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The Reece Sisters on WIS-TV 10 in Columbia, SC
Hope you enjoy the songs below.
| The following four songs were recorded at Starday Studios in 1962 on their Faith Label. These WMA audio files are from our original master soundtrack and give you much of each song to listen to. Thanks to Starday and Gusto Records for keeping this master safe for us all these years. |
"Wings Of A Dove" The Reece Sisters (Marjie, mandolin - Martha, guitar)
"Known Only To Him" The Reece Sisters (Marjie, mandolin - Martha, guitar)
"Let Your Light Shine" The Reece Sisters (Marjie, mandolin - Martha, guitar)
"Stand By Me" The Reece Sisters (Marjie, mandolin - Martha, guitar)
My sister, Georgia, sang alto with me when I sang these three songs on WGGS-TV 16 in Greenville, SC, the night
I gave my testimony in November, 1981. The Blue Ridge Mountain Grass Band provided some great music for us.
I gave my testimony in November, 1981. The Blue Ridge Mountain Grass Band provided some great music for us.
"The Old Rugged Cross Made The Difference" Marjie and Georgia Reece
"I Came On Business For The King" Marjie and Georgia Reece
"Be Ready For Tomorrow May Never Come" Marjie and Georgia Reece
| (P) (C) 2005-2013 TJM All Rights Reserved. |
| Statement of Purpose Songs on this site were freely given to me by God as He so graciously surrounded me with songs of deliverance (Psalm 32:7). Feel free to download and enjoy singing them along with me and use them freely for ministering purposes, as long as the words are not changed from those shown herein and with credits intact, but not for profit. Because the songs were given to me by God through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they belong to Him and I will continue being faithful in sharing these songs as long as I am able to do so with this avenue He has made presently available to me. If you would like to help me and be a part of this ministry by making a donation, no matter how small, please get in touch with me via the Contact Us page and let me know. I know God would bless you! This is my mission field and the desire of my heart. ("It's My Desire") Marjie Reece |
(p) (c) 2005-2012 TJM
| Background In the mid 1930's, God called my Dad to preach the Gospel. He said he heard the Lord say to him, "Son, there have been preachers who have preached too much and some have preached too little, go preach My Word!" He was ordained by Alverson Grove Baptist Church, Inman, South Carolina, where we first dedicated our hearts to the Lord during a revival meeting Dad preached. So, naturally, we kids grew up with evening devotions and family prayer times which found all of us on our knees in the living room just before bedtime. Mom and Dad dedicated all nine of their children to the Lord soon after they were born. After our oldest brother, Donald, the next three children born to our family were girls, Marjorie (August 1), Georgia (November 24), and Martha (October 31). With much encouragement and direction from our Mom and Dad, we three became a Gospel singing group known as The Reece Sisters. Music had been in Dad and Mom's families for generations and Mom used to play the piano and sing in Providence United Methodist Church, Forest City, NC, where she attended church with her family as a young girl. It all began when Dad taught me how to play a few chords on a guitar he optimistically purchased from Sears Roebuck in 1956, and I then learned a few more from a Mel Bay guitar instruction book. At that time, we lived in a little house on a hill near Knoxville, Tennessee, where we were so blessed to hear a lot of wonderful, inspiring and soul- stirring Gospel songs and music on the radio every day on KNOX Radio Station. After I learned a few Gospel and folk songs, my sisters decided to join me. Mom taught us to harmonize and, about a year later, we began singing together as a trio. When Martha learned to play the guitar, I decided to try playing the mandolin. With our Dad, Evang. Gene Reece, we had the satisfaction of witnessing for Jesus through the great Gospel songs we learned, accompanying ourselves with guitar and mandolin, and traveling extensively to many wonderful churches in South Carolina and North Carolina. My Dad also co-wrote a song with me in 1984. Click Here to listen now - "That's Why I Can Thank You, Lord" I remember we loved to sing songs recorded by the Stanley Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, Bill Monroe, Carter Family, Chuck Wagon Gang, Martha Carson, Bailey Brothers, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and others. Some of our favorite songs were: "Keep On the Sunny Side" (which was the theme song on our radio shows), "The Unclouded Day", "No Tears In Heaven", "Rank Stranger", "The Family Who Prays", "Matthew Twenty-Four", "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again", "Mother’s Bible", "Satisfied", "Traveling On and On", "Shout and Shine", "Wait a Little Longer, Please, Jesus", "Dust On The Bible", "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow", "Family Bible", "I Won't Have To Cross Jordan Alone" and "Singing In the Promised Land", just to name a few. During the early 60's, we were very blessed to be part of the live Saturday morning show, "Carolina In The Morning" on WIS-TV in Columbia, South Carolina, with The Hired Hands: Snuffy Jenkins, Homer "Pappy" Sherrill, Ira Dimmery, Julian (Greasy) Medlin, Bill Rea and Grady Lindler. We also hosted a couple of radio shows of our own - one was on WCAY, in Cayce, West Columbia, SC and one was an hour-long live show on WBLR Radio in Batesburg /Leesville, SC, with Redd Reynolds hosting. Both of these media activities resulted in our making many personal appearances at schools, ballparks, churches and auditoriums during those years. Click here for The