Ken Mansfield
Encyclopedia
Ken Mansfield is a Grammy Award
-winning record producer
, former U.S. Manager of Apple Records
, a high-ranking executive for several record labels, songwriter
and the author
of three books.
Since the 1960s, Mansfield has been associated with an array of notable performers including The Beatles
, The Beach Boys
, Waylon Jennings
, James Taylor
, Roy Orbison
, Don Ho
, the Imperials
, Tompall Glaser
, Harry Nilsson
, Glen Campbell
, Buck Owens
, Lou Rawls
, Andy Williams
, The Flying Burrito Brothers
, Eric Burdon
, Badfinger
, Ray Stevens
, Jackie Lomax
, The Four Freshmen
, Judy Garland
, Dolly Parton
, David Cassidy
, Nick Gilder
, Claudine Longet
and Jessi Colter
. In the 1970s, he helped popularize the Outlaw movement in country music by producing Waylon Jennings' top-selling album, Are You Ready for the Country
as well as the crossover hit "I’m Not Lisa" by Jessi Colter. In 2000, the former record executive-turned-producer embarked on a literary career with The Beatles, The Bible and Bodega Bay. His follow-up, The White Book - The Beatles, the Bands, the Biz: An Insider's Look at an Era, was released in 2007. Mansfield's third book, Between Wyomings, published by Thomas Nelson, was released on June 9, 2009.
Upon his discharge from active duty, Mansfield enrolled at the University of Idaho
eventually transferring to San Diego State University
, where he received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marketing. His first job was doing computerized cost, budget, and program analysis for the Saturn and Surveyor space programs in San Diego. At the same time, Mansfield sang with a folk group called The Town Criers and opened a nightclub in San Diego's suburb of La Mesa
. The popular club, called The Land of Oden, was La Mesa’s former City Hall.
Mansfield was promoted quickly and was one of the first young American executives the Beatles worked with since their ascension to stratospheric stardom. Up until then, everyone they met in the executive world outside their isolated and insulated realm was a Lord of EMI (the parent company that owned Capitol Records), a corporate chairman or a high-ranking executive. Mansfield's age made him more accessible to the Beatles, who soon invited him to become a member of their inner sanctum.
In addition to the Beatles, while at Capitol, he was also responsible for overseeing the recording careers of the Beach Boys, Glen Campbell, The Band, Bobbie Gentry
, Lou Rawls
, Buck Owens
, The Steve Miller Band and the Quicksilver Messenger Service
.
, Mary Hopkin
, Badfinger
and Jackie Lomax
.
At the time of the Apple debut, everyone agreed that the Beatles first single on the new label had to be a smash. The group was stymied on whether to release “Hey Jude” or “Revolution” as Apple's first single. “Hey Jude,” which clocked in at an unprecedented 7:11, was the obvious choice. However, it was still the era of the less than three-minute record and Top 40 stations gained listeners by playing the most hits in an hour. Mansfield came up with the solution by bringing an advance copy of the two songs from the UK to American and playing them to a few trusted radio station managers, who were unanimous in their decision that “Hey Jude” was the hit. They were right. When the song was released in September 1968, it topped the Billboard charts for nine weeks and became the Beatles' best selling single of all time.
In his position as an Apple executive and personal liaison for the Beatles between the UK and US, Mansfield was among a handful of eyewitnesses to join The Beatles as they performed their legendary last-ever gig on the rooftop of their London headquarters on January 30, 1969, which was captured in the Academy Award-winning documentary, Let It Be. Mansfield is easy to recognize as he was the only one on the roof that day wearing a white coat.
When the Apple empire began to crumble Mansfield turned down an offer by businessman Allen Klein
to stay despite the promise of his salary being tripled. Mansfield saw the writing on the wall and moved over to MGM Records
as its vice president in charge of marketing and artist relations. Two years later he was hired by Andy Williams to be the president of his CBS record company, Barnaby Records in 1971 - an artist roster that over the years boasted Ray Stevens, Jimmy Buffett
, the Everly Brothers
, Paul Anka
, Lenny Welch
and Claudine Longet
.
