The group sings in a contemporary style, integrating R&B and jazz influences into their devotional songs and has 10 Grammy wins, 10 Dove Awards, one Soul Train Award and two NAACP Image Award nominations. They won Grammy Awards in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1998, and 2003 and have collaborated with Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Don Henley, Ray Charles, Queen Latifah, Joe Sample, Quincy Jones, Marcus Miller and Gordon Goodwin.
In 1980, Claude McKnight formed an a cappella quartet, The Gentlemen's Estate Quartet, at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, a Seventh-Day Adventist College, where he was a freshman. He auditioned fellow students for the hobby group. The Gentlemen were rehearsing in a campus bathroom (later said to be in Peterson Hall), getting ready for a performance, when Mark Kibble walked by and heard them singing. He joined the harmonizing, adding a fifth part, and ended up singing with them onstage that very night.[1] Mark later invited Mervyn Warren to join the group. The group performed under the moniker "Alliance".
The group performed in local churches and on campus over the next years, with members changing due to college's inevitable comings and goings. In 1985, the lower half of the group (bass, baritone, and second tenor) left upon graduating. At that time, Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent, and David Thomas joined.
The group was signed to Warner Brothers in 1987, and quickly changed its name to "Take 6" after a name search revealed that "Alliance" was already being used. Their eponymous debut album, released in 1988, won them two Grammy Awards and resulted in top ten appearances on both the Billboard Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary Christian Charts. Take 6's swinging, harmony-rich gospel sound attracted a flurry of attention, and the group went on to record or appear with a number of luminaries, including Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Wonder.
In 1991, after the release of their second album, So Much 2 Say, Mervyn Warren left the group to pursue a career as a producer. Joey Kibble, Mark's younger brother, was invited to round out the vocal lineup. The group added instrumentation to their purely a cappella sound beginning with the record He Is Christmas; Join The Band and Brothers continued their streak of success, and Take 6 amassed a total of seven Grammys and eight Dove awards, as well as topping the Downbeat Magazine's Reader's and Critic's poll for seven years' consecutively.
Take 6's 1998 release, So Cool, brought the group back to its a cappella origins.
In 2006 the group launched Take 6 Records and the 2006 release Feels Good was released on that label.
The group currently lists Nashville, Tennessee as its home.[2] All members grew up Seventh-Day Adventist.[
Evermore
Take 6 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Only echoes of a laughter, in my space
Well, inside myself a river screams
And the rapid-flowing water
Fills my head
How long until it's time to leave
How far to what I plead for
Is it grand, the sight before you
Yeah the valley of salvation, is it grand
If you're long gone out in nowhere
You still can pick up all the pieces
Thou' you're long gone
The song Evermore by Take 6 is a hauntingly beautiful ballad that explores the themes of isolation and longing for something that seems just out of reach. The opening lyrics paint a picture of a lonely space devoid of any life, with only the echoes of laughter to keep the singer company. However, despite the emptiness around him, the singer's inner turmoil rages like a river, with the rapid-flowing water filling his head. This suggests that the true source of his loneliness is not external, but rather an internal struggle that he cannot escape from.
As the song progresses, the singer begins to question his circumstances, asking how long until it's time to leave and how far away the thing he pleads for really is. The repeated refrain of "How many days to evermore" further emphasizes the theme of longing and the desire for something better. In the second verse, the lyrics take a more hopeful turn as the singer describes a valley of salvation that is grand to behold. But even if he is lost in the middle of nowhere, he can still pick up the pieces and find comfort in the beauty of his surroundings.
Line by Line Meaning
In my space no rockets ride
There are no rockets that fly in the space that is inside the singer's mind
Only echoes of a laughter, in my space
The only sounds that exist within the singer's mind are the memories of laughter that echo on
Well, inside myself a river screams
A river of emotions exist within the singer, and they scream for release
And the rapid-flowing water
The emotions are so strong that the river metaphorically represents water that flows quickly
Fills my head
The emotions have taken over the artist's thoughts entirely, leaving little room for anything else
How long until it's time to leave
The singer is waiting desperately for a sign that it is time to move on from their current situation
How far to what I plead for
The singer wonders how much distance there is between them and their desired outcome
How many days to evermore
The artist is uncertain of the length of time it will take until they reach their final destination
Is it grand, the sight before you
The artist questions whether the view before them is truly grand or not
Yeah the valley of salvation, is it grand
The valley of salvation may not live up to its grandiose name in reality
If you're long gone out in nowhere
Even if you are lost and alone in the middle of nowhere
You still can pick up all the pieces
There is still hope that one can recover and collect the scattered pieces of themselves, wherever they may be
Thou' you're long gone
Even if you have been away from yourself and your intended path for a long time
Writer(s): Magnus Per Ekwall, Christian Bo Carlsson, Roger Martin Nilsson, George Atlagic, Alvin Kumeh Chea Copyright: Warner/Chappell Music Scandinavia AB, Warner-tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Contributed by Mason Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
LaChele
One of my favorites from them. Their harmonies are sick. I like how they said evermore at 0:24 to 0:30. That was pretty.
marioTmaggot
Not one of their most complex songs, but still one of my favorites.
Julienne Johnson
Such a beautiful arrangement. So great to hear all your comments. Actually Alvin Chea (the BASS in TAKE 6) and I wrote this song. However, when a talented group like TAKE 6 records your song, by the time they do what they do with it ... well, they take it to a whole new level. Incidentally, "Evermore" was on the GRAMMY nominated album SO COOL for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel ; that same album (along with "Evermore") was also nominated for a Gospel Music Association, DOVE AWARD for Album of the Year; "Evermore" was also the First Prize winner of the USA Songwriting National Competition among other awards. So happy you all are blessed by it.
Lynn Campbell
Thanks to you and Alvin for allow God to use you n creating this beautiful and inspirational song.. May God continue to bless the both of you.
Napturally Nawlins
Amazing song sis...
Hethaa T
Wow amen indeed
Paulo DO COUTO
MUITO BONITO !!
Kevin Redmond
love this Song
Napturally Nawlins
I remember reciting a poem called Feels like rain during open mike night at my church many, many years ago. I was playing this song in the background. Gave it a very groovy vibe- on a spiritual tip, lol.
Waiting for that day though. Just to see his face, reunite with my sister, grandma, my uncle and aunt that left before me❤❤❤❤
Marika Karalashvili
thanks, for sharing this song. months ago wasn't able to find this song neither on this channel nor on any site