ONE SHEET

"Good Ole Gospel Sing" is a situational-comedy based on the whimsical life of the musical Kilpatrick family.  They travel to "gospel sings" every weekend, not only inspiring us with their faith and devotion, but entertaining us with their family drama and unplanned mishaps.  The time period is 1963.  The setting is small country churches along the Sand Mountain chain and beyond, Northeast Alabama, Northwest Georgia and Southeast Tennessee.  Every single week, they pile into their panel station-wagon with "The Kilpatrick Family Singers" sign on top of the vehicle, big enough for all to see.  They took their mission as musicians very seriously and drove to gospel sings all over mountain and beyond.  People from far and near would drive for hours to be a part of these sings and help their friends in the singing "circuit."  In the pilot episode, you will see that Mr. Charlie Kilpatrick is the "song leader" for most of these "sings" in the area and his hefty sister-In-law, Myrtle Camp, plays the piano for these events "by ear."  They all prefer to use standard shaped-note books like the Tennessee-Vaughan, Benson, and Stamps-Baxter, but will also occasional call for a song in the hymn book.  The story's central character is Charlie's wife, Martha Idell.  The leading role is played by Kelly Garner, Mr. Charlie's great granddaughter in real-life.  Each episode is about their preparation and travel to each cross-county adventure every week.  Funny real-life situations happen all along the way, including moments like spit-balls getting launched into Aunt Myrtle's beehive hair-do during her very special piano solo and toilet paper being strung down the center isle after a trip to the bathroom. The children in the family are Camp, Elise, Bobby and Gracie, who are packed into the car and practicing their parts untill they arrive.  Aunt Myrtle usually gets a nap along they arrive.  Camp, the oldest son, always sees a girl at church that he likes, but usually embarasses himself trying to meet her. The pilot episode also includes the entertaining "church ladies" who manage the dinner-on-the-ground. This first episode includes a much-talked-about "run" is someone's panty hose and Mr. Charlie catching a stray bat in the middle of the service.  He tries to show everyone with a match stick how the bat is opening its mouth, until a young boy on the front row informs him that what he is poking at is not the bats mouth.  The young boy who sets Mr. Charlie straight falls over laughing hysterically with all his friends.  They never pull it back together, but one of them becomes the hero and takes the bat outside to set it free from it's torture.  There is always a lively "class" section of singers sitting down front during the singing.  They are considered (at least in their own minds) to be the professionals.  Most of them are very serious about singing, while a couple of the men are up to nothing but mischief.  One of them sees himself as the best dressed in the room and always insists on being an usher.  If anyone comes close to picking up "his" offering plate he nearly runs them over like a bull in a china shop. Jettie Ruth Lumpkin is a member of "The Joy Singers" who brings her trio to most of the singings in the area.  Jettie Ruth is probably the best alto singer at the sings, but there is always another wannabe "star," slightly off-key, who tries to compete.  The competition is real for who can sing the highest and the loudest.  Another important character in the scene is Miss Eucile Maddox who calls people up to direct certain songs.  She is another very accomplished traveling songtress who helps Mr. Charlie as a main "song leader."  The song service is always a spectacle but not nearly as entertaining as the "holy feast" dinner-on-the-ground that provides lunch for everyone.  The attendees are expected to bring a dish and typically try to determine who brought which dish, in order to stay away from certain cooks.  Watching the "church ladies" conversations is entertaining, but the men's "tall tales" are usually over-the-top and sometimes embellished.  After lunch they usually trickle back into the church to sing a little more, acting like they've eaten more than they should have.  Mr. Ernest Brown is usually sitting in the back of the church snoring before the event is over.  At the end of the sing, the Kilpatrick Family is seen packing up their instruments and piling back into the old panel station-wagon for the long journey home.  After a myriad of stories on the way home, they pull into the house about dusk, still laughing about the days events.  They all agree it's been a good day, but now it's time for "The Kilpatrick Family Singers" to get ready for next weeks event as they prepare to go to another "Good Ole Gospel Sing."

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