Dixie Melody Boys

The Dixie Melody Boys are an American Southern Gospel quartet from Kinston, North Carolina. They have been active for over 50 years.

History

The group was founded in 1961 by Avis Adkins with Eugene Payne, Ralph Walker and Tony Brown on piano; Ed O'Neal, their bass singer, joined in 1963, and subsequently became the group's leader and manager. Under O'Neal, the group has discovered singers who have gone on to become prominent in Gospel music, including McCray Dove with the Dove Brothers, Rodney Griffin with Greater Vision,Bryan Walker, who went on to become a contestant on Season 9 of American Idol and then later joined The Perrys, and Devin McGlamery with Signature Sound. The group was nicknamed the "Ed O'Neal University" because of the impact that Ed O'Neal has had on the industry of Gospel music.

The group has had more than twenty hits in the Southern gospel field, including "Antioch Church Choir", "Double Dose", "Don't Point a Finger" and "Jesus In My Boat". The group has released a large number of albums and numerous VHS videos and DVDs. They have also won countless awards and even received a Grammy nomination.

Ed O'Neal has received the Marvin Norcross Award and was inducted into the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame in 2004.

The current group has re-established themselves as one of Gospel music's top groups. The Dixie Melody Boys released their 50th anniversary project The Call Is Still The Same and held their anniversary reunion celebration at the National Quartet Convention. The group added newcomer, Aaron Dishman, in June 2013 and the quartet veteran, Josh Garner, to their line up in September 2013, marking a new chapter in their history.^[1] Tenor, Doug Pittman, joined the group at the National Quartet Convention in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in September 2014 to create one of the most stellar line-ups in the group's 50+ year history.

In January 2013, the Dixie Melody Boys were honored in the Southern Gospel Music Fan awards.

• Favorite Quartet: The Dixie Melody Boys
• Favorite Bass: Ed O'Neal

The group also won the Favorite Male Quartet and Favorite Bass Singer awards in 2012.^[2] On November 9, 2013 the Dixie Melody Boys were presented with the 2013 AMG Sandy Hosey Lifetime Achievement Award.^[3]

Personnel

Current members

• Ed O'Neal - bass (since 1961)
• Doug Pittman - tenor (since 2014)
• Aaron Dishman - baritone/pianist (since 2013)
• Josh Garner - lead (since 2013)

Past members

Bass

• Don Henderson
• Buddy Hawley
• Marvin Harris

Baritone

• Gene Payne 1961
• Henry Daniels
• Delmar Tillman
• Tom Jones
• Allen O'Neal
• David DeLawder 1986 - 1987
• Nathan Widenor 1987 - 1991
• Bill Bass 1991 - 1992
• Rodney Griffin 1992 - 1993
• Jamie Bramlett 1994 - 1995
• Dave Needham 1995 - 1997
• Craig Singletary 1997 - 1998
• Kenny Cook 1998 - 1999
• Derrick Selph 1999 - 2003
• Dustin Sweatman 2003 - 2004
• Andrew King 2004 - 2007
• Bryan Walker 2007
• Steven Cooper 2007 – 2013

Lead

• Avis Adkins 1961
• David Kimbrel
• John Jarmen
• Dewey Williams
• Gary Wadell
• Kent Humphries
• McCray Dove 1986 - 1998
• Jamie Caldwell 1998 - 2000
• Devin McGlamery 2000 - 2004
• Dustin Sweatman 2004 - 2006
• Donald Moris 2006, 2009 - 2012
• Bryan Walker 2006 - 2007
• Rob Shelton 2007 - 2008
• Joe Kitson 2008 - 2009
• Mike Rogers 2012 – 2013

Tenor

• Ralph Walker 1961
• Charles Forehand
• Bobby Craft
• Frank Sutton
• Jimmy Jones
• Phil Barker
• Jamey Ragle
• David Walker 1986 - 1988
• Ernie Haase 1988
• Derrick Boyd 1988 - 1993
• Harold Reed 1993 - 2004
• Dan Keeton 2004 - 2007
• Jonathan Price 2007 - 2010
• Matt Felts 2010 - 2014

Piano

• Tony Brown 1962 - 1965
• Greg Simpkins
• Jerry Kelso 1978 - 1985
• Bobby Ledford 1986 - 1988
• Dwight Young 1989
• Steve Wood 1989 - 1992
• Eric Ollis 1992 - 2004
• Dustin Sweatman 2004 - 2006 (played and sang)

Instrumentalist

• Blake Jarmin
• George Shambaugh
• DJ Johns
• JL Marslender 1974 - 1975
• Larry DeLawder 1986 - 1995
• Jeff Knight 1985 - 1986
• George Shambaugh (guitar) 1986
• Darren Humphrey (drummer) 1986-1988
• Craig Hamm (lead guitar) 1983-1986
• Olan Witt (drummer) 1983-1985

Discography

• Jesus Use Me 1963
• Answering Requests 1964
• Listen 1965
• Favorite Instrumentals of the Dixie Melody Boys 1966
• Together 1973
• Alive 1974
• Unlimited 1974
• Refreshing Soounds 1975
• He Came Back 1975
• Refreshing (1976)
• Are You Ready for Gospel (1977)
• Sending Up Boards (1978)
• Favorite Hymns 1978
• Campmeeting Gospel 1978
• The Sing-Sational (1979)
• Sing Happy Gospel 1979
• Live! (1980)
• Just As We Are (1981)
• And Friends Live 1982
• Antioch Church Choir (1982)
• More Than Just Good Ole Boys (1983)
• Too Much Thunder (1984)
• Streetwise (Benson RO3899, 1985)
• Run Little Brother (1986)
• Back Home (1988)
• Ridin' High (1989)
• On Fire (1990)
• Sing The Classics 1990
• Dynamic (1991)
• Gonna Praise the Lord Live (1992)
• No Compromise (1993)
• Masterpiece (1994)
• Old Time Religion (1996)
• 100% Pure Southern Gospel (1997)
• Live in Music City (1998)
• Heading Home (1999)
• Something Old, Something New (2001)
• Quartet Classics (2001)
• Request Time (2001)
• Vintage (2002)
• A Seat in the Heavenly Choir (2004)
• Like Never Before (2005)
• Live at Pigeon Forge (2005)
• Hymns (2006)
• Traditions (2006)
• Smooth and Easy (2006)
• Serenade (2008)
• Back to the Good Ole' Days (2008)
• Singing the Classics (2009)
• The Ultimate Collection (2011)
• The Vintage Quartet Sessions (2011)
• The Ed O'Neal University: EOU Aluni (2011)
• The Call Is Still the Same (2011)
• Radio Hits (2012)
• Live With Friends (2012) Reissue
• The Best Of Ed O'Neal (2012)

In 2004 and 2005, the group released seven compilation albums, entitled Historic Journey vols. 1-7.

References

• Ivan M. Tribe. Dixie Melody Boys. Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music. Routledge, 2005, p. 102.
• Ed O'Neal at the Southern Gospel Music Association
• Dixie Melody Boys at sghistory.com