Mansfield's tenure with Barnaby lasted two years (1971-'73) chiefly because he wanted to take the label heavy into the emerging contemporary country market, which evolved into the exciting “Outlaw” movement. Williams saw things differently and Mansfield resigned over the dispute.
Mansfield's five-year producer tenure with the Outlaws started in 1973 with the track "We Had It All" from the classic Waylon Jennings album, Honky Tonk Heroes. Mansfield went on to produce approximately 70 songs for the Outlaws, including Jennings' No. 1 top-selling album Are You Ready for the Country and No. 1 single "Amanda" from his "Rambling Man" album as well as Jessi Colter's No. 1 crossover single, “I’m Not Lisa” and No. 1 albums "I'm Jessi Colter" and "Diamond in the Rough." A series of Top Ten albums and singles produced by Mansfield with both artists found a place on the charts and playlists in country and pop categories. The personal relationship between Jennings and Mansfield grew so close that one time the singer asked Mansfield if it would be OK to list him as next of kin on his emergency medical records.
Mansfield also produced The Flying Burrito Brothers, David Cassidy, Don Ho, Nick Gilder Sam Neely, Byron Berline and Sundance, as well as David Geffen’s boy band OXO, before closing down his Hollywood enterprise Hometown Productions Inc. and making his way to Nashville in the 1980s.
After a born-again experience in the late 1980s, Mansfield rebounded in his personal and professional life. He produced the legendary Imperials and the Gaither Vocal Band
's 1991 album, Homecoming. The Grammy Award-winning album featured a who's who of gospel artists including the Gaither Family, The Speer Family, Jake Hess
, Hovie Lister
, Howard
and Vestal Goodman
, George Younce
, Glen Payne
, James Blackwood
, Eva Mae LeFevre
, Buck Rambo, J.D. Sumner, The Stamps and Rudy and Larry Gatlin of The Gatlin Brothers. In addition, this classic recording received a Dove Award that same year.
The new millennium brought even greater fortunes to Mansfield, who penned The Beatles, The Bible and Bodega Bay in 2000. Published by Broadman & Holman, the work had three printings and was the only book ever approved by the Beatles (Yoko Ono on John Lennon's behalf) outside their own Anthology. That literary endeavor was followed by The White Book, The Beatles, the Bands, the Biz: An Insiders Look at an Era (Thomas Nelson
) in 2007.
'The White Book' has been endorsed by many Apple/Beatles related people including Andrew Loog Oldham, Peter Asher, Alan Parsons, Robin Leach and former Apple President Jack Oliver.
Mansfield's third book, Between Wyomings, published by Thomas Nelson, was released on June 9, 2009.
Today Mansfield has a traveling ministry with message that draws heavily from his record industry days.
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, former U.S. Manager of Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
, a high-ranking executive for several record labels, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of three books.
Since the 1960s, Mansfield has been associated with an array of notable performers including The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, Don Ho
Don Ho
Donald Tai Loy "Don" Ho was a Hawaiian and traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer.-Life and career:Ho, of Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent, was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako, but he grew up in Kāneohe on the windward side of the island of Oahu...
, the Imperials
The Imperials
The Imperials are an American Christian music group that has been around for over 45 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There have been many changes for the band in membership and musical styles...
, Tompall Glaser
Tompall Glaser
Tompall Glaser is an American country music artist. Active since the 1950s, he has recorded both as a solo artist and with his brothers Chuck and Jim in the trio Tompall & the Glaser Brothers...
, Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
, Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
, Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
, Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
, Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
, Eric Burdon
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
, Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
, Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...
, Jackie Lomax
Jackie Lomax
John Richard 'Jackie' Lomax is a British guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his association with George Harrison and Eric Clapton...
, The Four Freshmen
The Four Freshmen
The Four Freshmen is a multiple Grammy-nominated American male vocal band quartet that blends open-harmony jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires , The Pied Pipers , and The Mel-Tones , founded in the barbershop tradition...
