A SPECIAL SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH RONNY HINSON
SOUTHERN GOSPEL SPOTLIGHT PRESENTS
A SPECIAL SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH THE LEGENDARY SINGER /SONGWRITER,
RONNY HINSON
Ronny Hinson. A Living Legend in Southern Gospel and Christian music. Hinson is best known for being a member of his family's group The Hinsons and his incredible songs "Mercy Built A Bridge," "The Lighthouse," and many more. I cannot begin to express the joy that this interview brought me. Thank you to Roger Spears, Les Butler, and Mr. Hinson for making this possible!! On March 4th, I had the pleasure of receiving a phone call from Butler and Hinson and interviewed him for about 15 minutes. Here is the conversation:
J. Gilmore: Hello Mr. Hinson!
R. Hinson: Hello Justin! How are you today in California?
J. Gilmore: Doing great! How are you out there?
R. Hinson: Well, we’re about to have one more big ole deep freeze.
J. Gilmore: Oh man! First off, how did you get your start in Southern Gospel music?
R. Hinson: Well, I got my start in good ole California in 1967, December 12th of 1967 The Hinsons sang our first song together and we had sung like an individual, you know solo or a couple of siblings sung a duet or one sibling would sing with our dad, but we had never sung as a group and we went to a revival meeting in a little Church of God across town in a little town called Freedom, California which was a bedroom community of Watsonville, CA. There in the middle of a revival meeting, we were asked to come up and sing, and when I was asked to come and sing , I kinda reneged from using the excuse that I couldn’t get my brother to come and sing with me, so I wasn’t gonna sing, but he ended up coming and singing with me and he bribed my sister to come and then my younger brother and so the four of us, and we’d never actually done a group thing together, but uh that day we sang an old Goodman song called, “The Eyes Of Jesus” and uh the family harmony was just a natural thing and it happened. Some other ministers heard us that were visiting the revival and asked me to come sing for them in another town and two weeks after we sung the first time, we were singing a second time and the first offering and that was $5 and we split it up among each other on the sidewalk outside the church. J. Gilmore: Haha that’s great! Ok next question: Who are your musical influences?
R. Hinson: Of course the Happy Goodman Family, and The Rambos, the Oak Ridge Boys and even the Speer Family. J. Gilmore: Those are some great groups! So, who is your favorite singer in Gospel or secular music?
R. Hinson: Me. Hahaha. No. My favorite singer in general would have to be, of course outside of my brother Kenny, seriously outside of my brother Kenny would probably be Rusty Goodman. J. Gilmore: Oh yeah! He was really great! Who are your favorite groups? Past or present
R. Hinson: Favorite groups now?
J. Gilmore: Yeah. Past or Present.
R. Hinson: Past or present. I would say… I really like the Rambos, I like the Downings, and needless to say I like Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. I like their bluegrass harmonies.
J. Gilmore: Uh huh.
R. Hinson: I just cover the whole spectrum don’t I?
J. Gilmore: Yeah. That’s good! Hahaha
R. Hinson: You think I’m tryin’ to say I like ‘em all!
J. Gilmore: (Laughs) That’s good! Next question: So you sang with the Dunawayss on a song of yours, tell me about that.
R. Hinson: That was the thrill of my mature days. I just… I just cannot explain to you how wonderful that felt and I probably wouldn’t have gotten that opportunity had it not been one of my songs they were singing, but nonetheless I would like to think they would have chosen me no matter what song, but I got to sing on a song that was the #1 song that the Hinsons, the Original Hinsons had 1988 when we retired as a group and it was a song that I wrote called “mercy Built A Bridge” and the Dunaways revisited that song and literally resurrected it with their rendition and it is as we say back in Nashville hot, hot, hot! They just, they once again… I was happy to do it and play my role, but once again just like Kenny used to use me and Kanah used me, they did, like if you walk into the appliance department at Sears & Roebuck, I would be the washing machine without any bells or whistles umm so I was the lackluster washing machine and here come Kanah and she showed off! She just sung the stars out of the sky with her rendition of that song. It made it live again.
