THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN QUARTET was organized in May 1978, in the rolling pine-hills of West-Central Louisiana, and is an outreach of the SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN MINISTRIES, INC., a non-profit Christian organization.  The ministry, supported by the contributions of its Christian friends, appears in Christian churches, regardless of denominational affiliation, on an expense plus love-offering basis. 

The Lord has richly blessed the SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN since its meager beginnings; singing primarily in local churches at that time, the group now travels by private coach to churches and auditoriums throughout the South and, when possible, beyond.  The group has had the privilege of appearing from California’s Hollywood Hills, to the Great Northwest, to the Rockies of Colorado, to the Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. 

In 1998, the twentieth year in the ministry, THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN were appointed “Louisiana’s Ambassadors of Goodwill” by Governor Mike Foster! This distinction was renewed by Governor Bobby Jindal in 2008 and by Governor John Bel Edwards in 2018.  This is an honor not taken lightly by THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN.  They are proud of their Christian heritage, proud to be American and proud of the State and Communities from which they hail. 

THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN are not entertainers in the true sense of the word.  Their primary goal is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, via the medium of gospel music and Christian witness.  THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN are not restricted by the boundaries of denomination.  It is their strong belief that all Bible-Believing, Christian people must love one another, and work toward the common goal of reaching the lost, rather than criticizing each other’s personal convictions.  This policy has allowed THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN to appear in churches of almost every faith. 

STGMA named Allen Doyle, former baritone, “Male Vocalist of the Year” in 2011 and 2013, Aaron Allen, our lead singer, “Male Vocalist of the Year” in 2015, and The Southern Plainsmen were named “Group of the Year” in 2011 & 2015 and received the Psalmist Award in 2012 from the same organization.  In October, 2011, The Southern Plainsmen Quartet was inducted into the North Louisiana Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame.  In 2011, 2012 & 2013, The Southern Plainsmen were named “Gospel Gold Artists of the Year” in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee as part of the Heritage Gospel Music Festival. In 2012, the members of the group at the time were made Kentucky Colonels! An honor greatly cherished by each! In 2013, Marcelle Slaughter joined the ranks of the likes of Rod Treme of Paul’s Journey and Larry Gatlin of The Gatlin Brothers, when he received the “Henry Talbot Lifetime Achievement Award”. In January, 2024, the group was inducted into the Gatesville, Texas, Country Music Hall of Fame with an acknowledgement by Governor Greg Abbott.

THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN have twenty-two albums to their credit.  In 1984 the group's first single, “Headed Home”, received extensive air-play from radio stations across the country. Chronologically, the albums are:  ON THE BATTLEFIELD, EVEN WINDS WHISPER HIS NAME , LOOKING UP, BACK TO THE BASICS, HEADED HOME, ONE DAY AT A TIME, NEXT TIME, DECADE, GOD MADE A WAY, I KNOW A MAN WHO CAN, CELEBRATION OF MEMORIES, A BRIDGE IN TIME, SIGN ME UP, THE NARROW PATH OF LIFE, REFLECTIONS, HOLD ON! --produced by Mark Trammell, SILVER ANNIVERSARY, BY REQUEST, CLASSICS, SIMPLY . . . FAITH, STEADFAST, and our newest recording REDEEMED.

For ten years, THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN hosted a weekly, forty-five minute radio program on Central Louisiana’s KWDF Radio 840 AM.  The show, “Southern Gospel with The Southern Plainsmen," featured group news, as well as, area gospel news, interviews with local gospel groups and professional groups appearing in Central Louisiana.  Area merchants sponsored the show which was discontinued in January, 2000, when the station was lost to fire.

 Marcelle co-hosted a Southern Gospel TV Show; “Southern Gospel Showcase” on KLAX-31, the Central Louisiana ABC affiliate from 2001-2010. The show featured current national artists and aired weekly, it was discontinued due to a change in programming at the National level.  He has taken the show to radio with a format change.  The “Southern Gospel Showcase” radio show currently airs on KTXJ-102.7 in Jasper, Texas, each Wednesday at 4:05 PM CST and is a historical perspective on Southern Gospel Music.

THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN are members of The Southern Gospel Music Association (SGMA), The Bay Area Gospel Music Association (BAGMA), The South Texas Gospel Music Association (STGMA), The Southern & Country Gospel Music Association and The Costal Bend Gospel Music Association (CBGMA). Marcelle represents The Southern Plainsmen as 1st Vice President of The Southern Gospel Promoters Association (SGPA) and the group hosts several concerts each year in the West-Central Louisiana area. 

THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN have made several television appearances, including KNOE-TV’s “JUBILETTE’S GOSPEL SING”, in Monroe, Louisiana, Dan Diamond’s SUNDAY MORNING DOWN SOUTH, and WGGS-TV’s “NITELINE”, in Greenville, South Carolina, and many local cable stations throughout the South.  The group has shared the stage with such groups as THE SOUTHERN ENVOYS, THE MID-SOUTH BOYS, THE CATHEDRAL QUARTET, THE SINGING AMERICANS, THE FLORIDA BOYS, REX NELON SINGERS, THE LE FEVRES, THE DIXIE ECHOES, THE NATIONS, WENDY BAGWELL & THE SUNLIGHTERS, THE ORIGINAL HINSONS, BO HINSON & PURPOSE, THE MC KAMEYS, THE MC GRUDERS, CHARLES JOHNSON and THE REVIVERS, THE PFEIFERS, PERFECT HEART, TERRY & SUSAN DAVIS, JEFF & SHERI EASTER, THE STEELES, THE KINGSMEN, GOLD CITY, JAMES BLACKWOOD & THE BLACKWOOD QUARTET, J. D. SUMNER & THE STAMPS, THE MARTINS, THE INSPIRATIONS, THE CECIL BLACKWOOD QUARTET, GREATER VISION, PHIL CROSS & POET VOICES, THE SQUIRE PARSON’S TRIO,THE SINGING ECHOES, HOVIE LISTER & THE STATESMEN, ED ENOCH & GOLDEN COVENANT, NAOMI & THE SEGOS, BRIAN FREE & ASSURANCE, THE MARK TRAMMELL TRIO, THE PERRYS, THE SOUTHMEN & THE GREENES, THE CHUCK WAGON GANG, RONNIE HINSON, TIM LOVELACE, THE BLACKWOOD BROTHERS, THE LE FEVRE QUARTET, THE FREEMANS, THE BOWLING FAMILY, 11TH HOUR, and AVENUE.

THE SOUTHERN PLAINSMEN have recorded with SWORD & SHIELD STUDIOS, Arlington, Texas, MARK FIVE STUDIOS, Greenville, South Carolina, SUMET-BURNET STUDIOS, Dallas, Texas, PRAET STUDIOS of Alexandria, Louisiana, GOLD MINE STUDIOS of Gadsden, Alabama, and ARTIST TRACKS RECORDING STUDIO in Williamson, South Carolina.