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, David Cassidy
David Cassidy
David Bruce Cassidy is an American actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his role as the character of Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical/sitcom The Partridge Family. He was one of pop culture's most celebrated teen idols, enjoying a successful pop career in the 1970s, and...
, Nick Gilder
Nick Gilder
Nicholas George "Nick" Gilder , is an English-Canadian musician who first came to prominence as the frontman for the glam rock band Sweeney Todd. He later had a successful solo career as a singer as well as a songwriter.-Biography:...
, Claudine Longet
Claudine Longet
Claudine Georgette Longet is a French singer and recording artist who was popular during the 1960s and 1970s. She is also an actress and a dancer.Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to pop singer Andy Williams from 1961 until 1975...
and Jessi Colter
Jessi Colter
Jessi Colter is an American country music artist who is best known for her collaboration with her husband, country singer and songwriter Waylon Jennings and for her 1975 country-pop crossover hit "I'm Not Lisa"....
. In the 1970s, he helped popularize the Outlaw movement in country music by producing Waylon Jennings' top-selling album, Are You Ready for the Country
Are You Ready for the Country
Are You Ready for the Country is an album by Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1976. Its title track is a song from Neil Young's seminal 1972 album Harvest...
as well as the crossover hit "I’m Not Lisa" by Jessi Colter. In 2000, the former record executive-turned-producer embarked on a literary career with The Beatles, The Bible and Bodega Bay. His follow-up, The White Book - The Beatles, the Bands, the Biz: An Insider's Look at an Era, was released in 2007. Mansfield's third book, Between Wyomings, published by Thomas Nelson, was released on June 9, 2009.
Early life
Mansfield was born in Noxen Township, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania on October 14, 1937. Moving west at age 5, he grew up in Lewiston, Idaho (population 12,000) - the son of a sawmill worker and housewife. The remote area in the northern Idaho panhandle was called the “Banana Belt” because of the comparatively moderate weather. Soon after graduating from high school, he joined the Navy to leave his small town roots behind.Upon his discharge from active duty, Mansfield enrolled at the University of Idaho
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
eventually transferring to San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
, where he received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marketing. His first job was doing computerized cost, budget, and program analysis for the Saturn and Surveyor space programs in San Diego. At the same time, Mansfield sang with a folk group called The Town Criers and opened a nightclub in San Diego's suburb of La Mesa
La Mesa, California
La Mesa is a city in San Diego County, California. The population was 57,065 at the 2010 census, up from 54,749 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1869 and officially incorporated as a city on February 16, 1912. Its official flower is the bougainvillea....
. The popular club, called The Land of Oden, was La Mesa’s former City Hall.
Capitol Records
Through his music contacts, Mansfield learned of a job opening at Capitol Records in Los Angeles. Armed with his marketing degree and a borrowed suit, he was interviewed and then hired in January 1965 as the company's District Promotion Manager West Coast, making him one of the youngest executives with the firm.Mansfield was promoted quickly and was one of the first young American executives the Beatles worked with since their ascension to stratospheric stardom. Up until then, everyone they met in the executive world outside their isolated and insulated realm was a Lord of EMI (the parent company that owned Capitol Records), a corporate chairman or a high-ranking executive. Mansfield's age made him more accessible to the Beatles, who soon invited him to become a member of their inner sanctum.
In addition to the Beatles, while at Capitol, he was also responsible for overseeing the recording careers of the Beach Boys, Glen Campbell, The Band, Bobbie Gentry
Bobbie Gentry
Roberta Lee Streeter , professionally known as Bobbie Gentry, is a former American singer-songwriter notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material...
, Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
, Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
, The Steve Miller Band and the Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band, formed in 1965 in San Francisco.-Introduction:Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe and several of their albums ranked...
.
Apple Records
In 1967 when the Beatles decided to form their own corporation, they turned to Mansfield to run their record division and named him the U.S. Manager of Apple Records beginning in 1968. Mansfield joined his four new bosses setting up the worldwide launch of Apple Records and the U.S. management of subsequent projects such as The Beatles (aka The White Album), Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road, Let It Be and Hey Jude. In addition to the Beatles, Mansfield looked after the careers of Apple artists such as James TaylorJames Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin , credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti, is a Welsh folk singer best known for her 1968 UK number one single "Those Were The Days". She was one of the first musicians to sign to The Beatles' Apple label....
, Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
and Jackie Lomax
Jackie Lomax
John Richard 'Jackie' Lomax is a British guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his association with George Harrison and Eric Clapton...
.
At the time of the Apple debut, everyone agreed that the Beatles first single on the new label had to be a smash. The group was stymied on whether to release “Hey Jude” or “Revolution” as Apple's first single. “Hey Jude,” which clocked in at an unprecedented 7:11, was the obvious choice. However, it was still the era of the less than three-minute record and Top 40 stations gained listeners by playing the most hits in an hour. Mansfield came up with the solution by bringing an advance copy of the two songs from the UK to American and playing them to a few trusted radio station managers, who were unanimous in their decision that “Hey Jude” was the hit. They were right. When the song was released in September 1968, it topped the Billboard charts for nine weeks and became the Beatles' best selling single of all time.
In his position as an Apple executive and personal liaison for the Beatles between the UK and US, Mansfield was among a handful of eyewitnesses to join The Beatles as they performed their legendary last-ever gig on the rooftop of their London headquarters on January 30, 1969, which was captured in the Academy Award-winning documentary, Let It Be. Mansfield is easy to recognize as he was the only one on the roof that day wearing a white coat.
When the Apple empire began to crumble Mansfield turned down an offer by businessman Allen Klein
Allen Klein
Allen Klein was an American businessman, talent agent and record label executive. His clients included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.- The accountant :...
to stay despite the promise of his salary being tripled. Mansfield saw the writing on the wall and moved over to MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
as its vice president in charge of marketing and artist relations. Two years later he was hired by Andy Williams to be the president of his CBS record company, Barnaby Records in 1971 - an artist roster that over the years boasted Ray Stevens, Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
, the Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
, Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
, Lenny Welch
Lenny Welch
Lenny Welch , is an American MOR/pop singer.He was born in New York City on May 31, 1938 . He was raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey. His biggest hit, a cover version of the big band standard "Since I Fell for You," reached number 4 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1963...
and Claudine Longet
Claudine Longet
Claudine Georgette Longet is a French singer and recording artist who was popular during the 1960s and 1970s. She is also an actress and a dancer.Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to pop singer Andy Williams from 1961 until 1975...
.
Mansfield's tenure with Barnaby lasted two years (1971-'73) chiefly because he wanted to take the label heavy into the emerging contemporary country market, which evolved into the exciting “Outlaw” movement. Williams saw things differently and Mansfield resigned over the dispute.
Record producer
When Mansfield left CBS/Barnaby Records in 1973, he finally fulfilled his longtime career goal of becoming a full-time record producer. He set up Hometown Productions Inc. and went on to produce the acts that he wanted to bring to Barnaby Records – Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, Tompall Glaser and other cutting-edge and Outlaw country artists.Mansfield's five-year producer tenure with the Outlaws started in 1973 with the track "We Had It All" from the classic Waylon Jennings album, Honky Tonk Heroes. Mansfield went on to produce approximately 70 songs for the Outlaws, including Jennings' No. 1 top-selling album Are You Ready for the Country and No. 1 single "Amanda" from his "Rambling Man" album as well as Jessi Colter's No. 1 crossover single, “I’m Not Lisa” and No. 1 albums "I'm Jessi Colter" and "Diamond in the Rough." A series of Top Ten albums and singles produced by Mansfield with both artists found a place on the charts and playlists in country and pop categories. The personal relationship between Jennings and Mansfield grew so close that one time the singer asked Mansfield if it would be OK to list him as next of kin on his emergency medical records.
Mansfield also produced The Flying Burrito Brothers, David Cassidy, Don Ho, Nick Gilder Sam Neely, Byron Berline and Sundance, as well as David Geffen’s boy band OXO, before closing down his Hollywood enterprise Hometown Productions Inc. and making his way to Nashville in the 1980s.
