Marcus Faulknor, THE tenor
As mentioned in THIS post, Mother's Day, May 10, was the debut performance of Cross 4 Crowns new tenor, Marcus Faulknor. I was excited about meeting him and getting to hear how he sounded with the rest of the guys. When he walked into the church during setup, he walked over to bass singer, Justin Terry, and started talking in a really hoarse sounding voice, pretending to have a cold. Justin wasn't falling for it and told him so real quick. As I saw how they interacted together I knew that this new guy was a good fit.
There has been some speculation on some unscrupulous blogs that spend most of their time tongue wagging and gossiping, that because Cross 4 Crowns had went through 3 different tenors in the past 2 years, that there "must be some kind of internal problem." Rest assured, there are no "internal problems" with Cross 4 Crowns. Each of the former tenors vacated their positions in pursuit of different dreams. Instead of trying to dig up dirt on fellow brothers in Christ, why not hit your knees and pray for them instead?
Anyway, sorry to get off in a rant, that was just something that was eating at me.
I'm a quartet guy through and through. I was raised up listening to the Mull's Singing Convention and my favorite group of all time was the Kingsmen Quartet. There was just an excitement that the Kingsmen radiated. They could cut up on stage yet still be very sincere in the Gospel message. They would make you laugh and cry at the same time. 
They always had 4 solid parts. A full, rich baritone, a sure and steady lead, a rock solid barrel scraping bass, and a soaring tenor. Each member could be a soloist in their own right and mixed together the sound was, well, "Mighty." So, when I'm comparing quartets, I hold the Kingsmen as the top bar of comparison. There are a few quartets today that still hold to that traditional sound and I'm proud to say that Cross 4 Crowns falls right in there at the top of the ladder.
So, last night I had the privilege of hearing Marcus Faulknor for the very first time. Let me tell you, this guy is awesome! Group owner/baritone, Allen Leath, told the story last night of how Marcus came about being "THE" tenor for Cross 4 Crowns. It turns out that Allen was attending the funeral of his great aunt that lived in Georgia. During the singing part of the service he heard a voice behind him that he thought to be either a woman or an outstanding male tenor. After the service he turned around and looked and it was none other than an old friend that he had grown up with years ago, Marcus Faulknor. So, one thing led to another and now Marcus is THE tenor for Cross 4 Crowns! Don't you just love to hear how God works in ways like that?
Marcus was featured on one of the songs in last nights concert, "Hide Thou Me." He did an outstanding job. Also joining Marcus on piano is none other than, Andy Stringfield, pianist for the Kingdom Heirs. Take a listen as Marcus makes his Knoxville debut:
