My Favorite Southern Gospel Memory

As any one who knows me knows, I am and always will be the biggest Cathedral Quartet fan. Especially the group in the 80's: Glen, George, Mark, Danny, and Roger. None better. Ever.

So, in the mid 90's, long after Danny and Mark had left the group, my brother Todd and I found ourselves at a concert in Fort Wayne, IN at the Memorial Coliseum. The Cathedrals were the only group on the program. Was looking forward to it, but it just would not be the same without my favorite tenor and favorite baritone.

Concert time, the lights dim. (We were literally in the very last row of seats, nose bleed city!) We noticed that when they introduced the group, only four guys walked out on the stage.

Before they sing a note, George walks to the mic, and says something like this: "Ladies, and gentlemen, our tenor, Ernie Haase could not be here tonight. He has had to stay home for surgery on his hand due to a basketball injury.

"We looked high and low for someone to sing tenor for us this weekend. Ernie suggested that we call a particular tenor, but we figured he would be too busy to come. (Ed.: Yeah, right!)But we called him, and would you make welcome...

MR DANNY FUNDERBURK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The place went crazy. Todd and I were beside our selves. What a dream come true. Danny with the Cathedrals for one last concert. Pinch me, please.

I have seen the Cathedrals many times over the years. I have never heard them as energized as they were that night. It was magical. On the last note of "We Shall See Jesus" Glen and Danny were nailing it so hard, they blew a fuse in the sound system, and it died. And all the way in the nose bleed section, we could still hear those two holding the note, after the system had already died.

We talked with Danny after the concert. He knew us somewhat from some phone conversations that I had had with him when the record label he was working for at the time released a song for us.

We asked him where else he was going to be that weekend, and found out that the Cathedrals were going to be in Grand Rapids, MI, on a Sunday afternoon, for a FREE concert.

Well, you already know where Todd and I ended up on Sunday afternoon. Large church, seated about 5000, they said. Less than 15 minutes after the doors opened, all of the seats on the main floor of the sanctuary were filled, all but the back row. Which is where I was headed.

Todd was more observant than I, and he noticed about 100 chairs that had been placed on the stage around where the group was to sing. Yep, front row for us, on the stage. Oh, and on the side that Danny would be singing.

Emcee introduces the group, again four guys. Again, George gives the same speech as he had in Fort Wayne.

And, to great applause, Danny makes his way on stage.

And walked straight to us and asked "What are you guys doing all the way up here????"

In front of 5000+ people.

And through the course of the concert, Danny would make his way to me and Todd and converse with us.

Wow.


As soon as the concert was over, the pastor of this very large church almost knocked people over to get to me and Todd to shake our hands and tell us how glad he was that we were there. I have always assumed that he thought we were great friends of the Cathedrals.

Nope. Just a couple of nobodies.

Who had just lived out a dream.