“I’ve Just Started Living”…PRAY for Danny!
EDITOR’S UPDATE June 12: DANNY FUNDERBURK HAD DOUBLE BYPASS SURGERY MONDAY JUNE 11th…I spoke with Stan Shuman, a member of Danny’s group, on Monday evening and he reported that all went exceedingly well. Of course, Danny will have a few days in the hospital…then a 2-3 month recovery time before he can resume his ministry traveling and singing. Danny lives by faith and will need our support, offerings and prayers during this trying time. Praise God for His great faithfulness to see Danny through the surgery! We are confident that HE will provide for and sustain His servant in the days to come. Soon we will post an address where we can all send a love offering to help this dear gospel singer.
…The following original post includes a pretty neat Danny/Cathedrals story. Danny, your’e a blessing to all of us, and millions more!
ORIGINAL POST…June 6th…
I have just read at sogospelnews.com that my precious friend, legendary tenor Danny Funderburk, had a “mild” heart attack this past Sunday morning. Thank God, his son Jason was with him (on the road) and was able to get him to a hospital ER quickly. The latest information I have indicates that his blood count has not been high enough for doctors to do some treatment that they would like to do. (?) I hope Danny will fully recover. I am so glad that I had the joy to see and hug Danny at the recent Roger Bennett Memorial in Brentwood, TN. Please pray for Danny right now!
FYI: Danny sang with the historic CATHEDRAL QUARTET at a time when I had the priviledge to be very close to the group. There have been several outstanding versions of the “Prestigious Cathedral Quartet”…but none greater than the Funderburk, Mark Trammell, George Younce and Glen Payne configuration…No doubt, I am biased due to my closeness to this particular era of the awesome CATHEDRALS. As I personally ease into my role as a professional southern gospel performer, I will probably begin blogging about my numerous and treasured experiences with George, Glen, Mark and Danny (Gerald and Roger too)…I’m a little hesitant to share a lot right now for fear that some will criticize me as a “brown-nosed” name dropper! I’ll pay a little more of my SG dues before I reveal very much of my wonderful relationship with these men at such a tremendous time in their careers. Suffice it to say that I count these experiences even dearer now that I am a member of Ed Hill’s classic Prophets Quartet.
However, in light of the fact that Danny is laid up in a hospital this morning, I want to share one personal “Danny/Cathedrals” story today as a tribute to my ailing friend:
I had the incredible blessing to be in Bill Gaither’s Indiana studio (as George and Glen’s invited guest) with George, Glen, Mark, Bill and producer/arr Lari Goss when Danny “cut” his famous vocal of Carroll McGruder’s electrifying song, “I’ve Just Started Living”. For any of you who might wonder if these guys were just “performers” for product buying fans, or have any questions about the sincerity of these men’s hearts, I only wish you could have been in that place that evening! The short version is that “the glory fell”…there was shouting, laughter, praises and tears all over the place (as they say). None of us that were there will ever forget it! Oh yes, Danny’s performance was as electrifying as the song…everyone knew that something special was happening musically (the song went on to be the album title)…BUT, most of all, everyone knew that something special was happening spiritually. Genuine rejoicing broke out over the great honor and priviledge to sing of the life-changing “Glorious Gospel” of Jesus Christ!…
Only a couple of days later my youngest son, Micah (he was about 10), and I were guest of The Cathedrals at The Forum in Jonesboro, AR for “An Evening With The Cathedrals”…a concert promoted by the late Paul Boden. It was their first public performance after the previously mentioned recording session and the first time they ever sang “I’ve Just Started Living” for an audience. What a moment! Danny was magnificent as he encored the song not once, not twice, but three times! From the stage, George told the story of how we had experienced an “unusual presence of the Lord” during the recording session only a few days earlier, and how that same “glory” had fallen as they sang in Jonesboro. Then he recognized me from the stage…shared that I had been with them when they recorded the song…and then asked me to lead the audience in prayer for the quartet and specifically ask the Lord to bless and use them everytime they sang THAT song, again and again and again. The same annointing fell on us as we prayed that evening. It seemed like the Lord God himself was smiling on us all!…Amen.
After the concert, Micah and I had the joy of riding The Cathedral bus (Fred was driving) from Jonesboro back to Little Rock. Micah and Gerald laughed and played almost all of the 100+ miles as the guys (in their pajamas) and I continued our rejoicing all the way to the I-430 exit where they dropped us off before they continued on to Tulsa for their next concert and their “second” performance of “I’ve Just Started Living”…
Dear God, please help Danny get better, get back to that stage, and get back to that glorious singin’! He’s “just started living”…for YOU!
Come on….come blog with me!
June 6th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Paul,
This was an awesome post. Thank you for sharing your experience with The Cathedrals, but most of all thanks for sharing about the precious annointing you guys were blessed with. God is good!
Adam
June 6th, 2007 at 9:31 am
[…] Here’s a link to the post: http://pauljacksongroup.com/blog/?p=25 […]
June 6th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Paul,
I prayed for your friend. It’s awesome that you have had the priviledge to share in such wonderful times that have magnified our Lord. What a priviledge to have you as our Pastor. I look forward to some more stories that I hope you will share about your experiences with the Cathedrals and others. God bless!
