Family bluegrass band from Evansville has a 7-year-old yodeler

The youngest member of the Worthing10s Family Bluegrass Band stepped up to the microphone and belted out “I Wanna Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart.”

To the audience’s delight, the old country-western song included yodeling, and 7-year-old Judith did not disappoint.

It’s something the sweet, dark-haired performer picked up quite naturally after hearing a yodeler at a George Portz Bluegrass Festival.

“We’ve been playing with him through the years,” said Susan Worthington, Judith’s mom. “He has a singer who yodels. Judith was four when she heard this lady yodel. One day, we heard her in the shower. She can parrot anything she hears. We said, ‘Judith, we need you to do that in public.’ She was shy. On our new gospel CD (they have two), we have her yodeling. People say, ‘We came to hear you guys, but we had to hear that little yodeler.’”

It’s the only life Judith has ever known.

“She was literally raised in bluegrass gospel music,” said Susan of the youngest of her 10 children. “Isabella sings. Joy has an amazing voice, too. We definitely have the cute factor with three little girls, but they can sing.”

Susan and husband Dale live outside Evansville where they have horses, chicken and goats. They also have a family band.

Emily, 20, plays fiddle and mandolin. Lucas, 18, plays banjo and sings. Matthew, 16, plays guitar and sings. Nathanael, 15, plays mandolin and fiddle. JoyAnn, 11, plays guitar, sings and composes. Isabella, 9, sings and is learning fiddle. Besides yodeling, Judith, who just lost a tooth, is learning banjo and fiddle.

Son Christopher lives in Florida; daughter Katarina Mays, who teaches piano, lives in Belle Rive. A son, Joshua, died 13 years ago.

Dale, an ordained Baptist minister and director of support services for Sparta Community Hospital, is their stand-up bass man.

“The band needed a bass player so I just did it,” he said. “I learned in jam sessions at Blue Grass Shack (in New Athens).”

Dad also knows he has a couple backups.

“His medical condition (myelodysplastic syndrome) causes him to tire,” Susan said. “Lucas and Joy played bass on our latest CD to give him a chance to catch his breath.”

“Most of what we do is on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, usually in the evenings,” said Dale. “When we have (daytime shows), I’m not able to make them all. It’s a pretty busy schedule. It’s nice to know they can do it without me because there may be a day when I can’t play.”

Susan plays the camcorder.

“I take the pictures and CD covers,” she said. “All the mom stuff. They are homeschooled. I’ve been homeschooling for 18 years. I do it through high school. I graduated three of them. Lucas just turned 18 and is getting ready to graduate. He’s been called by the Lord to preach. He’s in the process of figuring out what that means in his life.”

Show time

On a recent Friday, the Worthing10s were the stars of Oak Hill nursing home’s Christmas party.

It was one of 70 performances in 2015 in 9 1/2 months. They take off in January and February to come up with new songs.

“We’re currently booking for 2016,” said Susan. “OK, Lord, bring it on. We already have 15 scheduled for next year. We want to always do nursing homes. They gave us our start. They were forgiving when the kids were learning to play.”

Before the show, Susan talked with Shirley Stafford about future performances.

“What’s good about them? Everything,” said Shirley, activity director. “Their actions. The way they play, their music. The residents love the kids. They’re just awesome.”

The Worthing10s travel in a 15-passenger cherry red van with a white trailer full of instruments.

“Our goal is to be dressed 30 minutes before we have to leave and loaded in the van,” Susan said. “We lay out our clothes the night before to make sure we’ve got everything.”

“We’ve been playing here for two years, several times a year,” said Susan. “It’s really neat. Our genre of music is what people in nursing homes grew up with. We have witnessed Alzheimer’s patients tapping their feet, singing the songs. Music reaches people. It’s amazing to watch. It’s fun. The children enjoy it.”

Their last performance of the year is at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 27 at Loyalty Missionary Baptist Church, east of Sparta.

“The pastor is going on vacation,” said Susan. “We thought, OK, the Lord opened up the door. We are going to go play music. My husband is going to preach.”

