Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters

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Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters
Wendy Bagwell
Background information
GenresSouthern gospel music and comedy trio
Past membersWendy Bagwell
Jerri Morrison
Georgia Jones

Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters was a Southern gospel music and comedy trio that was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001.[1]

Personnel[edit]

The group originally consisted of Wendy Bagwell, Geraldine Terry (later known professionally as Jerri Morrison), and Georgia Jones; Jones was succeeded initially by Sandy Garvin[2] and later by Dot Pressley, Virginia Williams, and, ultimately, by "Little Jan" Buckner, who married Bagwell's adopted nephew Ronnie Buckner.[3]

The Bagwell-Morrison-Buckner trio worked together for 33 years and recorded approximately 40 albums.[2] As of 2023, Buckner is the only surviving member of the trio.[4]

Achievements[edit]

The group was the first Southern gospel group to appear at Carnegie Hall[2] and the first to tour Europe, in 1965.[3] Their 1970 comedy monologue, "Here Come the Rattlesnakes" (sometimes known as "The Rattlesnake Song", although it contains no singing or music), an account of their performance at a small church in Harlan, Kentucky that handled rattlesnakes, was the first certifiable million seller in Southern gospel history.[3][5] It eventually sold more than 2 million copies.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame (visited March 10, 2012).
  2. ^ a b c d Jones, Loyal (2008). Country Music Humorists and Comedians. University of Illinois Press. pp. 71–72. ISBN 9780252033698. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b c W.K. McNeil, Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music 21 - 22 (2005).
  4. ^ The Official Site of Little Jan Buckner Ministries (visited June 29, 2008).
  5. ^ Wendy Bagwell (visited June 29, 2008).