Brenda
June 6th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Thanks Adam…I hope we all will be praying for Danny! Thanks again for stopping by and leaving your note. I also appreciate the link at your site.
www.southerngospelcritique.com/?p=51#comment-244
Sincerely,
Paul Jackson
June 6th, 2007 at 10:09 am
Brenda “Q”…I love being your pastor. You are an awesome friend to Kathy and me. We will share more stories as we feel the liberty. Thanks for reading and contributing to my blog!
God Bless America!
Paul Jackson
June 6th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Paul - thanks for the post and information on Danny. He’ll certainly be in our prayers. I was blessed to be able to spend time with Danny last month at what was billed as a “Singing Americans reunion” in Soperton, Ga. Danny, Ed Hill, Buddy Burton, and Dwayne Burke got together (along with the Hall Sisters/Family) for a memorable church homecoming event.
Dean
June 6th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Paul, thanks for the post. While I have been a fan of every Cathedral combination from the mid-70s, I have to agree that my favorite version was the Funderburk, Trammell, Payne, Younce, and Bennett group. My favorite recording was/is “Traveling Live” followed closely by the album you referenced.
I, too, will be praying for Danny. I was privileged to host Danny while serving as a worship leader in Kentucky, and was impressed by his beautiful spirit and dynamic ministry.
Keep posting, Paul. God bless!
June 6th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
DEAN…thanks for stopping by. Ed Hill loved the SA reunion. He was really blessed…visit us again soon.
KEITH…yeh…it’s hard to argue with your opinions…I think my second favorite CAT record is SYMPHONY…I am moved everytime I hear Glen begin singing “God Himself A Lamb” and I love the acca stuff too. Lari and I have talked about how this disc changed the standard for SG….yes, Danny is a sweet brother.
EVERYONE…Danny will have triple bypass surgery Thursday.
Find the details here:
www.sogospelnews.com/index/news/comments/7399/
Thanks for praying…
Paul Jackson / The Prophets
June 7th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Bro Paul,
What a story. Won’t it be wonderful when we get to Heaven!!!! You are truly a blessing to me and all the ones that visit your blog. I love this gospel singing and do get such a blessing from ARC performances and rehearsals also.
June 7th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Danny is in our prayers with you and others. Thanks for your blog page you have set up. I enjoy reading about all the items you have knowledge about and the response you get.. Thanks again jp
June 8th, 2007 at 5:04 am
PJ—
Could you edit your post again? I heard via DeeAnn Bailey (who had talked to Jason F) that the surgery had to be delayed until Monday.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Thanks DJM…the update has been edited.
PJ
June 8th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Thank you!
June 8th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
[…] Cathedrals tenor Danny Funderburk had a mild heart attack a few days ago. Paul Jackson is keeping this post updated with the current news…and if you visit, you get the extra bonus of some Funderburk […]
June 9th, 2007 at 5:03 am
Paul,
Thanks for sharing that time with Danny and the Cathedrals. Wow! That must have been something you will always hold dear. We loved the Cathedrals and miss having new music from them, but still play the beloved music that we do have . Keep us posted about Danny please.
June 11th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
First, I pray Danny will come thru this okay.
I met Danny at the Charles Novell School back in 2001, I think. He is a classey down to earth guy, and sings like an angel. I have been thru this surgery in 1995 and came out pretty good. The Lord blessed me and I know he will do the same for Danny
There is life after heart surgery, praise the Lord!!!
Larry Eyre
June 20th, 2007 at 10:51 am
I spoke with Danny yesterday and he asked that I get the word out that he’s doing very well. He’s having some blood pressure issues right now, but that is expected to get better. Yesterday was the first day he has tried to make any calls. He’s doing great, but tires very easily. The replacement artery they used from his chest was the most perfect the surgeon had ever seen in his experience as a heart surgeon. PRAISE THE LORD!! When the doctors saw the blockages and where they were, they were simply amazed at how Danny avoided the “widow maker”. But we who know the Lord and Savior know EXACTLY how that came to be!!
The surgery went well, and as you may have heard, they had him up walking around the very next day.
One of the most important things that Danny needs right now is the understanding of his loving friends. He’s had so many calls from folks who are concerned about him, and with Danny’s loving heart, he would like to be able to return every call. But, in order for him to get the rest that he needs to heal, it will be a while before he is able to make or receive calls. He appreciates and covets every prayer for him and asks that we keep praying for his speedy recovery, and of course, the astronomical medical bills that he is now faced with. So for those who really want to help Danny, he needs our prayers, our understanding and any financial help that people feel led to offer. Oh, and Playstation 2 games! HA! Seriously, Jason got him a Playstation 2, so he’s asking if anyone has a game to donate “for the cause” and to help and aid in his recovery, send them on over! He already has a “Tiger Woods Golf”, “Fishing”, “Baseball” and something else.
You may send “Get Well” wishes, financial contributions, or Playstation 2 games to:
Danny Funderburk Ministries
PO Box 335
Indian Trail, NC 28079
Thanks so much,
Sonya
June 24th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Thanks for the update on Danny, Sonya. I too have been unable to reach him by phone, mail or email. I’m sure I’ll hear from him (directly or indirectly) when his recovery is a bit further along. It was great to hear of his progress. He will remain in my prayers.
Jack