The Worthing10s Family Bluegrass Band plays 98 percent bluegrass and gospel. Two percent is old Joe Clark and Eliza James. This time of year, half of their hour-long concert is Christmas music.

“We do not sing songs about heartbreak or moonshine,” Susan said. “We are very clean sounding. Lucas does one called ‘The Auctioneer’ It’s like you are at an auction. It’s very good.”

The high point of the concert for Oak Hill resident Darlene McKinney? “That little girl yodeling. I thought that was a lost art. It was terrific, wonderful.”

“They harmonize so well,” said Lorraine Kossina, sitting in the lobby after the show. “They are fun to watch.”

The beginning

Eight years ago, a concert changed their lives.

“We had a bluegrass band playing at church on a Sunday night just because,” said Dale, who was pastoring then at Tilden Baptist Church. “The kids really enjoyed listening to the music.”

Susan was inspired by their interest.

“They all flocked to different instruments (after the performance). I envisioned the children playing bluegrass.”

Dale had a similar thought. The religious family had been looking for a ministry that would include the children.

“When we brought it up to them, all were in favor,” said Susan. “Lucas loves the banjo. Matt said, ‘I love the guitar.’ Emily wanted the fiddle. It was really neat. Like the Lord called us.”

Bingo.

The next thing they knew, they were saving money for instruments.

“We baked bread like crazy,” said Susan. “We always did bake bread. We get wheat berries, and grind them into flour. We’ve done it for the family for years. It’s really good bread. Our oldest worked at The Butchers Block in Sparta. They let us sell bread there. It was a holiday thing. It was this time eight years ago. It turned into an all-winter thing. Everyone fell in love with the bread. Anything we baked went back into music.

“The Lord called us in November 2007. We had our first lessons in June of 2008. The children hadn’t played a string instrument in their life. We played at our first church in May 2009.”

“They only had a year or so of lessons,” Dale said. “They just kind of taught themselves. The youngest get help from the older ones and the Blue Grass Shack has been extremely instrumental, you might say. Chris Talley Armstrong — we couldn’t have done it without her in our lives.”

Five songs and counting

The Worthing10s’ song repertoire grows almost as fast as the kids do.

“In the beginning, we could play about five songs,” said Matthew, whose trademark is a deep rich voice and a cowboy hat perched just above his eyes. “We played our five songs. They would say, ‘Is that it?’ ‘Yes, we don’t know any more.’”

The 16-year-old remembers being excited about a family band.

“I liked the idea. At the time, I didn’t like singing at all,” he said.

What changed? You might say a song put him on the right track.

“Two years ago, I heard Josh Turner sing ‘Long Black Train.’”

It’s a song about not giving in to temptation. A couple lines from it? “I said cling to the Father and his Holy name, And don’t go ridin’ on that long, black train.”

“I liked it a lot. I told Emily and she said, ‘OK, but you have to sing a Christmas song to make it work.’ I didn’t want to sing a Christmas song, but I really wanted to sing ‘Long Black Train.’”

“Lucas was a natural,” Dale said. “Our oldest daughter in the band was a natural. Joy is a natural. Judith is pretty good, too. The next one we have to get singing is Nathaneal. He did sing harmony. He’s coming out of his shell a little bit.

His parents understood.

“Playing an instrument is one thing,” Dale said. “Singing and engaging is something else. I think it takes a little practice. If you are older, it’s a little harder.”

An enthusiastic, clapping audience makes a difference.

“It helps boost your momentum,” Matthew said. “It’s easier to play.”

Before the Worthingtons formed their band, the older kids took piano lessons. Now, among their high notes? Lucas won the Illinois State Junior Banjo Championship in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Joy wrote a song on the family’s second CD.

“We have learned how to do impromptu,” Susan said. “If someone breaks a guitar string, someone else steps in. Matt just walked away, changed the string and got back up there.”

“It really is pretty amazing,” Dale said, “where we were and where we have come to in a short time. We still have a long way to go.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 4:19 AM with the headline "Family bluegrass band from Evansville has a 7-year-old yodeler."