal kind of offering.
And it's so varied as far as [C] people's tastes.
Some people [Cm] like this, [Db] some people don't.
So you have to know before [F] you get into it.
Some people are going to love you.
Some people are [A] not.
It's not [Db] like a plumber's job that it's consistently this way.
[Fm] This is very much about [G] taste, [E] you know, and so there's a lot at stake [B] that I wonder ahead of time.
[F] And she's done a wonderful [Abm] job taking that responsibility. _ _
We do want to ask [Eb] you about your health.
You look great.
[Abm] I feel great.
I feel fabulous.
This month actually is 26 months cancer free.
I go in for more [Eb] bone scans and CT scans.
I tell [Db] people [Abm] I said I'm in the best seat in the house because [Ab] they watch [F] you very closely when you've come through a [Ab] battle like this.
But it was July 2nd of 2008 [Db] that I was diagnosed.
[Ab]
I went through about a year of surgeries and chemotherapy.
_ But [Abm] I am feeling healthy and strong.
I'm [F] exercising every day.
And life is great and getting better.
_ _ Good [G] title for a song. [Bb] All [Eb] right.
_ Well, [F] Jeff and Sherry [Ab] and Morgan, thank you very much for talking to us on Gospel Music Today.
Thank you so much.
_ There's more coming up