Dedicated Men Of Zion

Coming Up Through The Years

Music Maker Foundation

The Dedicated Men of Zion are a sacred soul quartet featuring Anthony “Amp” Daniels, Antwan Daniels, Marcus Suggs, and Tyjon Harris. They come from a singing tradition that has flourished in and around Greenville, North Carolina, for generations—a joyfully harmonious style of gospel so closely related to soul music that Music Maker co-founder Tim Duffy refers to it as “sacred soul.”

Related by blood or marriage, the members are part of the same extended family that also produced the Glorifying Vines Sisters, Faith & Harmony, and Freeman Vines. This vibrant but under-documented musical community played a major role in Music Maker’s decision to build its new recording studio in nearby Fountain, North Carolina. Coming Up Through the Years is the group’s third album, recorded in early 2025. The family’s story is deeply entwined with America’s story, as their music reaches back more than 300 years.

The album was co-produced by Jimbo Mathus of the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Bruce Watson of Fat Possum Records, Big Legal Mess, and Bible and Tire. Their backing band, the Creatures of the Southern Wild, features Mathus on guitar, keyboards, and drums; Scott “Paco” Goolsby on guitar; Kirk Russell on guitar and drums; and John Kveen on bass.

The title track and opener, “Coming Up Through the Years,” sets the emotional tone as the quartet sings, “I’ve been coming up through the years, I had it so hard… I had been hopeful all along my way, lost my father, I had it so hard, coming up through the years.” On “I Don’t Know Why,” they reflect on childhood faith and struggle, singing, “My mind goes back to when I was a little boy, I didn’t have no God on my side… I heard about Jesus… I don’t know why.”

“Jesus Is Waiting” features the foursome chanting, “Standing by my side… open arms… help me, Jesus is waiting.” “Nobody’s Fault” rides a driving beat as the quartet declares, “Nobody’s fault but mine… nobody told me how to pray… if I don’t leave, nobody’s fault but mine.”

On “No Ways Tired,” they proclaim perseverance with the line, “I don’t feel no ways tired, I’ve come too far… nobody said the road was going to be easy.” “Victory” bursts with communal joy as they shout, “Tell all my friends, we shall claim a victory, we shall overcome.”

“Something Within Me” leans into testimony and inner conviction, with the group crying, “Something within me… preachers are teachers… something within me.” On “What You Gonna Do,” the quartet poses a stark spiritual question, asking, “When the world’s on fire, where you gonna run? No place, nowhere.”

“Tone Them Bells” finds the quartet bursting forth with faith and surrender as they sing, “If you see me cryin’, all I want you to do… tone them bells.” The album closes with a brief, a cappella reprise of “No Ways Tired,” bringing the journey full circle with the simple declaration, “I’ve come too far.”

Across the album, the songs move fluidly through blues-inflected numbers, energetic stompers, slow ballads, and tracks with an old-school doo-wop feel. As Tim Duffy notes, “The Dedicated Men are singing at the very peak of their powers. The result is magic—an incredible work of art.”

Richard Ludmerer

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