Author/Ministry
While the 1980s were a decade of prosperity for most Americans, they were not for Mansfield. Facing insurmountable debt, he was financially and spiritually broken when he arrived in Nashville in 1984. Mansfield had gone from having servants, gardeners, housekeepers, cooks, gofers, drivers, Mercedes cars, expensive toys, guesthouses, fame, bucks and glory to bankruptcy and desperation. He arrived in Tennessee with three suitcases and three cardboard boxes – the only mementos of his heady days in Los Angeles.After a born-again experience in the late 1980s, Mansfield rebounded in his personal and professional life. He produced the legendary Imperials and the Gaither Vocal Band
Gaither Vocal Band
The Gaither Vocal Band is a Grammy award-winning Christian music vocal group, headed by Bill Gaither. They originally recorded contemporary Christian music, but after the popularity of the Gaither Homecoming videos, the group has become known for southern gospel.-Group history:The Gaither Vocal...
's 1991 album, Homecoming. The Grammy Award-winning album featured a who's who of gospel artists including the Gaither Family, The Speer Family, Jake Hess
Jake Hess
Jake Hess was an American Grammy Award-winning southern gospel singer.-Life:Hess was born Manchild Hess December 24, 1927, in Limestone County, Alabama...
, Hovie Lister
Hovie Lister
Hovie Franklin Lister was an American gospel pianist.Lister was born in Greenville, South Carolina, and learned piano from age six. He accompanied a singing group composed of his father and three of his uncles at 14, and toured with Mordecai Ham at the same age...
, Howard
The Happy Goodman Family
The Happy Goodman Family was a Southern Gospel group founded in the 1940s by Howard "Happy" Goodman.The Happy Goodman Family began to be known for their singing around 1950. During the 1940s and 1950s there were various combinations of all eight brothers and sisters, with Howard being constant...
and Vestal Goodman
Vestal Goodman
Vestal Goodman was a singer who performed in the Southern Gospel genre for more than half a century. She is known both as a solo performer and as a founding member of official The Happy Goodman Family, the first was actually her husband and his brothers and sisters, one of the pioneering groups in...
, George Younce
George Younce
George Younce was an American bass singer, known for performing with Southern Gospel quartets, especially The Cathedrals.-Biography:...
, Glen Payne
Glen Payne
Glen Payne served more than 50 years as a gospel music's singer. At age 17 in 1944, Glen joined the Stamps-Baxter Quartet. He was also a member of the Lester Stamps Quartet, The Stamps All-Stars, and The Stamps-Ozark Quartet...
, James Blackwood
James Blackwood
James Webre Blackwood was an American Gospel singer and one of the founding members of legendary Southern Gospel quartet The Blackwood Brothers.-Biography:...
, Eva Mae LeFevre
The LeFevres
The LeFevres, or The Singing LeFevres, were an American Southern gospel singing group, active for nearly 50 years in the middle of the twentieth century....
, Buck Rambo, J.D. Sumner, The Stamps and Rudy and Larry Gatlin of The Gatlin Brothers. In addition, this classic recording received a Dove Award that same year.
The new millennium brought even greater fortunes to Mansfield, who penned The Beatles, The Bible and Bodega Bay in 2000. Published by Broadman & Holman, the work had three printings and was the only book ever approved by the Beatles (Yoko Ono on John Lennon's behalf) outside their own Anthology. That literary endeavor was followed by The White Book, The Beatles, the Bands, the Biz: An Insiders Look at an Era (Thomas Nelson
Thomas Nelson
-American public officials:*Thomas Nelson, Jr. , American Revolutionary War leader; signer of Declaration of Independence; governor of Virginia...
) in 2007.
'The White Book' has been endorsed by many Apple/Beatles related people including Andrew Loog Oldham, Peter Asher, Alan Parsons, Robin Leach and former Apple President Jack Oliver.
Mansfield's third book, Between Wyomings, published by Thomas Nelson, was released on June 9, 2009.
Today Mansfield has a traveling ministry with message that draws heavily from his record industry days.