If you go
› What: A Caring Country Christmas for Kids.› When: 6:30 p.m. CST Tuesday, Dec. 6.› Where: Princess Theatre, 215 S. Cedar Ave., South Pittsburg, Tenn.› Admission: Free. Cash donations will be received for the Marion County Sheriff’s Department Christmas for Kids fund, and unwrapped gifts for ages newborn to 16 years old also are requested.› Phone: 423-602-3937.› Website: www.backhomesings.com.
Jimmy and Jennifer Layne of Back Home
Tim MenziesMarty Raybon of the country band Shenandoah will headline A Caring Country Christmas for Kids, set for Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the Princess Theatre in South Pittsburg, Tenn.
Tim Menzies, Back Home and the Jasper First Baptist Church Choir are also set for the concert benefiting the Marion County Sheriff's Department's Christmas for Kids fund.
Jimmy and Jennifer Layne of the award-winning country/gospel duo Back Home host the annual event as a way to give back to the community. The Laynes were longtime session singers before beginning their music ministry full-time. They are members of North Cleveland Church of God in Cleveland, Tenn.
Tim Menzies found his first commercial success as guitarist for the country band Bandana. In the mid-1980s, he also played guitar on records for Kenny Rogers, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, among others, and sang national advertising jingles for Coca-Cola, Bonanza Restaurants and Chevrolet Trucks. His songs have been recorded by a who's who of country royalty, including George Jones, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, Randy Travis, Toby Keith, Martina McBride, Trace Adkins and Josh Turner. In 2013, he recorded his first Christian album, the Grammy-nominated "His Way of Loving Me."
Marty Raybon is best-known for his role as lead singer with Shenandoah. He was with the band from 1985 to 1996, when they charted such hits as "The Church on Cumberland Road," "Next to You Next to Me," "Sunday in the South," "Two Dozen Roses" and "Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart," a Grammy-winning collaboration with Alison Krauss. After leaving Shenandoah, Raybon recorded as a duo with his brother and as a solo artist in country, gospel and bluegrass. He returned to Shenandoah in 2014.
Raybon is a favorite of his contemporaries. Gary LeVox, lead vocalist of Rascal Flatts, calls him "the greatest singer on the planet to this day"; country music star Josh Turner describes him as "one of the best soul singers in music"; and gospel star Jason Crabb says Raybon is "one of the greatest voices to ever sing, with a tear in his voice that will just melt you."