One of my all-time heroes in Southern Gospel has passed away. Jim Hamill captured my imagination and instilled a love for the genre with his exciting emcee work for the Kingsmen. I recently posted a comment on a thread about Hamill not too long ago:
Big Jim is the golden standard by which all emcees should be measured. My first Southern Gospel concert (as a 4-year-old) featured the Kingsmen in Kokomo, IN. I can still vividly remember how Hamill interacted with the crowd and made fun of Little Ernie. It captivated me, even as a hyper kid. I was privileged to see Jim and the mighty Kingsmen many times after that and he never failed to bring the house down with his superb emceeing. There was an element of anticipation, of wondering, “where’s he going next?” at every Kingsmen concert.
My favorite group has and will always be the Cathedrals, but I have yet to see a SG group who could come close to entertaining a crowd like the Hamill-era Kingsmen.
He had some of the best one-liners in the business. One of my favorite quotes from Hamill came from the "Live in Mississippi" album. He said: "Everybody is talking about holes in the ozone layer these days. I'll tell you what, when God calls me home, I'll knock a hole in the ozone layer big enough you can drive a bus through!"
Jim, I'll be right behind you.
Big Jim is the golden standard by which all emcees should be measured. My first Southern Gospel concert (as a 4-year-old) featured the Kingsmen in Kokomo, IN. I can still vividly remember how Hamill interacted with the crowd and made fun of Little Ernie. It captivated me, even as a hyper kid. I was privileged to see Jim and the mighty Kingsmen many times after that and he never failed to bring the house down with his superb emceeing. There was an element of anticipation, of wondering, “where’s he going next?” at every Kingsmen concert.
My favorite group has and will always be the Cathedrals, but I have yet to see a SG group who could come close to entertaining a crowd like the Hamill-era Kingsmen.
He had some of the best one-liners in the business. One of my favorite quotes from Hamill came from the "Live in Mississippi" album. He said: "Everybody is talking about holes in the ozone layer these days. I'll tell you what, when God calls me home, I'll knock a hole in the ozone layer big enough you can drive a bus through!"
Jim, I'll be right behind you.
3 comments:
With all those that have gone on before us, I can not even imagine what heaven will sound like. I may even have a good enough voice to join in on the chorus. Shelby
I just spoke with Randy Miller, he was like a son to Jim for a long time and will attending the funeral. He shared some good memories of his years on the road with Jim.
Mike told me today what he remembers as being the funniest thing he ever heard Jim say. They were singing at The Grand Old Gospel Reunion hosted by Charlie Waller. They were running behind schedule and to make up time, as Jim was preparing to take the stage to sing Charlie grabbed his arm and said, "You had 15 minutes now you have 2 songs, got it?" Mike said Jim turned and muttered under his breath, "15 minutes down to 2 songs, that man don't know who I used to be!" Mike said the Melody Boys laughed so hard they had trouble calming down to sing after Jim. Jim was a one-of-a-kind individual who leaves a legacy to the Southern Gospel world!
Forgot to sign my name to my post above, :-) Shanna
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