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Chapter Three In June 1970 Sons of Thunder took the first steps
toward expanding the band and modernizing its sound even more.
Burnett Thompson, a highly talented recent high school grad from In August of that summer Sons of Thunder performed
for several evenings at “The Upstairs,” a Christian coffeehouse in |
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In the fall of 1970 two new singers joined
SOT. Phyllis Wade and Hendricks Davis, close friends from
Washington, D.C., were both college students attending Fourth Presbyterian at the time
(Phyllis at Roberts Wesleyan University, and Hendricks at |
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Leslie White also continued to sing with SOT for a while that fall, then left to marry Charlie Williams. That winter Robin
Woodhams moved
from the area for a few a months, leaving the bass-player position open.
Steve Halverson joined to fill that spot. The son of Dr. Richard
Halverson, Fourth Presbyterian’s pastor, Steve was an exuberant performer,
and also a talented rock and gospel singer, who brought new vocal
options to the band. He played guitar as well, in addition to congas and
other alternate percussion. Though he hadn't played bass before, he
quickly transferred his guitar skills to the instrument and became a
strong player. |
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Ed Weaver also joined as keyboardist.
Fourth Presbyterian’s organist at the time, Ed was a multi-gifted
player skilled in classical music, rock and jazz. He also sported a
Farfisa organ with a Leslie cabinet (eventually two), which added a new
dimension to SOT’s sound. Ed was also a gifted arranger, and |
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In spring 1971 Robin
moved back to the |
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In less than a year SOT had morphed from a five-piece band with a folk-rock style to an eight-member group with a heavier rock style and more complex arrangements. This new lineup stayed the same for the next year-plus, through the spring of 1972, with Robin, Phyllis and Hendricks singing on the frontline, Ed on keyboard, Donna on second keyboard and vocals, Steve on bass, Blaine on lead guitar, and Don on drums. In March ’71 the band
was joined by Charlie Ruh, the light-show genius whom they’d met at
the Billy Graham coffee house in |
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In May ’71 this new
lineup joined Larry Norman to perform for an outdoor event connected
with the Presbyterian Church’s General Assembly, which was held in SOT needed a place to
meet, practice and store its growing stock of equipment. Dan Hurkett, a
close friend of Steve Halverson’s, graciously provided the use of his
home for this purpose, on |
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In June ’71 Debbie Halverson, Steve’s
sister, joined Sons of Thunder as sound technician. Though just out of
high school, and SOT’s youngest member by several years then, she fit
in perfectly, and proved to be the band’s ideal sound engineer,
staying in that position till June 1974. Debbie eventually developed a
strong vocal talent of her own, sang with the band at SOT reunion
concerts in 1978, 95 and 2000, and today sings with |
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The band worked full time
that summer 1971, performing many nights during June, July and August,
for churches, conference and beach events, in addition to its weekly
appearances at Fourth Presbyterian's college meetings, which
200-300 students were now attending. It returned again to the Upstairs
Coffeehouse in From the beginning, by the way, Sons of Thunder made ministry their top priority at every performance, and continued to throughout their tenure. This emphasis didn’t diminish the quality of their music in any way, and they worked very hard to provide a top performance of compelling music. But they carefully chose their songs, many of them original, for their ability to touch the hearts and consciences of those in their audience, and to move them to respond to Christ. The band saw “responding to Christ” broadly; many in their audiences were already Christian and, far from needing to be preached at, needed encouragement and the reminder of God’s infinite love for them. Many of SOT’s songs were chosen especially to strengthen the faith of Christians present. But SOT also made a point of urging those who weren’t Christian to give their life to Christ. About eight times in a typical concert band members gave brief talks, sharing about their personal relationship with Christ, and about why a song just played or about to be was meaningful to them. Before the final song (from 1969 on almost always “Oh Happy Day”), a member gave a longer “final rap,” urging those who needed to, to give their life to Christ. Apart from the occasional evangelistic rally at which SOT performed, an invitation wasn’t given to come forward. Still, the one giving the final rap clearly explained why accepting Christ was important, and convincingly enough that many committed their lives to Christ at SOT concerts over the years. Following every performance, too, band members would remain as long as needed and talk with anyone wanting to chat. Through this practice the band provided considerable counsel and encouragement to a multitude of people over it’s 7-1/2 years together. SOT continued to perform most weekends through the fall, winter and spring of 1971-72, while
members worked during the week or (in Blaine and Don’s case) attended
seminary and grad school. The band’s popularity and opportunities
continued to grow. On March 24, ’72 SOT performed at the Kennedy
Center, for an evangelistic rally featuring the band plus Then in May SOT performed
for the Virginia Conference (annual state meeting) of the Outside of the summer of
1971, SOT had been part-time since its inception in June ’67. But by
spring ’71, members were sensing the time had come to commit to it
full-time and year-round. The opportunities to perform were now
sufficient to justify it. And members were passionate enough about the
idea that they decided to go for it, and so in June ’72 Sons of Thunder
became a full-time operation. Five years of active part-time performing
had paved the way for this monumental step of faith. |
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SOT's lineup from June 1971 to late
spring 1972 (L to R, B to F): Don Williamson |
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Back to photo gallery for this period |
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Sons
of Thunder |
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Celebrating America's Pioneer Christian Rock Band |
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