The Wishons

11/27/2011 Update:Wishons welcome new vocalist!

For the first time in 21 years The Wishons have added a new group member. Rebecca Berrier will join the family on all concerts and church services. We are excited for you to meet Rececca. She sang for many years with the ladies trio Rejoice and is a super talented vocalist. Even more important, Rebecca loves Jesus! We all feel that this is a God thing as Rebecca lives only 3 miles from John and Jackie. Rebecca will be appearing on a new recording we hope to have completed by Spring of 2012. Check out this Youtube clip of our first night together.

With a ministry and musical heritage that spans over 50 years, it wasn’t until 1991 that the Wishons came on the scene like you see them now. In the years since, they’ve continued to garner much attention with their unique blend of family harmony. The Wishons have enjoyed a wide variety of ministry opportunities and in each setting one thing is certain, the name of Jesus will be exalted, the Gospel will be presented, and His saints will have a good time in the Lord! Each member of this  singing family is sincere in their love for the Lord, sincere in their love for the music they sing, and sincere in their need to spread the Word to others through their music.

The Wishon name is anything but new to southern gospel music. In 1961, group members, Edwin and Jane Wishon began their singing ministry with the Gateway Quartet. Even during the early years of singing, Edwin and Jane prayed that someday they would be able to travel and sing as a family. In 1985, God answered their prayers, with their son John joining his parents to sing as The Wishons. The family’s harmony became complete in 1991 with John’s marriage to Jackie, at which time she began singing with the family.

Edwin and Jane have now retired from their public jobs and are more excited than ever about singing. John and Jackie are owners and full time employees of WWWC radio station in Wilkesboro, NC, which plays southern gospel music. In fact, John is a winner of the Singing News Fan Awards Southern Gospel Small Market DJ of the Year. In addition, WWWC has been voted AM Radio Station of the Year.

Since John accepted the call into evangelism in 1997, the Wishons ministry has experienced God’s blessings more than ever before. When the weekend rolls around, all the Wishons are thrilled about the opportunity to sing, preach, and minister for the Lord.

**Below you will find some bio information on the group, on John, and an article written on the Wishons that was published in Singing News Magazine.

The Wishons

A Family on Fire For God

Written By Tim Gardner

Another in a seemingly endless line of Gospel family singing groups is the Wishons of North Wilkesboro, NC. According to an old adage, the family that prays together, stays together. In the case of Gospel singing families, it can be taken two steps further to state that the family that prays together, stays together, sings together and blesses hearts together. One of the best examples of this expanded adage is the Wishons.

The group consists of Edwin Wishon singing bass; his wife Jane soprano; their son John supplying tenor and handling the emcee duties; and John's wife, Jackie, singing alto. The Wishons are supported instrumentally by soundtracks and Edwin playing the keyboard on occasion. The Wishons thrill audiences everywhere they sing with their sincerity and vivacious personalities as well as their quality singing.

Edwin and Jane are celebrating their 48th year singing Gospel music in 2009. Jane sang in the Poplar Springs Trio, a popular regional group in Northwest North Carolina in the 1950's. She lists the first highlight of her singing career as appearing with the Popular Springs Trio on the Harvesters Quartet's Show, aired on WBTV in Charlotte, NC. After they married, Edwin and Jane began singing together in the Gateway Quartet of Elkin in 1961. Even during the early years of singing, Edwin and Jane prayed that someday they would be able to travel and sing as a family. In 1985, God answered their prayers, with their son John joining his parents to sing as The Wishons. Their harmony became complete in 1991 with John’s marriage to Jackie, at which time she began singing with the family. Edwin and Jane are retired and John and Jackie are the owners of WWWC, a Southern Gospel radio station in Wilkesboro, NC. For his outstanding radio work, John has seven times been nominated by the readers of Singing News as Southern Gospel DJ of The Year and he has received the Singing News Golden Mic Award two times. John was voted the 2002 Southern Gospel DJ of the Year and WWWC was voted AM Radio Station of the Year in 2008. He is also an evangelist, preaching several revival meetings each year.

Gospel roots run deep in each of the talented individuals who make up the Wishons, and they have received an abundance of blessings from singing Gospel music, as they each will quickly attest.

"God has used us in such a tremendous way and we have been enriched beyond any measure," Edwin proudly proclaims. "Our greatest blessing has been the chance to witness lives changed by the power of God. Our next greatest blessing is having the opportunity to travel as a family. In a day when the family is so much under attack by various people, it is a good feeling to get on the coach each weekend knowing that our family is involved in Gospel music together. When you are faithful, God will give you the desires of your heart."

"Traveling and singing Gospel music with my family has been an adventure I will always cherish," adds Jane. "After accepting the Lord as my Savior at an early age, the Lord placed a song in my heart that I've always wanted to share. My song has always been and always will be about the cross and that Jesus' blood cleanses from all sin."

John and Jackie add that their work in Southern Gospel Music is parallel to their parents encouragement to pursue an active role in it.

