Dave and Shirley Southern Traditions

Dave Baker and Shirley Wood met at a small Bible-preaching church in Phoenix, Arizona in the winter of 1995. Dave and his wife, Patty- who were new to the church where Shirley and her family attended- came along for the church’s Christmas caroling. It was then that Shirley found out that Dave was a singer and she enjoyed harmonizing with him. The remainder of that night of caroling, Shirley and her daughter stood near Dave so they could harmonize with him.

Shirley enjoyed singing with Dave so much that, after that Christmas caroling time, she, her husband and daughter moved their seats across the church to sit behind Dave and his wife so they could sing with him during the congregational singing. Dave and Shirley soon found that they shared a strong life’s direction of music and, even though they had each wandered from where God wanted them in the past, they both were determined to do it God’s way now.

Dave, Shirley, and her daughter then became a trio, singing in churches in the Phoenix area. But, after about a year and a half, Shirley’s daughter decided to get married and start her family, so she left their group. It was a setback for a time, but Dave and Shirley knew that the Lord wasn’t through with them, they figured they must need to go in a different direction- so they began putting their music together as a duo.

The Lord truly did work the Dave and Shirley - Southern Traditions musical team into a ministry over the next couple of years as they began traveling to sing all over the state of Arizona. The Lord also provided abundant moral support through both Dave’s wife and Shirley’s husband, Michael- who assists with equipment set-up as needed- as well as listening in on the singing sessions at their house several days a week.

Dave and Shirley have found such joy in this service for the Lord over the last 10 years; singing for church services across the Southwest, in Tennessee and Kentucky. They have also sung for old-fashioned Gospel sings, 4th of July celebrations at a town square, Christian cowboy roundups or Christian missions wherever they‘ve been called.

Dave and Shirley recorded their first musical project in 2000 with Steve McCuin at Nashville Direct Studio in Nashville, Tennessee- forming a friendship that will stand through time. Since that first recording, the Dave and Shirley - Southern Traditions team has recorded 3 additional Gospel music projects. In 2005, Dave found an advertisement for Glory Train Records that indicated that they would send individual’s music to over 2200 radio stations throughout the U.S. and Europe. Dave and Shirley decided that this may be an opportunity for their ministry worth taking advantage of, so they contracted with Glory Train Records for release of selected songs to radio stations in late 2005.

By their third song release to the radio, the response was so good, especially in the European stations. They both could hardly believe that two “nobodies” from Arizona could actually be blessed in such a way. The song “One More Thing To Love Him For” reached #17 on the Country Music Association European top 20 in Sweden and Norway, and is also being released to over 2200 radio stations nationally and internationally, through Glory Train Records- the largest radio promoter of gospel music in the world.

Dave and Shirley are delighted to be instruments in God’s hands and remain willing to travel wherever asked, to share the rich message of the Gospel through song.