Remembering Vestal Goodman of The Happy Goodmans

JoJo_TheDogFacedBoy

I remember Vestal Goodman. That magnificent voice became familiar to me in my teens, and all of us have enjoyed the talent and personality for more than fifty years. I remember those beautiful eyes and that magnetic smile. I remember the vivid colored, designer clothes and the jewelry. From the early years, I remember the long hair, piled high in a hugh nest of curls and from more recent years, the fashionable coiffured style. And all of us remember the trade mark white hankerchief waving from the stage.

Originally from the Albertville, Alabama-Sand Mountain, Alabama area, Howard and Vestal Goodman began their ministry shortly after their marriage in November of 1949. Vestal, sister of noted tenor singer, "Cat" Freeman remembered with the Statesmen, met Howard during camp meeting services, when he was 25 and she, only 15. They eloped four years later, and as they say, "the rest is history." Fortunately for southern Gospel music, that history included their fifty odd years singing Gospel music.

Vestal was vacationing with her family in Florida when she went home to be with the Lord. She had become ill during their Christmas vacation there. How fitting that her passing from with world to the next, took place in Celebration, Florida. I can just imagine her chuckle and comment "That's just what it was...a celebration!" Vestal's funeral was held at Christ Church in Nashville, Tennessee at 1:00 PM on New Year's Day, 2004. It was not a funeral, but a celebration of the life of this wonderful lady; this Queen of Gospel Music.

Howard and Vestal started a church in Madisonville, Kentucky. They ministered there and toured the country singing. They started a recording studio there which produced many of the top Gospel hits during the '70s and '80s. The Goodmans became a headline group all across the nation during those years, and became a household word to fans of Gospel music