History

The Gold City Quartet formed under the ownership of Dahlonega, GA businessman Floyd Beck at the beginning of 1980.  Beck bought out a quartet based in Mississippi named The Christianaires. The Christianaires consisted of tenor Bob Oliver, lead Jerry Ritchie, baritone Ken Trussell, bass Dallas Gilliland, pianist Larry Goddard, bass guitarist Cary Kirk, drummer Wayne Hussey, and steel guitarist David Holloway.  Most of these men would move to Dahlonega, GA to form the nucleus of a new quartet named Gold City.  Dallas Gilliland and Harold McVey would sing bass until Tim Riley of Gadsden, AL could move his family to Dahlonega. Riley would sing bass for most of the next 34 years while becoming a gospel music legend and a member of multiple Hall of Fames.

Kingsmen Quartet owner Eldridge Fox took the group under his wing early on.  He produced almost all of the projects recorded by Gold City in their first eight years.  The Kingsmen's band, including future Gold City baritone Mark Trammell playing bass guitar, provided instrumentation for Gold City's debut recording, First Day In Heaven. 

The group's band had several changes early on with musicians changing positions (Larry Goddard moving to bass guitar) and new members like pianist John Reinhardt, Jr.  By 1981, the first long-term nucleus for the "Band Of Gold" was formed with pianist Garry (then spelled with one r) Jones, drummer John Noski, and steel guitarist (and later long time studio engineer for the group) Jerry Lloyd.  Jeff Easter joined and played bass guitar until he was replaced by Ken Bennett. 

In the fall of 1981, the group went into the studio and recorded a project entitled Ive Got A Feeling, which featured five songs written by Squire Parsons.  The title song from the project, written by Squire, would become the group's first radio single upon the album's release in 1982.

In 1982, tenor Bob Oliver left the group and was replaced by 19 year old Brian Free.  Brian's first recording with Gold City was taped on July 24, 1982.  It was the group's first live recording, appropriately entitled, Live.  This project ended with what would become the group's first hit song, In My Robe Of White, written by Geneice Spencer Ingold.  The group's version of the song reached #3 on the Singing News chart.

In 1983, original baritone Ken Trussell left the group.  The decision was made that lead Jerry Ritchie would move to baritone and a new lead singer would be found.  Bill Crittendon joined the group for a short time before Ivan Parker (from the Singing Americans) took over the lead.  Ivan's Gold City recording debut was entitled I Think I'll Read It Again, and the title song became the group's first number one song, one of the group's many hits written by Sandy Knight.

After the release of I Think I'll Read It Again, Brian left the group and was replaced by Benny Blackburn.  Benny recorded three table projects with the group.  Brian Free rejoined the group in 1984 and Benny would go on to join the Anchormen.

Gold City's 1985 release, Sing With The Angels, saw the first use of Lari Goss and an orchestra by the group.  This marked the first step away from the group's previous country sound.  The group also experienced a major change on September 12, 1985 when owner Floyd Beck passed away.  By December 1985, Tim Riley assumed leadership of the group and moved the group's base to his hometown of Gadsden, AL.  Original member Jerry Ritchie decided not to move to Alabama with the group.

To replace Jerry, Gold City brought in the Singing Americans' bus driver and fill-in baritone, Mike Lefevre.  Mike's smoother baritone voice was another step away from the country sound.  The addition of Mike also completed Gold City's first "mega group" lineup of Brian Free, Ivan Parker, Mike, Tim Riley, and Garry Jones.  This lineup's first label recording, Double Take Live, featured the number one song, "When I Get Carried Away".  The recording was also the first in which Garry Jones was credited as assistant producer and arranger.

 The group's next label project, Movin' Up, included the first recording of their signature song, "Midnight Cry".  The song quickly went to the top of the Singing News chart. In an admittedly unscientific poll ran online by Singing News editor Danny Jones, the song was voted the number one song in the history of southern gospel music.  The song helped propel Gold City to a string of dominant showings in the Singing News Fan Awards.  The group won multiple awards for various favorites, including group, tenor, lead, baritone, bass, album, video, male singer, and young artist.

 While "Midnight Cry" took the group to the heights of popularity in the industry, Garry Jones emergence as a brilliant producer/arranger would take them to the top critically.  Jones started assisting Eldridge Fox as producer 1986, and in 1989, he produced his first Gold City label recording, Goin' Home, on his own.  The project featured the number one hit, "Gettin' Ready To Leave This World," a song the group had recorded previously on a table recording in 1986.  Jones would continue to produce all of Gold City's recordings until his departure from the group.

