Kokomo Community Concerts brings Grammy-nominated artist to Kokomo

Oct. 14—When Ernie Haase was 18 years old, he played American Legion Baseball. One of his best games, the Indiana native said, was played in Kokomo.

Haase is coming back to visit the city Sunday. He isn't playing ball, though. He's on tour with Signature Sound promoting their newest album, "Decades of Love."

Going into the album, Haase said, the Grammy-nominated group was only going to record a few songs for each of their wives and present it as a Valentine's Day present. They kept recording, though, and at around song 10, Haase realized it was becoming a musical review of love songs that would transition well to stage.

By the time they were finished, the album spanned a century of musical history.

"You can't capture them all. But we have almost two hours worth of music, 29 songs, and every one of them are just woven into the fabric of America," Haase said.

During the show, he plans to explain how musical styles have changed throughout time. The '20s-'40s built the Great American Songbook, the advent of doo-wop changed the soundscape of love songs in the '50s and the '60s were led by The Beatles, Haase explained.

"The music, the styles of recording and the style of fashion, all of that changed with each decade, and we highlight that," Haase said of the tour. "But for the most part, it's just those great songs that people dated to, they married to."

The Southern gospel quartet will be backed by a six-piece band, including a saxophone player, and have an LED screen on stage to show scenes from each decade they show off. One of the singer's biggest goals for the tour, he said, is to get people who have been married for years to fall in love and start dating again.

Although it can be difficult for him to pick out a favorite, Haase said he probably prefers Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love." The tune from "Blue Hawaii" has added sentimentality for Haase because he sang it to his wife at their wedding.

"Everybody is really uptight right now, the culture is very chaotic, the climate seems to be very hostile from what we hear in the media. So I think this is a timely record," Haase said. "Love conquers all, so I hope people just have a good time."

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.