In the early 1900’s a type of music called Southern Gospel was just starting to take hold with the Vaughn Music Company selling about 30,000 songbooks. What grew out of that were the beginnings of traveling quartets. In later years, along with singing schools, the popularity of this music grew and grew. Still today most groups carry on the same styles and harmonies from those early days of the traveling quartet.
Southern Gospel today is changing. Some groups change the harmonies while other change the way the music is presented. Strait Way Quartet is still charting the same course as the old traveling quartets. However, the most important focus this group wants to convey is, by the leading of the Lord, to stay true to the truth of the Gospel – and to present that Gospel in the most respectful way possible. Very early on the group’s focus was on being true to the call of ministry in their hearts. That desire is that people around them see God in their lives and that their faith is firm in Jesus Christ. “It just humbles us to think what God can do, if we are just willing to be used.”
With the assortment of southern gospel songs today, we keep going back to the music special to us - traditional southern gospel music. We feel that we have something to offer any age group or any size venue because God’s Word is directed to all. Whether it is young or old, a little country church, banquet hall, or civic center we are going to sing about Jesus. “For we feel without Jesus as our focus, we have no direction.”
Something else that is important to us is our families. In fact, they help make up a big part of Strait Way Quartet. Most of our wives have duties within our home churches and we feel that is an important part of their own ministry. They are dedicated to those ministries and being their even when we are away singing. Each member of Strait Way has full time jobs and is dedicated to the support of their family. Even though singing does take time from family, we feel God gave us a talent and a desire to sing. That is why we are so blessed that God sent help mates who understand the spreading of God’s Word in song and understand the time spent away from home. Each family is dedicated to this ministry and that is evident when our children take center stage during our singings – they hold nothing back. “That makes us proud daddies; in fact, they are an encouragement to us to not hold back for our Father either.”