The Apostles - 2007

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Garry Beavers

Daran Robertson

Steve Williams

Rick Smith

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Our History

The legacy of The Apostles begins in 1972, when a legendary bass singer from the mountains of North Carolina established his first quartet. By no means a stranger to Southern Gospel music, London Parris had completed long tenures with both The Rebels Quartet of Tampa, Florida, and the Grammy Award-winning Blackwood Brothers of Memphis, Tennessee. After leaving the Blackwood Brothers, London fulfilled a lifelong dream and organized his own quartet. With a home base in Memphis, Tennessee, London Parris & The Apostles were born. That first year out, the group gained the coveted Dove Award by the Gospel Music Association as the Most Promising New Gospel Talent of 1972. The economic factors and energy crisis of the early and mid 70s forced the group off the road and the original group disbanded in 1976. Suffering a massive heart attack, London Parris went to be with the Lord in 1992.

Considered by many to be one of the most renown and legendary bass singers in Southern Gospel music, the Southern Gospel Music Association recently recognized London for his contribution in one of the most prestigious ways possible. In 2004, London Parris was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame at Dollywood in Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee. We will always be grateful for the rich heritage that precedes our group in Gospel Music, and affirm the work and sacrifice of those original men.

The Apostles Today

Renewing the heritage of that original group are Gospel music veterans Garry Beavers, Daran Robertson, Steve Williams and Rick Smith, one of the two original lead singers of London Parris & The Apostles (1975-76). The current group was organized in 1998 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Signed as recording artists with Son Sound Music Group Platinum Records of Bessemer City, North Carolina, The Apostles have been featured at Charlie Waller's Grand Ole Gospel Reunion and showcased at the National Quartet Convention. As regular performing artists with the Jammin for Jesus concerts held in Branson, Missouri theaters, they were given the Son Rise Award by the Branson Gospel Music Association in 1999 and 2000 as Branson's Southern Gospel Group of the Year. They have had six singles released to the national radio market, all of which have broken local and regional radio charts in the Top 10 and Top 20 Gospel song favorites..

GARRY BEAVERS sings the tenor part for The Apostles. Over the past 30 years, Garry has performed with four other Southern Gospel groups from Arkansas. An accomplished musician, producer and songwriter, Garry serves as The Apostles business manager. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are members of The Church at Rock Creek in Little Rock, where Garry plays bass guitar and sings in the praise and worship band. Garry is a logistics broker in Little Rock.

DARAN ROBERTSON sings the baritone part for The Apostles. Raised in a family where he and his brother, Terry, sang Gospel music often together, Daran has spent his whole life following Gospel music. He has sung with a number of local Arkansas groups through the years and has been very active in the music ministries of the churches he has served. Daran and his family currently attend the Holland Chapel Baptist Church of Benton, Arkansas. Daran is City Building Inspector for the City of Haskell, AR.

STEVE WILLIAMS is the bass singer for The Apostles. Steve grew up in a family richly steeped in the tradition of Southern Gospel quartet singing, being the son of Gerald Williams, owner, manager and bass singer with the Magnificent Melody Boys of Little Rock, AR. Steve began his own career in quartet singing by joining his father in the Melody Boys when he was 17 years old. Later, he sang five years with Homeland Records artists, The Voyagers. Steve and his wife, Vickie, have three sons and are members of Geyer Springs First Baptist Church of Little Rock, AR. Steve is a cabinet maker.

RICK SMITH sings lead for The Apostles. As stated, Rick was one of the two original lead singers with London Parris & The Apostles in 1975-76. An ordained Southern Baptist minister, Rick has served a number of churches over the past 30 years in various staff ministries, and has contributed several songwriting abilities to The Apostles. He and his family attend the First Baptist Church of Russellville, Arkansas, where Rick is actively involved in the teaching and singing ministries of the church. He serves as a bi-vocational corporate Chaplain for Tyson Foods.

A Special Word to Pastors & Staff

The church is more important to The Apostles than the city auditorium. We prefer the pulpit over the stage. Ministry is a priority over performance. In Ephesians 4:11, Paul said, "It was He who gave some to be apostles..." The Greek word is literally "ambassadors" heralding the Gospel message of hope and salvation to a lost and dieing world. In addition, all spiritual gifts were given to believers for the purpose of edifying the church. Understanding and honoring these precepts enables The Apostles to keep our music ministry Biblically-based and church-centered. We believe that is what God would have us do.

When you invite The Apostles to be a part of your service, you can be confident that amidst the hand-clapping, foot-stomping fun of good ole traditional Gospel quartet singing, a time comes in every service where attention is turned to the divine appointment of every person in attendance for how God would have them respond to the message of the Gospel that has musically been proclaimed. The Apostles never end a worship service in a church venue without extending an invitation for people to respond to the call of God in their own life. We espouse no other doctrine except the Gospel. We are each conservative, Evangelical Christians who believe the Bible to be the infallible, inerrant and inspired Word of God, literal and historically accurate in every detail.

Our prayer is to always be where God can use us best, ministering to the people whom the Spirit of Christ can best reach through the talents, gifts and ministry He has so graciously equipped us with to serve Him.