Joyaires persevered through challenging times, continue to share the mesage of Christ however they can

By John Herndon, KentuckySings.com

LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. – Not too long before the Joyaires took the stage at Sand Spring Baptist Church on Oct. 26, we received a suggestion to interview the group’s owner, Ernie Peters, for a full-length feature on KentuckySings.com.

“He’s an interesting fellow,” we were told.

It was an understatement.

Interesting. Faithful. Incredibly faithful. Challenging. Inspiring. Or, more accurately, all of the above. 

For over 40 years, the Joyaires have been traveling the country, simply singing about the Lord they love and on whom they depend. For much of their ministry, the group traveled as a trio but for the last six years, it’s just been Peters and his wife, Debbie.

They sing old gospel standards, newer southern gospel hits and sometimes venture into a realm that could pass for a performance at the Grand Ole Opry. And through every lyric, every note, the quote from Nehemiah 8:10 shines through: “For the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

The Joyaires’ latest project, “I Have a Song,” reflects that joy across a broad spectrum of music with traditional roots. “Our new project has just about everything,” Peters says. “We cut a song called ‘Help Is On The Way’ (written by Michael E. Reed, Jr.) which is very Bluegrass. So we went in and I said, ‘We aren’t going to Bluegrass this song. We are going to Ray Price it.’”

And The Joyaires did just that. 

“We have triple fiddles and steel (guitar),” Peters continues. “That’s very country and we will send that to what they call ‘faith country.’”

It’s an area where The Joyaires have had success before. “We have a song called ‘I Believe’ that Jimmy Fortune wrote,” Peters says. “It went to Christian country also. It went to No. 3 in the nation.”

But “I Have A Song” has a variety, from the title cut’s Southern Gospel sound to the country sound of “Help Is On The Way” and “It’s Good To Be Saved” to an upbeat rendition of W.F. Crumley’s classic, “Somebody Loves Me.”

“This latest project has a little bit of everything,” Peters smiled. “We have three cuts in there that are orchestration to the Nth degree. It is live orchestra.”

Above all else, though, “I Have A Song” reflects the joy in Christ the Joyaires convey whether singing at a concert, a church or a camp meeting. Ernie and Debbie Peters are simply sharing what they have lived.

“We will be married 54 years on Christmas Day,” he smiled. “We are blessed.”

Those blessings have been overflowing since 2020. Yes, 2020, the year Covid-19 changed the way the world did business. It actually began in late 2019, but hit America with a vengeance in March, 2020.

“God has provided,” Ernie said. “When Covid hit, we had 174 dates on the books. I remember that vividly. They just didn’t happen. That being said, God was good through the whole thing. We travel in a 38-foot motorhome and it has payments. We have insurance payments. We have payments just like everybody else. 

“We didn’t pay out of our pockets one thin dime. God provided everything.”

For example, one day, Ernie received a substantial check from a church. While that, in itself, might not be unusual, the fact that The Joyaires had not sung in that church for several years spoke to Peters’ deep faith. “God took care of us. We learned to depend on Him,” he says. 

But God’s provision showed in even a more personal way during 2020. Peters thought he had just been overdoing things working in the yard of his Harriman, Tennessee home but tests revealed he was battling Covid. “I got Covid on my wife’s birthday,” he recalls.

Then, a month later, in August 2020, Ernie Peters was diagnosed with prostate cancer. 

But he also learned that he was a candidate for proton therapy, which is a powerful radiation treatment precisely on the site of the tumor and sparing surrounding tissue. “Radiation will shoot a spot the size of your hand, but proton therapy will shoot the size of a pencil. I had 44 rounds of that,” Peters explained. “There is no side effect except that I got fat.”

He chuckled before explaining, “The treatment was in Knoxville and the treatment time was 20 minutes ‘til 11 every day. So I would go get my treatment and then we would go eat.”

Just a few months later, in January 2021, Ernie Peters was declared cancer free and has been ever since. “My last treatment was on a Thursday and that weekend we loaded up and went out to sing. We have been on the road ever since,” he said with a smile. 

Even though churches continue to struggle with attendance totals generally below pre-covid levels, The Joyaires continue to sing God’s praises.

“Our home church was running about 300-350 (before Covid). We are getting close to that now,” Peters said. “I think we made it convenient for folks to just stay home and I think Satan wants it that way. I don’t know if it will ever completely get back.”

But the blessings still flow on The Joyaires’ ministry. The new CD is uplifting and ministry-driven. And over the last two years, The Joyaires have been recognized as one of Southern Gospel’s favorite duets.

“Last year, on Facebook, we started getting congratulations,” Peters recalled. “We were saying, ‘For what?’”

The Joyaires were in the running for Favorite Duet in The Singing News Fan Awards.

“Last year, we were voted into the Top 10. This year, we actually were voted into the Top 5 as Duet of the Year,” Peters said. “We were in some good company with Josh & Ashley Franks, Jim & Melissa Brady, Reggie & Ladye Love Smith and Zane & Donna King. 

“Jim and Melissa won, but this was the first year we were in the Top 5.”

Now in their mid-70s, Ernie and Debbie Peters count their many blessings and minister in any way possible. 

They are planning a Florida trip in January and will continue to go where they believe God is leading.

“We work with whatever church we are in and do what needs to be done.”

It really is an interesting life, a ministry life of taking the joy of Christ wherever Ernie and Debbie Peters can.