To this day, many people feel that the "Gold City-sound" was encompassed best by the lineup of Free, Parker, Lefevre, Riley, and Jones.  A lot of those same people point to one album in particular to prove their point - Pillars of Faith.  The problem is that the group underwent a change at the baritone position before that project.  Steve Lacey replaced Lefevre in 1992 prior to the recording of the project.  That misunderstanding does nothing to lessen the quality and impact of Pillars Of Faith.  Garry Jones, along with orchestrator Lari Goss, created a southern gospel masterpiece years ahead of its time.  The project featured hit songs like "If God Be For Us", "One More Time Will Do It", and the Dove Award winning "There Rose A Lamb".  The opening track of the recording was an acapella arrangement of "Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus".  The reception the song received paved the way for the group's 1993 label recording, a collection of hymns and classics with updated vocal arrangements, entitled Acapella Gold.

Surprisingly, Acapella Gold was the end of a major chapter in the history of Gold City.  Longtime members Brian Free and Ivan Parker, winners of 20 individual Singing News Fan Awards during their time with Gold City, left the group at the end of 1993.  Parker would become a soloist and a fixture on the Gaither Homecoming videos, as well as the third voice in the Bill Gaither Trio.  Free would form Brian Free & Assurance with former Gold City baritone Mike Lefevre. 

Although Tim Riley gave thought to disbanding the group, he decided to carry on.  Steve Lacey moved to the lead vocalist position and former Cathedral Mark Trammell was hired to sing baritone.  To sing tenor, Riley picked Jay Parrack, son of former Kingsmen tenor Johnny Parrack.  The lineup's only recording was entitled Renewed, a strong, yet too often forgotten project.

The year 1994 continued to be a year of change in the group.  While Trammell and Parrack would become mainstays, Lacey would not.  He left the group to join the Kingdom Heirs.  David Hill, former member of the Anchormen and Singing Americans, would replace him.

The year would also see the departure of two longtime members of the Band of Gold, Garry Jones and bass guitarist Mark Fain.  Fain would go on to join Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder and Jones would do studio work and eventually help form Signature Sound Quartet and Mercy's Mark.  Adam Borden joined as bass guitarist and would spend ten years with the group.  The piano position became a spot of regular change for five years with David Brooks, Shane Jenkins, Randy Matthews, Tim Parton, and Bryon Stewart spending time at the position.

With the departure of Jones, Mark Trammell took over the producing for the group.  He co-produced with Eldridge Fox the 1995 project, Standing In The Gap.  The project contained a song that became a rallying cry for Gold City as it faced the many changes of then recent past and Christians everywhere, "I'm Not Giving Up".  The project also established the sound that the group would continue to develop with Trammell producing, the heavy use of brass to drive faster songs and strings on moving ballads.  Steve Mauldin would arrange the orchestra for many of Gold City's recordings produced by Trammell.

In 1996, not long after "I'm Not Giving Up" reached number one on the Singing News chart, lead David Hill announced that he and pianist Shane Jenkins would be leaving Gold City to form a new group.  The two former members would form Malachi, a short lived group based in South Carolina.  To replace him, Carthage, TN native Jonathan Wilburn was brought in. 

Wilburn's addition would complete the group's second "mega group" lineup of Jay Parrack, Wilburn, Mark Trammell, and Tim Riley.  The lineup would hit their stride together immediately.  Their first recording, Preparing The Way, which had started production before the departure of Hill, was released to rave reviews.  The Singing News called it "quite possibly the finest Gospel Music album of all time."  The project also featured the debut of Tim's son, Danny Riley, doing a guest vocal on "It's Still The Cross," which remains a signature song for the group today.

The follow-up recording, What A Great Lifestyle, would be the group's last with Riversong Records, a Benson label they had been part of since 1986.  In 1997, Benson made a push to move their artists to contemporary Christian music.  The artists that would not make the move were released from the label.  Benson only released one radio single, "God's Building A Church", from the project.  The project also marked the song writing debut of drummer Doug Riley.

By the end of 1997, Gold City had signed with Daywind Records and completed a rushed Christmas project entitled Home For The Holidays.  A short video of the project was also recorded.  The first major Daywind Release for the group was 1998's Within The Rock, produced by Trammell and pianist Tim Parton.  The project included the number one song "In Time, On Time, Every Time".

Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Gold City's 1999 Daywind release, included several memorable songs and stands out as a highlight in the group's discography.  The Jonathan Wilburn feature "He Said" reached number one on the Singing News chart.  Mark Trammell's take on "Calvary's Hill", a song originally recorded on the group's 1988 release, Portrait, became a favorite at concerts.  "Hide Me Behind The Cross" showcased Jay Parrack's developing aptitude for handling ballads.  The most memorable song from the recording was "When He Calls, I'll Fly Away", a song that became the group's concert closer for several years.  Daywind also employed a creative marketing strategy for this project, having each of the 4 vocalists autograph 2500 covers, so that the first 10,000 copies of the CD had been signed by a group member.  The strength of the project, in addition with the farewell tour of the Cathedrals in 1999, led to Gold City reclaiming the top spot in the industry by 2000.

After almost five years of seemingly constant changeover at the pianist position since Garry Jones left in 1994, the position finally stabilized with the addition of Channing Eleton of Dalton, GA.  He joined the group in early 2000 at the kickoff event for the "Are You Ready?" tour in Crossville, TN.  He would play piano, and occasionally the accordion, for the group until 2006.

In 2002, Mark Trammell, an ordained minister, announced his departure from the group to form his own ministry in which he could sing and preach.  Danny Riley, who had been traveling with the group as sound technician and guest vocalist, took over the baritone position.  To fulfill the role of producer in the group, Doug Riley, with assistance from Danny Riley and Channing Eleton, stepped in.

At the same time that Mark left the group, the group left Daywind Records and formed their own label, Gold City Music.  They recorded a compilation project and a project of old standards before signing with Todd Payne's Cathedral Records.  Their debut recording on their new label was called Walk The Talk and included the underrated song, "God Handled It All".  They followed that with an outstanding Christmas project entitled, A Gold City Christmas. 

In the spring of 2004, Jay Parrack announced that he would be coming off the road to spend more time with his family.  The recording that the group was working on was postponed until a replacement was found.  In the summer, Steve Ladd of the Anchormen, whose voice was frequently compared to a young Brian Free's, fulfilled a dream by being named Gold City's new tenor.  The group then resumed work on their final project on Cathedral Records, First Class.

During the same summer, Tim Riley had knee surgery and took several weeks off the road.  Former Assurance bass Bill Lawrence filled in for Tim during that time.  Even after recovery, Lawrence continued to make relief appearances for Riley.  Around the time of the release of First Class, the group announced Tim's retirement and the hiring of Bill Lawrence.  Doug and Danny assumed the road management responsibilities for the group.

The first post-Riley recording by the group was the table project, Heaven.  The project included several past Gold City songs, including the group's first radio single, I've Got A Feeling.  Heaven was the first step by the group back towards the country sound that they had went away from in 1985.  The project didn't include orchestrations, but instead heavily featured a banjo, steel guitar, and fiddle.

Following the release of Heaven, Gold City surprised the industry by disbanding the Band Of Gold.  Channing Eleton stayed on piano, drummer/producer Doug Riley began running sound, and longtime bass guitarist Adam Borden left the group.  In November 2005, Josh Simpson replaced Channing behind the keyboard.

On January 31, 2006, Gold City suffered its greatest loss.  That night, Doug Riley could not sleep, so he decided to do some work at Goldmine Recording Studio.  In route, Doug was in an accident and passed away.  The loss of Doug meant Danny had even more responsibilities in keeping the group on the road, while he grieved the loss of his brother.  About a month later, Bill Lawrence left the group and Tim Riley returned for several months until Aaron McCune (formerly of the Anchormen and Palmetto State Quartet) was hired.

Gold City then signed with New Haven Records and began work on a new project that would be entitled Revival.  Michael Sykes and Michael English were brought in to produce the project, which continued a move to a modern country sound for Gold City.  While a string section was used on slower songs, up-tempo songs were driven by guitars more than by a brass section.  The project featured Jonathan Wilburn in his element on "I'm Rich" and Steve Ladd demonstrated his growth as a singer on the powerful ballad "Preach The Word".

