The McKameys
| The McKameys | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Clinton, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Southern gospel |
| Years active | 1954-current |
| Labels | Morningstar, Crossroads Music, Horizon |
| Website | mckameysonline.com |
| Members | Ruben Bean, Peg Bean, Sheryl Farris, Connie Fortner, Eli Fortner Roger Fortner |
| Past members | Dora McKamey, Carol Woodard, Roger Fortner |
The McKameys are a professional Southern gospel group based in Clinton, Tennessee. Current members are Ruben and Peg Bean, Sheryl Farris, Connie Fortner, Roger Fortner, and Eli Fortner.
On average, the McKameys play approximately 150 bookings annually throughout the United States and Canada. With 16 No. 1 singles, the group was honored by Horizon Records in 1999 for having the most No. 1 hits in the history of Southern Gospel music. The McKameys also hold the record for having the most No. 1 songs on Singing News magazine's charts.
The group first organized in 1954 as a trio of sisters: Dora, Peg, and Carol McKamey. Because their father was a Christian minister, the girls grew up singing in church. One day Dora announced to her astonished sisters that they were going to sing with her in church the next Sunday as a trio. "She gathered us up in her kitchen, started singing and we each found our parts," Peg explained. "We just thought we were gonna sing that one time, in her home church, but different people heard us and invited us to sing at their church or at revivals. Then out of town evangelists heard us at the revivals and invited us to come to their church and we started traveling to Florida and Indiana and Ohio, and that's how it all started."
In 1957, Ruben Bean started playing guitar for the trio, and he and Peg married two years later. While their daughters, Connie and Sheryl, were growing up they traveled with their mom, dad and aunts when the group was on the road. After Dora and Carol retired from the trio in 1972, Connie and Sheryl stepped in to take over their parts.
In the mid 1980s, Sheryl left the group to join her husband as a pastor's wife. At that time, Carol returned to the group, now made up of Peg, Connie, Ruben and Carol with Roger Fortner playing guitar. From late 1988 until mid-1989, Bonnie White replaced Carol until she ultimately returned to the group. The vocal lineup of Connie, Peg, Carol, and Ruben would perform together until April 2009 when Carol Woodard officially retired from full-time travel. Sheryl Farris returned to replace Carol. Since returning, Sheryl & Connie have traded the lead vocal for a change in the vocal lineup for standards like "The Shepherd's Point of View" and "When He Speaks" and "A Hill Worth Dying On."
...
Wikipedia