The Happy Goodmans
| The Happy Goodman Family | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Goodman Family, The Goodmans, The Goodman Revival |
| Origin | United States |
| Genres | Southern gospel |
| Years active | 1950s–2003 |
| Labels | SIMS, Canaan, Spring Hill, Pamplin Music, Crowne Music, Universal Music |
| Website | www |
| Past members |
Howard Goodman Aaron Wilburn Ricky Goodman Steve Easter Eddie Crook Michael English |
Howard Goodman
Vestal Goodman
Sam Goodman
Charles Goodman
Rusty Goodman
Bobby Goodman
Johnny Cook
The Goodman Family Revival, originally the The Happy Goodman Family, is a Southern gospel group that was founded in the 1940s by Howard "Happy" Goodman and performed together for several decades. The Happy Goodmans achieved significant popularity in the 1960s. In 1968, they won the first Grammy Award to be awarded for a gospel album by a gospel group.
The Happy Goodman Family began to be known for their singing around 1950. During the 1940s and 1950s, there were various combinations of all eight brothers and sisters, always including Howard. Sam served in the U.S. Air Force while Bobby worked as a truck driver and played some rock and roll bands. Rusty served in the armed forces as well as singing with The Plainsmen Quartet afterwards. Howard's wife Vestal joined the group as well. After all the sisters married, Howard and Vestal became evangelists. Soon Sam joined again followed by Rusty in 1962 and Bobby on bass guitar not long afterwards.
The fame of the Happy Goodmans grew considerably in the early 1960s. Appearances at the National Quartet Convention got them in front of promoters who in turn booked them across the country. In 1964, they were asked to become one of the flagship groups for a new Southern Gospel program called The Gospel Singing Jubilee along with The Florida Boys, Dixie Echoes, and The Couriers Quartet. This program soon became one of the most popular gospel music programs and would run for over twenty years. The Goodmans would soon become one of the most popular groups on the program, and would remain so for ten years till they left to start their own TV program, The Happy Goodman Family Hour. The Goodmans also had a short-lived program called Down Home with The Happy Goodman Family. The weekly TV exposure allowed The Happy Goodman Family to take the nation by storm. They quickly became America's favorite singing family.
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Wikipedia