I used to see the "Imperials" on television back when they were performing Southern Gospel music. I wasn't a big fan of the music, but I could appreciate what they were doing.
As the years went by, the group cycled through a line-up of members and began to develop a more contemporary pop sound. There was still a focus on the vocal harmonies, but the sound was definitely moving toward a more modern audience.
The album Free the Fire was where I came on board in 1989. This album had a great sound with excellent songs.
I had started a novel back in the mid 1970s and worked on and off on it for a couple of decades. After hearing Free the Fire I used to fantasize that two of that album's best songs, "City in the Sky" and "Touchin' Me", would be played during the closing credits of the movie version of my novel. I still think they would be good if my fantasy ever came to pass.
I couldn't find any videos of those songs, but the live performance video of "Let the Wind Blow" is from the same era and it's a nice tune.
I enjoyed the video Lee and can understand why you wrote this post.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Awesome group to write about. We grew up with this music.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember hearing The Imperials perform before. Thanks for the introduction. Julie
ReplyDeleteThe Imperials was one of the first Christian groups I became familiar with back in the '80's. I still love Let the Wind Blow.
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