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Johnathan Duane Rulapaugh was born to Raleigh and Judith Rulapaugh, in LaPlata, MD. During a family vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee John was first exposed to Southern Gospel Music while visiting a Christian Bookstore. There he heard the now famous Gold City Quartet playing over the store's sound system and purchased the recording. John started singing in church at a very young age. His mother would play piano and on occasion the family would sing together. Though the public school system in Maryland wasn't very receptive to Gospel Music, John took every given opportunity to share his love for this music in choral concerts and events throughout his school years. During his first trip to Ben Speer's Stamps Baxter School of Music John's love for Gospel Music really took hold as he learned the history and rudiments of this genre. John attended the Stamps Baxter School four consecutive years. John reflects, "Thanks to Mr. Bobby Ross, and others like him who made contributions to the Stamps Baxter School's scholarship fund, many young people, myself included, were able to attend the school when otherwise it would have been impossible." John attributes much of his success in Gospel Music to having been able to attend this school. In 1995 John joined The Proclaimers Quartet of Columbus, Georgia. There he gained valuable television and radio experience with weekly appearances on NBC-38's "Rise and Shine" and WPNX Radio. In 1997 John was invited to become a member of The Dove Brothers Quartet. The Dove Brothers Quartet with McCray Dove, Eric Dove, Burman Porter, Richard Simmons, and John Rulapaugh were awarded the Southern Gospel Music Association's award for New Group of the Year, and later the prestigious award for Male Quartet of the Year. This same group of men also became recipients of the Singing News Fan Awards in the same categories. John and Jennifer Rulapaugh were married July 1st, 2000. Their initial place of residence was in John's native Maryland. The following year they moved to Greenville, NC where Jennifer took the position of office manager for The Dove Brothers Quartet while John continued to travel and sing with the group. With the move to Palmetto State Quartet the couple migrated to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area of Tennessee where they now reside. Though John has been nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year by the Southern Gospel Music Association and Favorite Tenor in the Singing News Fan Awards, he feels his greatest achievement began to take shape in August 2001 when he was chosen to perform as a member of Charlie Waller's Grand Ole Gospel Reunion Quartet. Other members of this prestigious group are Buddy Burton, Roy Pauley, and the late Hovie Lister and Jack Toney. In December 2001 the group produced Hovie's final masterpiece recording, "If We Never Meet Again." The follow up recording, produced in February 2004, became Jack Toney's final recording with his passing on April 15, 2004. As a matter of sheer coincidence the night of John's final performance with The Dove Brothers Quartet happened to be Brion Carter's last performance with the Palmetto State Quartet. In what now seems to have been divine appointment, both the Dove Brothers and Palmetto State were performing at Will Rodgers Memorial Auditorium in Fort Worth, Texas. John began filling in with Palmetto State Quartet the following weekend and, as they say, the rest is history. John officially became a member of Palmetto State Quartet January 1st, 2003. |