ONE SHEET

"Good Ole Gospel Sing" is a made-for-tv documentary based on a true story of "gospel singing" events that would be held on Sand Mountain at Mt. Olive Baptist Church.  A special group of singers would also travel far and wide to many other places all over Northeast Alabama, Southeast Tennessee, and Northwest Georgia.  Charles Allen Kilpatrick, Kelly Garner's great granddady, was a "song leader" that would travel all over for singings with his family and his Sister-In-Law, Myrtle Camp would play the piano "by ear," never usually needing a songbook.  His wife's name was Martha Idell Camp Kilpatrick, a sister to Myrtle, who was never married and lived with them towards the end of her life.  Martha Idell and Charlie had two children, Elise and Camp.  Elise would eventually marry Kermit Cecil Yancey, Sr. and became great friends with Eucille Maddox who would eventually become the director of the Mt. Olive singing.  The singers all preferred to use the shaped-note Tennessee-Vaughan, Benson, Heavenly Highways, Gloryland, and Stamps-Baxter songbooks, but also use hymnals if needed.  The story, told by Kelly Garner, is about the rich heritage that was a part of her musical family.  These are old stories about the family's touring adventures through the years, including the ones held at Mt. Olive Baptist.  The singing inside the church was a sight to behold, but the dinner-on-the-ground outside on the concrete tables under the trees was indeed, a "holy feast."  Every favorite dish imaginable was brought by the ladies of the church and a few of the single or widowed men.  She even tells one story about her great-granddaddy catching a bat in church and kept poking at it with a matchstick.  He kept telling the congregation, "Look at it open its' mouth!"  One of the boys on the front row finally said, "Mr Charlie, that's not its' mouth." LOL!  Kelly Garner can tell these stories because she grew up going to "Good Ole Gospel Sings" at Mt. Olive Baptist Church on Sand Mountain in Alabama located along Hwy 278W. Kelly's grandparents belonged to Mt. Olive and raised her momma (Martha) in that church, but Miss Eucile Maddox, Kelly's grandmother's best friend, was the one who would direct the singing. Once Kelly got old enough to direct a song, Kelly would sit in the "class" down in the front 4 pews with the other professionals that would have driven from the other side of Alabama, Northwest Georgia, Tennessee and even other states. One of Kelly's favorite songs to lead was "What a Meeting in the Air!"  Miss Eucile Maddox's "All-Day Singing" at Mt. Olive occured once a year in late summer/early fall and was a very special event. A "Good Ole Gospel Sing" is a part of Kelly Garner's heritage and is something that will never be forgotten. Kelly produced the video below in August 2024 of her acclaimed radio single with the same title.  This video is a short depiction of how people would gather from far and near to attend a "Good Ole Gospel Sing."