Reece Sisters' Personal Appearance History. After winning a Pet Milk Grand Old Opry Talent Contest in 1961 which awarded us with a recording session at Starday Records, where our EP, "Songs of Faith", was produced in 1962, we came back the next year and recorded two country songs on Nashville label. While in Nashville, after winning the contest, we were invited to appear on the Grand Ole Opry but there were too many stars in town that weekend so we were very blessed that night with an appearance with Jim Reeves on the Ernest Tubb Record Shop Show which immediately follows the Grand Ole Opry Show. We also performed in a road tour in 1963 with Porter Wagoner which included shows in North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Iowa and were guests on his TV show that year as well. We were also blessed to have worked with Arthur Smith and The Crackerjacks of Charlotte, North Carolina, and many other talented Country, Bluegrass and Gospel groups. By this time, we were singing Country songs as well as the Gospel songs we used to sing so fervently in churches. I truly do not believe this was pleasing to the Lord, since we were dedicated to Him and His service. While we were on tour with the Porter Wagoner Show, our parents were back home praying earnestly for God's will in our lives. While we were up in Iowa, on the last leg of our tour, we received an invitation to sing at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas but we turned it down because we were asked to wear outfits that would have been too revealing or low-cut while on stage. We knew God would not be pleased. It was tempting, though, because the initials of the hotel were the same as ours, M.G.M. When we returned home, we decided to take a break and, in the Fall of that year, Martha and Georgia married sweethearts they had left behind in a double wedding on our Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary, and Martha's birthday, and all of our lives went in very different directions. Martha moved to Batesburg/Leesville, SC, and Redd Reynolds of WBLR, where we once had a radio program, encouraged Martha to continue her singing. She soon moved to Nashville and performed many more years with her own band, The Hallmarks (named after her married name, Martha Hall), and with others, including a world tour with Cousin Wilbur's band which included Germany and Greenland. During the 70's, we got together a couple of times in Nashville and provided backup for Martha and our brother, Sam, on their recordings, which was fun. But, for many years after we stopped singing together, my spirit was numb, though I didn't realize why during that time. Now, I realize, singing and working with my sisters in music-related activities, and expressing myself in this way had been very satisfying. We were a team and I missed them and our singing and traveling together, and just couldn't imagine going solo. After rededicating my life to the Lord in 1979, I began writing Gospel songs in response to the love and inspiration I received from Him. The reason I chose to call them Touch Jesus Songs is because they have been such a great encouragement to me and have helped me to keep in touch with Jesus and also in honor of a song I have enjoyed singing so much, "Touching Jesus", written by John Stallings. I have felt led of the Lord to share them here on a website especially dedicated to Jesus and in remembrance of the Reece Sisters for the more than six years we sang together as young girls. At the present time, I live with my daughter near my grandchildren and their children in Greenville, South Carolina. I was privileged to care for our dear Mom for several years before she went to live with Jesus in October, 2006. Martha, who's first husband, N. J. Hall, is deceased, now lives with her second husband, Orville Calhoun, in Paducah, Kentucky. Georgia, now a widow, lives near me with one of her two sons, Tony. In case you are wondering if we will sing together again, "... with God all things are possible." Mark 10:27 (New King James Version) So, please remember us in prayer that God will make a way for us to sing together again for His glory alone. That would be awesome! May God bless you as you read and listen to the songs He has given me. He is a faithful and loving Friend to me and has so graciously surrounded me with songs that have truly been "Songs of Deliverance." (Psa. 32:7). One of them is "I'll Be With You". - Marjie Reece (c)2005-2012 TJM |
"Let Your Light So Shine"
| Marjie singing her own arrangement of "Jesus Is The Way Maker" live at a Reece Reunion with her cousins providing the excellent impromptu music and harmony. - 1992 |
"Jesus Is The Way Maker" Marjie and Reece Cousins
| Click on the WMA to hear the song. Right Click on WMA and Choose "Save As" to download to your computer. |
| Marjie's Testimony - "Born To Win" |
| Touch Jesus Songs About Us |
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| Touch Jesus Songs About Us |
| The following songs were recorded live in 1991 at the Down Home in Johnson City, TN, with my good friend, Jack Tottle, singing and playing the mandolin with the fabulous East Tennessee State University Bluegrass Band. |
"Detour" Marjie Reece with ETSU Bluegrass Band
"Keep On The Sunny Side" Marjie Reece with ETSU Bluegrass Band
"There's A Light Guiding Me" Marjie Reece with ETSU Bluegrass Band
"Walk In Jerusalem Just Like John" Marjie Reece with ETSU Bluegrass Band
The following songs were recorded in 1991 at a ETSU Bluegrass Band practice session.
"Singing And Rejoicing In My Soul" Marjie Reece with ETSU Bluegrass Band
"Farther Along" Marjie and Reece Cousins
"I'll Fly Away" Marjie and Reece Cousins
Updated! Videos on YouTube.com
Updated! Videos on YouTube.com
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Updated! Videos on YouTube.com