J. Gilmore: Yeah, I listened to it last night. It was so good. So, out of the many songs you have written, which has meant the most to you?
R. Hinson: I would say, of course, “The Lighthouse” because it kinda gave us our launch and you know put us in the minds of fans and everybody in Southern Gospel back especially in the Bible Belt, but eventually all over the world! And so “The Lighthouse” and “When He Was On The Cross I Was On His Mind” was a song that really came along and did so well for (pause) causing my writing to get be renowned. Then, I don’t think I’ve written a better song than “Mercy Built A Bridge” the one we were just talking about. J. Gilmore: Yeah. Ok, what is your favorite Scripture verse?
R. Hinson: My favorite Scripture verse is Psalms 46:10 and it says, “Be still and know that I am God!” and (pause) It came in a time when I needed it the most. It’s a long story, but it was really really timely. I read the first verse. It was great. And uh the second verse was great, but when I got down to the tenth verse and as the Lord impressed me to read that Scripture as my answer and uh.., but when I got down to the tenth verse and read “Be still and know that I am God” ; I recognized that I was giving my dilemma all the attention, giving the problem the attention and not the answer, the solution and when I got to the tenth verse, I found my solution. J. Gilmore: That’s great! What is something that people might not know about you?
R. Hinson: Uh, that I’m as old as I am. Haha I look a lot younger. I uh don’t know how to answer that, Justin, other than I hope what people do know about is that I’m real. (pause). I wanna be real. I’m not perfect, but wanna be real. But what they don’t know about me… I don’t know because I want my life to be an open book. J. Gilmore: That’s good! What is the most memorable experience you’ve had in your years of singing Gospel music?
R. Hinson: The most memorable I would say would be when I was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame with my family The Hinsons. It was a culmination in a natural sense. I mean I would have to say many of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had is and I know, I think probably were all the services at the churches when I sang and I think many people come to the Lord in those… and were exciting and memorable lifetime experiences, but in the natural of achievement of what you’ve done in your musical career when I was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. J. Gilmore: That’s great! Any advice for aspiring Gospel artists?
R. Hinson: Yeah. The greatest thing that I could say to them is cultivate your talent, cultivate your charisma, and cultivate your anointing. But if you really want the blessings of God on your life, you really want your ministry to make its mark, (pause) really focus on your faithfulness to God. Stay faithful, because God’s not impressed as much with our careers or our anointing, or our talent, as he is with our faithfulness.
J. Gilmore: What can fans expect from you and your ministry the year?
R. Hinson: Uh well, we are just basically turning up the heat, going down new avenues (pause)we’re not fixin’ anything that isn’t broke, but we are always looking for new doors to expand our ministry. And I’m writing more than I’ve ever written and I think, you know I’m not an expert on other people’s songs, I’m only an expert on my songs and I can only speak as to the growth of my songs and I see myself writing better than ever and that means (pause) messages. Messages is the emphasis. Singing more than I’ve ever sung. Got more energy and drive and I’m more excited like I was when I was a young person and it was first birthed in me. I’m excited about it. So I would say the sky’s the limit.
J. Gilmore: That’s good! Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to talk to me, and this has been a thrill to get to talk to a living legend. Thank you so much.
R. Hinson: Well, Justin, thank you for what you do, because people like you bring us together with the people and without you I would only be a legend to people like Les Butler. (Laughs)
L. Butler: Don’t forget you’d be a legend in your own mind! (laughs)
R. Hinson: That’s exactly right! Alright, say hello to everyone in California for me, ok!
J. Gilmore: I will!
R. Hinson: I still love it!
J. Gilmore: Thanks! Goodbye.
For more information on Ronny and his ministry, visit his website: http://www.ronnyhinsonministries.com/