Pastor Dave Martin and Family – Echoes
Please join me in the prayer that I said about 5 seconds into the second track. ”Oh sweet Jesus, PLEASE MAKE THIS STOP!!!!! …..and while you’re there…could you help the Vikings get to the Super Bowl? Thanks”.
The great thing about most religious albums is that they’re put together on a shoestring budget and the cover art usually reflects it. Couldn’t they afford a background? It looks like the girls pictures were cut out and glued to a white board. And I’m pretty sure that I’ve got a picture of my two oldest sisters in these same dresses from back around 1969. Or at least something pretty close.
Wow, where to start….My two least favorite things to listen to all wrapped in one package. Religious music and children. Yep, that’s right…I said it. I don’t like children. For those of you who are fans of religious music and children, you may want to fast forward to the next album post because I’ve probably already irritated you more than usual.
Its not that I dislike all religious music. I should be more specific. Its white people singing religious music that I can’t stand. I grew up going to a church with an almost all white congregation and I don’t recall it every being remotely enjoyable. It wasn’t a celebration, it was punishment. How is that going to get me to buy into the entire concept of religion? ”Come join us and be miserable”. You wouldn’t sell many time-shares with that sales pitch.
Gospel music, on the other hand, is a completely different animal. It’s music with soul. I don’t want to make this into a race thing, but on average, it just seems to me that people of color have a lot more fun at church. As proof, I give you Mr. Jimmy Carter. He’s the member of the Blind Boys of Alabama taking the lead in this video. If you’ve never seen him live, the man is incredible. The last time I saw the Blind Boys, Jimmy worked himself into such a frenzy that he was running up and down the aisles. Keep in mind he was 78 at the time and is completely blind. It didn’t matter to him. He was so excited to share his message that he kept getting away from the poor guy who was suppose to wrangle him back to the stage. Now that’s a passionate belief.
Pastor Martin apparently had a Sunday afternoon television show that was broadcast to parts of Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas back in the 1960′s. I personally don’t remember it but the odds of me ever watching a religious service on T.V. were probably similar to the odds of Sarah Palin being invited to join Mensa. (oh no he didn’t) Especially on a Sunday afternoon of all times. Hmmm…..should I watch Pastor Martin……or football? Frankly I can’t believe that anyone would tune in to hear watch a show that featured the contents of this album. You’d really have to love children to find this entertaining.
“I’ve been to war. I’ve raised twins. If I had a choice, I’d rather go to war.” George W. Bush
Tracks:
Side One
- 01_01 – There is a Fountain
- 01_02 – Joybells
- 01_03 – Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
- 01_04 – Why Worry When You Can Pray?
- 01_05 – Train Medley
- 01_06 – School Medley
- 01_07 – Some Golden Daybreak
- 01_08 – Coming Again
- 01_09 – It Will Be Worth it All
Side Two
- 02_01 – Time is Swiftly Passing
- 02_02 – Fix Your Eyes Upon Him
- 02_03 – Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
- 02_04 – Walking in Sunlight
- 02_05 – Make My Life to Be Like a Melody
- 02_06 – They Bound the Hands of Jesus
- 02_07 – Fairest Lord Jesus
- 02_08 – I’m Redeemed
- 02_09 – At Calvary
- 02_10 – On the Cross of Calvary
- 02_11 – My Only Hope
I grew up watchin the telecase in Minnesota and had the privelege of seeing them in person and having Pastor Martin draw a beautiful large drawing of Christ right when we were listening to the message. He gave me the drawing and I still have it somewhere at my mothers. Where do they all live now? Is Pastor Martin still living? It was a thrill for me to hear the little girls sing again!
Is this ministry still performing today?
To the author: I asked my mom (she’s the girl on the far left of the cover of the album) and she confirmed that the pictures were in fact cut out and glued onto a white background! Thanks for the comments on this album! Though I’m sad that you had such a negative expereince in the church, and that you took a jab at my family, I can appreciate some of the humor of this post!
To Dee: Yes, my grandpa, Dave Martin, is still alive, although not preaching anymore. His ministry is much different now, but he is still active in sharing his faith! The girls don’t really perform much anymore outside of special occasions for a church or family event. If you’d like any other info, let me know. I’ll be sure to pass your story on to my grandpa! He’ll be encouraged by that!
I always struggle to post albums like this because I know that there’s a strong possibility that I’ll offend someone if I make jokes about the contents or it’s creators. That was especially true in this case. While I don’t believe that I took any jabs directly at your family, I’ll admit to finding this difficult to listen to. My goal is to be entertaining and allow people to judge for themselves whether or not they like the obscure albums that I post. I realize the my personal opinions aren’t necessarily shared by others and I do encourage people to tell me if I’m out of line.
As for the topic or religion, I’ll admit to spending a considerable portion of my life struggling with the subject. I grew up Catholic, briefly attended a Lutheran College, and finally found peace as an Atheist. It’s not something that I usually talk about because I’ve found a few passionately religious people who feel that I’m an immoral human being for not sharing their belief in a higher power. Personally, several of my best friends are Christians and Muslims. The reason that they’re my friends is because they’re comfortable enough with their own set of beliefs to not be threatened by mine. I don’t believe that you need a belief in God to be a good person and that’s where some folks disagree with me. To me, it’s how a person treats others that ultimately defines what type of person they are, not whether or not they share the same set of religious beliefs. Ultimately, I respect anyone’s right to pursue their own religious beliefs as long as they aren’t trying to force them on others.
If I’ve treated your family with any disrespect, I apologize. My goal is to treat others as I would like to be treated myself. Since I probably poke more fun at myself in these postings than I do at the people who create the albums, I’m not always aware if I may have crossed a line. There’s no shortage of hate and anger-filled content on the internet and the last thing I want to do is contribute any more.
Lastly, let me thank you for reading my tiny blog and taking the time to respond. It still blows my mind that people even find my site but the fact that they do, absolutely makes my day.