"There's a strange excitement in the air.so vibrant and alive it's almost electric. There's something different about this group. you can't quite put your finger on it, but you know it's there."
Those words were expressed by the Gosepl music legend Hershel Lester of the Lesters just after the Sunday Edition was awarded winner of the National Quartet Convention Talent Contest in 1972. Soon after, the Sunday Edition became one of the St. Louis region's most popular groups.
The group was formed by manager and owner Deon Unthank. Unthank had a life long dream of creating a Gospel quartet that could be just as good as the top groups of the time, such as the Blackwood Brothers or the Imperials.
After three of his members resigned, Deon found himself in a quandary. Enlisting the help of his pianist, cousin Janice Lloyd, and his sister, Cheryl, the Sunday Edition was reformed as a mixed trio. The group maintained its popularity and was soon traveling abroad again. After recording two full length LPs with the group, Deon saw himself left alone again as both his sister and cousin decided to leave the group to start families.
Unthank spent the next 25 years happily singing in churches and filling in for Brian Lester int he Lesters for a short amount of time. Deon found himself married with a large family of talented children. In 1995 Deon got together to sing in a church with his daughter, Amy Marie, and oldest son, Aaron.
What this did was start a flame in Unthank's life once again. He had that burning desire to start again and tackle the world of Gospel music one more time.
From that point on The Unthanks began singing around the Memphis area and developed quite a following. Aaron left the group and moved to Nashville to sing with a contemporary group, Spiritbound. Deon then enlisted the help of his youngest son, Chris, to join the group in 1996, when he was just 16.
The group sang for three years before Chris left the group to pursue a college career. The Unthanks saw many capable singers walk through the group's doors, but none seemed to stick. Despite Amy Marie's recent foray into songwriting, the group seemed to be in a rut where they were.
In 2001, the family decided to pick up their lives and relocate to the Nashville area. Soon afterward, Chris graduated from Lee University and rejoined the group full-time. With a new location and a renewed sound, The Unthanks felt it was time for another change.
Early 2002 saw the announcement of a name change. Deon and family decided to go back and resurrect the Sunday Edition.
Amy Marie's hand in songwriting has taken a deeper root, including penning "Even In the Valley" (co-written with Rebecca J. Peck), a song that was recorded by the Whisnants and was named the 1 song of 2004 by the Singing News Magazine. Chris soon began utilizing his degree and began all publicity and marketing for the group, starting his own publicity company with Amy Marie, called Southern Spin Entertainment. Deon remains the manager and owner of this newly re-organized group, along with owning the most popular Southern Gospel internet magazine SouthernGospelNews.com.
In 2003, Sunday Edition recorded their first album in over 30 years - Dry Dusty Day. The album spawned off the group's first ever charting hit single - "This Well" - which peaked at 26 on the SGN Top 40 Weekly Chart, 26 on the American Christian Music Journal's Top 40 SG Tracks & Singles, and 64 on the Singing News Top 80.
This winter, Sunday Edition will be re-entering the studio to record their follow up to Dry Dusty Day. The new album will include classic remakes of old standards, all new material, and songs written by group members Amy Marie and Chris.
The group's current single is called "He Keeps Lifting" and it features guest vocal work by Johnny Minick, formerly of the Happy Goodmans. The song is heating up at radio all across the nation.
It's no wonder why after all these years the group has started to gain some national exposure. How's the saying go? Third times a charm?