"I am thankful for salvation and for my parents who instilled a love for Gospel music in me at an early age," says John. "One of my greatest memories will be attending my first Gospel concert at Reynolds Auditorium in Winston Salem, NC to hear the Cathedrals when I was a child. I think Christian parents do their children an injustice by not raising them around Gospel music. Little did I know, that today I would be sharing the stage with many of the people that I grew up listening to."

Jackie interjects: "At age nine, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. As a child, I can remember going from church to church when my father preached revivals and he and my mother were singing in the Stoney Ridge Quartet. I didn't realize then that many years later, all this preaching and singing would have such an impact on my life. My father pastored till age 78, but he and my mother no longer sing in a quartet. Therefore, I feel like I picked up where they left off. It has been a major encouragement and a blessing sharing in the Wishons music ministry as well as being a part of my husband's preaching ministry."

The Wishons are a prime example of why a family group is such a Gospel Music treasure and it's no coincidence they list their musical influences as being the Weatherfords, Speer Family, Happy Goodmans and Hayes Family--all family groups and among the industry's most noted.

"We've tried to take ideas about vocal delivery, stage presence and intangible aspects of Southern Gospel Music from other groups and blend them into the way we operate our group, especially the Weatherfords, Speers, Goodmans and Hayes Family," says Edwin. "Lily Fern Weatherford's singing is perfect as far as I'm concerned. I've always said if you want to learn to sing correctly, study how Lily Fern and the Weatherfords have always sung. Their smooth sound has been a tremendous influence to many Gospel singers and singing groups. The Speer Family is the pioneer family group in Gospel music and are a benchmark to pattern any family quartet or trio after, while the Happy Goodmans also helped set a standard for family groups to try to match. John says, "While we have tried to learn from other groups things that can make us better, we always try to be ourselves with our sound and presentation."

A Wishons concert is designed to entertain and uplift, with their primary objective being to encourage the Christian and witness to the lost through their music and testimonies. The Wishons realize that many people who go to concerts do not attend church at all. Through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, they try to reach them through testimony and song, as well as encourage those who are already saved. They have seven projects to their credit, with number eight in the works, and their repertoire of songs includes a mixture of old hymns, quartet standards and modern tunes.

Edwin states: "It's always a challenge to find songs that have strong lyrics that fit a group, and we realize now more than ever that when people hear you sing, they want the lyrics to be strong. If your lyrics are strong and the harmony is good, people will always accept you. Gimmicks will fade away, but strong songs with a clear Gospel message will out live us all."

"People want something real when it comes to Gospel music, and it's our desire to not just give people a good time," offers John, taking the philosophy one step further. "Having just a good time never changed a life, only God can do that. In Gospel music, it all starts with a great song with a powerful message and that must be what we always give our listeners."

Jane gives this definition of the group's primary purpose: "We have the greatest message the world has ever known and God has given us a vehicle through Southern Gospel Music to present that message. We just want to continue going where God opens the door. There's no more awesome experiences than seeing families restored, people encouraged, and souls saved. We're fortunate to have witnessed all three happenings many times and hopefully we will many more times."

With a refreshing presence and a stern commitment to sharing the Gospel with more people and more vigor than ever before, the Wishons are faithful to God's calling to the greatest degree at a time when family values are often hard to find. They deliver the Lord's eternal message through rich conviction and with the ultimate enthusiasm.

The Wishons have sung their special brand of Gospel music up and down the East Coast and hope to continue branching out. To obtain their product or to book them for a concert or church service, write The Wishons, 106 Oak Ridge Church Road, Hays, NC 28635 visit them on the web at www.thewishons.com or phone 336-696-2136.


About John Wishon

  • Age 40

  • Accepted Christ in October 1979

  • Married: Jackie Wood Wishon in 1991.

Ministry:

  • Beginning 27th year of singing with family group, The Wishons - traveling 100 plus dates per year.

  • Accepted the call to preach in February 1997. Extensive revival schedule of 16 to 25 weeks per year.

  • Emcee of several major Southern Gospel Music events each year.

  • Began career in Southern Gospel Radio in 1987.

  • Owner of WWWC Radio in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Since purchasing the station in 1994, it has soared from 13th to 4th in the market with its 24/7 Southern Gospel format.

  • Serves as station Program & Music Director and half of the station’s "John & Ted in the Morning Show".

  • Board Chairman, Ebenezer Christian Childrens Home

Awards:

  • WWWC winner of AM Radio Station of The Year 2008

  • Nominated for Singing News Small Market DJ of the Year in 1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,  & 2007.

  • Winner of Singing News Golden Mic Award in 1997 & 2008.

  • Winner of the Southern Gospel Small Market DJ of the Year Award in 2002.

A Word From John

I believe that anyone who steps on a stage or behind a pulpit to represent our Savior should present the message of the Gospel with class and professionalism. All of these ingredients are important; however, nothing can replace the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That anointing still will break the yoke of bondage in a person’s life. There is nothing like a Word that’s "in season" that puts the enemy on the run. If you love camp-meeting style preaching, that makes much of Jesus, you will feel right at home at any of my preaching services.

For more ministry information visit: www.hometownchristianradio.com