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With an ear to the street, eyes on the Lord, and roots in the rich tradition of the Gospel quartet, G4 delivers a message of contemporary relevance and urgency in a musical vernacular of that defies the limitations of genre or demographics. This is truly music for the masses…irresistible to anyone with ears and basic vital signs, much less heart, soul and spirit.
Ready Or Not, the group's latest MCG release, is a back-to-back, full-tilt journey into that rare, anointed place where entertainment, inspiration and worship meet in perfect harmony. On an album with 12 potential hits-in-the-making-all but one written by group's co-founder and leader, George Dean-it's hard to pick any one track over another. Still, several songs literally jump up and command attention.
The collection's compelling title song is a driving, rocking testimony to God's faithfulness, combining the powerful, precision vocals of Gospel with a jamming piano, bone-crunching backbeat and a smoking horn section.
As hot and happening a track as it is, George's heart and hopes for the song reflect a message that reaches as far back in time as the very Gospels themselves. "The song is saying how crucial it is that we do everything we can to see that our hearts and souls are fit for Christ's return," says George, "because we don't know when that will be. All we know for certain is that it is coming one day, whether we are ready or not. Personally, I want to be ready."
"Thank You For Making A Way" is a soulful, steady rolling offering of praise to the Lord for His eternal faithfulness. "That song came at a time when I was having some personal and family problems," George recalls, "and God was there to answer my prayers and turn it all around for the good. That made me stop and realize that that is how it's always been-and what He's always done-for me, over all my life. And I just wanted to tell him `thank you.'"
"Empty Handed, Empty Hearted, Empty Headed" adds a bluesy flavor to it bedrock quartet groove, as George sings of the one of the downfalls most church folks find themselves succumbing to from time to time.
"We all go the church every Sunday morning-often with heavy problems of all sorts in our lives-and we listen to what the preacher says," George comments, "but sometimes when leave, we leave still carrying those same burdens. And we may go back again and again and leave the same way. But the real cause of that comes from us. Scripture says if we put our trust in the Lord, He will make a way for us. We need to be in the Word, and in church, and paying attention to what we read and what's said, and really applying it to our lives. That's where the solutions are going to come from."
George was a musical child, raised in a strong Christian home in a rural Tennessee crossroads about 45-minutes from Memphis. A natural-born singer, George also excelled academically and athletically, and attended Memphis' Lemoyne-Owen College on a musical and athletic scholarship.
Baseball was his sport-in his day he was a pitcher of some renown, well-respected for the "heat" of his fastball-and Gospel was his music. While he'd fronted Top 40 soul bands through his teen years, as well as being a fixture in his church choir, George felt his heart tugging him toward sacred music and the environment it engendered.
"Gospel has always just made me feel so good," he explains. "It's always true and always refreshing, and the people and places are where you perform it are uplifting and inspiring. No other form of music can compete with that. "
Fresh out of college, George joined forces with G4's co-founder and only remaining original member, singer John Whitmore, and two other musicians to form what was originally known in longhand as the Gospel Four.
"Gospel music must reach beyond the doors of the church," says George, "and I see no reason we should limit ourselves. Our children are our future, so I've never stopped listening and watching to see what gets them going. I want to further the Gospel…to gather people from the streets and highways. If that means that I need make the drums hot and rockin' to get their attention, then that's just fine with me. I believe that's what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote about being all things to all people in order to win them to Christ."
The G4 line-up on Ready Or Not includes George and his brother Littleton Dean on lead vocals, supported by singers Tony Mason, Carl Anthony and Jorgen Jackson, with Hendrick Blair on drums, Patrick Hopson playing keyboards, Brandon Anthony on bass, and Carl Anthony, Mark Blair and Elroy Jones handling guitars.
Although the first G4 began as merely "something fun and worthwhile to do on the weekends," the group's following gradually grew from its strong Memphis base to a regional and then national following, which now finds G4 doing from 120 to 200 dates a year at churches, coliseums, and outdoor festivals, as well as philanthropic work in hospitals, nursing homes and numerous charitable institutions.
While humbly giving all credit and praises to the Lord, George also readily sites the rich musical heritage of the group's hometown as a major contributor to G4's growth and popularity.
"Memphis music-whatever style--just plain sounds good," he says. "I have been inspired by Memphis and its musicians my entire life. They strive for excellence, therefore they have longevity. And if you're going to play anything in Memphis, you had better be very, very good at it, or you won't be asked to come back. We consider it mandatory-and work hard to fine tune and perfect our sound. The message is not even going to be heard if the harmony, the blend, and the band are not totally tight. As long as we're on this earth, striving to grow and improve-as musicians in particular, and as human beings in general-is our greatest purpose. Music is our joy, and we take and give great pleasure in what we do. But at the end of the day, we are committed to listen out for the Lord, and when He speaks, to follow Him. He'll take us in the right direction.
"He always has, and He always will."
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