Glad (band)

GLAD formed on the campus of West Chester State University of Pennsylvania[1] when singer Ed Nalle auditioned for a new Christian band. Nalle, along with Bob Kauflin, would write and produce much of GLAD's early material while serving as lead vocalist. The other members (from Temple University in Philadelphia) were Kauflin (keyboards, vocals), T. Coble (bass, vocals), Don Nalle (bass and lead vocals), John Bolles (guitar, vocals), and Brad Currie (drums). The group's name was chosen from a poll taken at a shopping mall.[4] Playing over 200 dates annually at college campuses, churches and concert halls throughout the United States, GLAD released their first two albums on Myrrh Records: GLAD (1978) and Beyond a Star (1980). Brothers Wayne Scott Farley (guitar, vocals) and Mark Farley (drums) briefly joined the group to record the latter album, Beyond a Star.

In 1981, the groups signed with Benson Records (on their Greentree label) and began releasing albums with different inflections: Captured in Time (1982) was markedly jazzy, Champion of Love (1985) was big and brassy, and Who Do You Love? (1987) offered driving synth rock.

"The Reason" (on Beyond a Star) was their first a cappella song, which they subsequently re-recorded for their watershed 1988 album, The Acapella Project. That album was released with some trepidation because there was no track record for the genre in the Christian market, but it proved tremendously popular, selling over 400,000 copies[1] and receiving a Dove Award nomination and a Billboard Critic's Choice Award. Since that time, GLAD has alternated a cappella recordings with more subdued Adult Contemporary albums, the notable exception being 1995's lively Color Outside the Lines, co-produced by industry veterans Mark Baldwin and Joe Hogue for Light Records.[5]

GLAD made a venture into the mainstream later that year with A Cappella Gershwin (featuring arrangements by Gene Puerling), which helped introduce their music to a wider audience. The Charleston Gazette wrote, "GLAD has long been Christian pop music's most sophisticated ensemble... The singing, built around Ed Nalle's uncanny high tenor, has the elegance and sophistication the source material demands."

To date the group has produced twenty-three albums and performed thousands of concerts; additionally, since 1985 they have helped to secure sponsors for thousands of needy children in Third World nations through Compassion International and trips to countries such as Haiti, Mexico, Ecuador, Kenya, Brazil and Indonesia.

GLAD's most recent lineup included Nalle and longtime members Chris Davis (a musician with a background in classical and electric guitar, plus session work in the Northwest) and John Gates (an experienced studio percussionist who backed Gladys Knight & the Pips, Frankie and the Knockouts, and others), plus alternating keyboardists Paul Langford and Don Pardoe. Kauflin and Don Hart are the group's primary a cappella arrangers.

John Gates passed away on July 8, 2016.[6]

• Official homepage
• Hot AC Hits
• "Primarily A Cappella"
• RARB review of "A Cappella Gershwin"
• RARB review of "The A Cappella Project III
• RARB review of "A Cappella Worship: The Highest Glory"
• Glory Daze Music review of first album
• Interview with Bob Kauflin and Don Nalle
• One-Way.org with OOP early samples
• Read about Glad's involvement with Compassion and the children they sponsor.