In early 2008, Jonathan Wilburn announced his resignation from the group.  Bruce Taliaferro, who had previously filled in for both Jonathan and Danny, was named the new lead singer.  The first project with Bruce, Moment Of Truth, was released that summer.  The project kept the modern country sound, but was noticeably less "twangy" than Revival. 

 Still, the direction the group's sound had taken garnered numerous comparisons to the Oak Ridge Boys.  With the new sound, the group brought back an old sight.  In the late summer of 2008, Gold City brought back the Band Of Gold for special concerts.  Along with Josh Simpson on piano, Taylor Barnes played the bass, Kevin Albertson played the drums, and Daniel Addison played electric and acoustic guitars. 

Beginning in the spring of 2009, Gold City underwent another round of changes.  Steve Ladd resigned to begin a solo ministry.  Chris Cooper, formerly of N'Harmony, was named tenor at the end of June.  Before the end of the summer, both Aaron McCune and Josh Simpson left the group.  The group's bus driver, Jim Korn, began playing the piano on stage and Tim Riley came back to fill the bass part.

On December 22, 2009, Gold City announced several changes to the group that would occur as they began their 30th year.  Josh Cobb, an original member of Legacy Five, was named tenor, replacing the departing Chris Cooper, and Roy Webb, formerly of Signature Sound joined as keyboardist (and unofficial humorist). It was also announced that Tim Riley, health permitting, would stay on permanently as bass. This line up debuted on December 31, 2009 and received enthusiastic responses everywhere they ministered.

By the end of 2010, another round of changes occured. Roy Webb would depart and Josh Simpson filled in unitl after NQC when pianist Bryan Elliot joined.  Josh Cobb, who lived in Oklahoma, left in November 2010 due to the weekly commute to Alabama.  He would be replaced briefly by Brent Mitchell before Dan Keeton joined in March 2011. Following the group's Christmas 2010 break, Craig West replaced lead Bruce Taliaferro.   Craig's tenure was short but extremely well received.  He decided road life wasn't for him and was replaced by Jerry Pelfrey following NQC 2011.

Keeton and Pelfrey would both spend approximately two years with Gold City.  Keeton would leave in March 2013 to begin a family ministry with his wife.  Former Palmetto State tenor Robert Fulton would fill the tenor spot for a little over two years before tenor Thomas Nalley joined in August 2015.  Pelfrey would leave in October 2013 to restart his family group, The Pelfreys.  Former Anchormen member Chip Pullen replaced Pelfrey and remained until May of 2016, when lead singer Scott Brand joined.

In the summer of 2014, Tim Riley suffered a stroke.  Despite making a full recovery, Tim decided to retire and remain off the road.  Chris West, who had filled in multiple times for Tim over the years, covered for Tim during his recovery and was named the permanent bass vocalist following Tim's decision to retire. 

On May 9, 2017, Gold City was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame, with many former members present for the induction ceremony.

Long time piano player Bryan Elliott came off the road in June 2018. GW Southard, a former member of Triumphant came on board in September of 2018.

February 2020 saw the return of former lead singer Bruce Taliaferro to the group, repacing the departed Scott Brand.  Within a month of Bruce's return, the Covid-19 pandemic would start and bring the music industry and the world to a stand still. The group held the course during that time whle holding numberous online concerts for fans. During this time, pianist GW Southard left the group, although the would make occasional appearances with the group through 2021.

In the spring of 2022, Bruce would leave the road and Cole Watson would step into the lead spot through the early weeks of fall. Terry Wooten also began making appearances at the piano for the group. In October, Gold City announced that they would be having an online concert with some major annoucements. Before the concert began, it was revealed that Bruce was returning to the lead position, Terry was officially the new piano player, and that long time Kingsmen tenor Chris Jenkins was joining the group.

Chris West departed the group in early 2023 and for the next two months,  the bass position was filled in by Jeff Chapman and David Smith. During  this time, Jeff Chapman felt the Lord moving him away from his long time  position with the Kingdom Heirs and to the bass vocalist position with  Gold City. In early April, Chapman officially joined the group. Chapman  had made no secret over the years that Gold City was his favorite group  and it was a dream come true for him to step into the position once held  by Tim Riley, one of Jeff's personal heroes.

In July 2023, Bruce departed the group and former Mercy's Mark lead  Josh Feemster filled in for a few weeks before officially accepting the  position. 

The current line up of Gold City consists of Chris Jenkins, Josh Feemster, Daniel Riley, Jeff Chapman, and Terry
Wooten.