Editing Bill Sprouse Jr.

{{short description|American singer}}

'''William Daniel "Bill" Sprouse Jr.''' (aka '''Willy Sprouse Jr.''', 12 December 1948 – 5 September 1975) was a [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Evangelism|evangelist]], singer and [[songwriter]], and the musical force behind two groups (both called The Road Home) in the early 1970s. Bill recorded several songs for [[Maranatha! Music]] and traveled extensively sharing the Gospel through his music. He was severely [[Obesity|overweight]] and died at age 26.<ref>[http://www.danielamos.com/articles/roadhome.html Bill Sprouse: Harmony Magazine Sept/Oct/Nov 1975] Retrieved 6 December 2008</ref> Sprouse is best known for his songwriting, including "[[Shotgun Angel (song)|Shotgun Angel]]", "Since I Met Jesus" and "Psalm Five".<ref>[http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?JSESSIONID=vx0XJnTW8V8kfX5MDj7GcnYLvnJpNdPTRZKshVGwnlVmgfJG20j0!125441103&pid=38589&aid=82793 Shotgun Angel at Billboard.com]{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Retrieved 6 December 2008</ref>

"Since I Met Jesus" first appeared on the compilation ''Maranatha 4'', along with songs by such labelmates as [[Love Song (band)|Love Song]] and [[The Way (Jesus music band)|The Way]].  The track was later released on ''Best of Maranatha Vol. 1'', ''Maranatha Country Roundup'', ''Calvary Classics Vol. 1'', ''Maranatha Collection Vol. 2'', and ''Long Play Country Gospel''.  It was played on the influential country station [[KFAT (defunct)|KFAT]] in Gilroy, CA.<ref>[http://barovelli.com/index.php?blog=2&p=28&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 KFAT Memorial Playlist] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619025219/http://barovelli.com/index.php?blog=2&p=28&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 |date=19 June 2008 }} Retrieved 16 December 2008</ref> "Long Play Country Gospel" also contains five other tracks written by Sprouse but performed by other artists, and is currently available on iTunes—the only Sprouse vocal performance currently in print.<ref>[http://www.answers.com/topic/long-play-country-gospel Answers.com] Retrieved 16 December 2008</ref>

Prior to joining Maranatha, Sprouse led a secular incarnation of The Road Home which played extensively in Orange County, California. They released an album on ABC/[[Dunhill Records]] titled ''Peaceful Children'' [DS 50104] in 1971.  He is credited as "Willy Sprouse Jr." on percussion, vocals, and keyboard.  Their song "Love's Gonna Get You Anyway" was supposedly sampled on the title track of [[DJ Krush]]'s 1996 album ''[[Meiso]]'', featuring [[Black Thought]] and [[Malik B.]] of [[The Roots]].<ref>[http://test.secondhandsongs.com/song/9249 Second Hand Songs] Retrieved 16 December 2008</ref>

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://one-way.org/jesusmusic/index.html One Way] has pictures of Bill and The Road Home, along with an audio clip of "Since I Met Jesus".  Click the drop-down list on the left and select "Road Home, The".

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[[Category:Place of birth missing]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:American male singers]]
[[Category:1948 births]]


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