Washington, D.C.'s Sons of Thunder

I Can See Clearly Now
2:49
From the album "Rock Gospel: Sing and Sign"

I'm Going to Keep on Singing
3:03
From the album "Rock Gospel: Sing and Sign"

Get Up and Walk
4:20
From the album "Live at Virginia Beach

Eutychus
3:58
From the album "Live at Virginia Beach

SOT'S Music! (Listen)

A variety of videos of Sons of Thunder music are available on YouTube. These include all songs from a 1995 reunion concert, selections from our albums and 45s, all songs performed the band's 1973 TV documentary "Rock Gospel for the Deaf, and a 45-minute live recording of the Original Five: Sons of Thunder Live at the Forum Tea House & Gallery, 1968. Here are some of the options for individual songs:

Home

Music (Listen)

The Members

The Pre-Sons

The Original Five
June 1967-May 1970

The Middle Years
June 1970-May 1972

SOT Full Time
June 1972-May 1973

SOT Full Time
June 1973-Dec. 1974

Lights by Charlie Ruh

Rock Gospel
for the Deaf

Where SOT Played

SOT at Home and
on the Road

Posters and Flyers

Sons of Thunder's 1995 Reunion Concert

On September 23, 1995, Sons of Thunder presented a reunion concert at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland, and fourteen members who had performed with the band in the 1960s/70s participated. It featured 26 songs, and videos of each one are posted on YouTube. Click here and the songs will play consecutively, or choose individual songs from the playlist that appears to the right of the video screen.

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From Sons of Thunder's album "Till the Whole World Knows" (1968)

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Other Early Sons of Thunder (Original Five) Recordings

		Sons of Thunder Live at the Forum Tea House & Gallery, 1968 45:50 SOT in live performance at this Georgetown (Wash., D.C.) coffeehouse.				Lead Me to the Rock 3:03 Recorded in 1970 but unreleased; included on reissue CD in 1995.

		Psalm 100 3:42 45 RPM released in 1970, b/w Limping Foot				Limping Foot 3:29 45 RPM released in 1970, b/w Psalm 100

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From Sons of Thunder's album "Day Follows Night" (1972)

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Other recordings from Sons of Thunder, 1973-74

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"Rock Gospel for the Deaf" TV Documentary in YouTube Segments

See our Rock Gospel page for more information on Rock Gospel for the Deaf and this documentary, which was filmed for public television in December 1973. Sons of Thunder provide the music for all of these selections, with a signing team interpreting and choreographing the songs for a hearing-impaired audience. All performances from the documentary are featured here.

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"I Hear Your Hand" and "Give Me a Sign" Videos

		Inspired by Rock Gospel for the Deaf, SOT member Dan Robbins, with friend Mary Jane Rhodes, wrote two songs, which were used in national Deaf Awareness TV Spots funded by Quota Club International and National Women's Grange. These deaf awareness classics are "I Hear Your Hand" and "Give Me a Sign." Dan recorded these songs with Sons of Thunder, and they were released on a 45 rpm record in 1974. Dan, Rita Corey, and a team of hearing-impaired youth produced videos of the songs as well. They are posted on YouTube.

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Sons of Thunder's Albums and TV Documentary

During their 7-plus years together, Sons of Thunder produced four LP albums . . .

Till the Whole World Knows (1968, Zondervan Records ZLP-7545). This was the first nationally-distributed album by a Christian rock band in the U.S. It featured eleven songs, including nine originals and one written by a friend and recorded for the first time (“Those Who Wait on the Lord”). The album was recorded at Rodel Studios in Washington, D.C., and engineered by Nelson Funk. Tedd Smith, who was Billy Graham’s pianist, also helped with the production and arranged the contract with Zondervan.

Day Follows Night (1972, Bronte Records BRS 1001). Sons of Thunder’s second album was recorded at Track Recorders in Silver Spring, Maryland, and engineered by Cory Pearson. It included five originals, a cover of Larry Norman’s “Sweet, Sweet Song of Salvation,” and three others, including "Early in the Morning," "I Heard the Voice," and "Carpenter Man."

Live at Virginia Beach (1973, Bronte Records BRS 1002). SOT’s third album was a compilation of live recordings made during a four-night appearance at Virginia Beach’s Upstairs Coffee House, in August ’73. SOT’s technician Duane Self recorded and produced the album on a four-track Teac reel-to-reel machine. In the spirit of the times, it was issued with the appearance of a “bootleg” album, in a white cover with a rubber-stamped title.

Rock Gospel: Sing and Sign (1973, Bronte Records BRS 1003). The band’s fourth album featured live selections from a “Rock Gospel for the Deaf” concert presented, along with the Rock Gospel signing team, at Gallaudet College for the Deaf in Washington, D.C., in November ’73. The concert was recorded by Bias Studios of Arlington, Virginia (now located in Springfield, Virginia). (Please see our Rock Gospel page for more information about about the Rock Gospel for the Deaf concerts.)

Television documentary: Rock Gospel for the Deaf (1973). Sons of Thunder also produced a one-hour documentary for Public Television, “Rock Gospel for the Deaf.” SOT and the Rock Gospel signing team recorded it at WETA’s studios in Washington, D.C. in December, 1973, and it aired on many public TV stations around the U.S. in 1974. For more information on this program, and the Rock Gospel for the Deaf ministry, through which SOT presented about 25 concerts in 1973-74, please see our Rock Gospel page.

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45 RPM

Sons of Thunder also released a 45 RPM in 1970 with two songs: "'On the Right Path the Limping Foot Recovers Strength and Does Not Collapse" otherwise known as 'The Limping Foot'" b/w "Psalm 100." Limping Foot was written by Blaine Smith and sung by Don Williamson, and Psalm 100 was written and sung by Joan Hettenhouser.

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Sons of Thunder
P.O. Box 448
Damascus, Maryland 20872
sot@nehemiahministries.com

Celebrating America's Pioneer Christian Rock Band

		Those Who Wait on the Lord 3:00				I Don't Know Why 1:40

		I Am Persuaded 3:51				He's Walking with Me 2:56

		He Arose 3:19				People Get Ready 2:38

		Like the Wind 1:57				I Want to Be 3:35

		New Life Now to Live 3:35				New Wine 2:20

		Sweet, Sweet Song of Salvation 4:20				Mighty Hard Road 3:24

		Carpenter Man 3:00				Spirit of Fear 4:36

		Day Follows Night 4:58				I Heard the Voice 4:19

		Early in the Morning 3:14

		Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord 1:57				I Heard the Voice/Lean on Me/Magnificent Sanctuary Band 10.35

		Zacchaeus/Peter 8:39				Joy Is Like the Rain/I Can See Clearly Now 5:59

		I Believe in Music 3:05				Spread a Little Love Around/ He Ain't Heavy 9:07

		We Shall Overcome 4:56				I'm Going to Keep on Singing 2:47

		Day by Day 3:30