One of my favorite songs in the early 80's was "Is That Footsteps That I Hear". And it is one that I still enjoy hearing today. In fact, I heard The "young" Inspirations sing it just the other night in a livestream concert in Tennessee. The original "older" Inspirations are not traveling at this time taking precautions during this time of pandemic. What a joy to see the younger guys continuing the ministry of The Inspirations during this difficult time. They remind me so much of the young guys who started this group so many years ago and it's good to see the tradition continue. I was thinking the other night how they were singing some of the old Inspiration classics recorded before the newer young guys were even born.
It was in about 1981, when I traveled to Ballground, Georgia and the Circle K Grocery to buy The Inspirations new recording. I may have been able to buy it somewhere else but it was always a treat to visit the Circle K. I've mentioned it before. There were not too many groceries but there was plenty of conversation with Mr. Darby and you could always count on buying the album you went for. I remember this trip specifically because I bought the new recording on cassette tape instead of an LP album. I don't remember if this was the first time a cassette was available but I was eager to hear all the songs. And since I didn't have a record player in my car, the "cassette tape" was at the time the perfect choice. Oh how I loved listening and singing along as I traveled down the road.
I enjoyed all my Inspiration albums and have always taken great pride in having all their recordings over the years. But the "Is That Footsteps That I Hear" cassette tape met with the fate of a lot of other cassette tapes. It wasn't long, and if my "collection" was to be continued, I had to purchase this recording on a LP album. LOL But soon the "cassettes" became the norm, LPs could no longer be purchased and I was so glad when CDs were invented. Well, time marched on, my collection continued even as recorded media changed. No more trips to Circle K (something I miss as Mr. Darby and the store are no longer there) . It's as simple now as a visit to website and purchase a download. I kind of miss the old days even though there is something to be said for today's conveniences. My physical album collection was somewhat destroyed in the the 2018 tornado while I was in the hospital. And while the rain water may have damaged the album covers, the memories of the purchases and the songs remain in my heart and mind still.
"is That Footsteps That I Hear" as I said earlier was one of my favorites and a favorite of many other people also. It was written by Rev. Colbert and Joyce Croft who wrote many other popular songs. You may remember "I Can't Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand', "The First Million Years", " I Believe He Died For Me", and "Someday Soon" just to name a few of the great songs they wrote. The Inspirations sang "Footsteps" often over the years and it still will be feature in some of today's services. I hope you will enjoy hearing it this morning.
The original:
Several years later recorded live during the "Singing In The Smokies":
Thank you for indulging me to share some of my fond memories this morning. I pray you will have a terrific Tuesday.
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