Originally, Sweet Deliverance began in 1976 at Oklahoma Christian by 4 young men, one of whom was Kevin Allsup. Kevin, the group’s originator, grew up in Manteca, California, where they became based in 1977. By 1978 and 3 new members later, Bob Allsup, who is Kevin’s younger brother, began singing bass for them at age 18. Bob was just in time to be part of this group’s 3rd and final recording, called “Especially For You”. In 1979, they disbanded and each member went their separate ways.

Bob had continued to live in Manteca and attended the Northside church of Christ. He and Kevin Percival, best friends since age 5, had grown up together in that congregation and had always dreamed of singing together. When Kevin returned from living in Texas where he attended Abilene Christian, they eventually began talking about that dream. By late 1989, over 10 years after the original group disbanded, they started the group Sweet Deliverance, once again. With Dave McPeak and Gary Ferguson, they made their first 3 recordings: “Welcome Home, Wayward One”, “Sweet, Sweet Spirit”, and “Take His Hand”, which marked the first time they had recorded all original music.

Though the 2nd group had achieved as much as the first, they were not nearly finished, yet. Russ Wooten joined the group to fill a gap left by Dave McPeak and they went on to record 3 more projects: “Let It Flow”, “Acappella Artists” (recorded by The Acappella Company in Paris, Tennessee), and “Walk On”. Most of the songs from these 3 recordings were original songs, written and arranged by the group themselves. In 2002, about a year before this group disbanded, they had become a quintet with the addition of Ken McAlpin, previously of the nationally-known group Acappella. These 5 members had the blessing of singing at Spirit West Coast for the first time, but never had the chance to record together.

In 2003, the group disbanded when Russ Wooten moved to Georgia, Ken McAlpin moved to Campbell, California, and Gary Ferguson stepped down. It wasn’t until 2 years later that Bob and Kevin decided to record on their own, some of the songs that they had written and were writing. When the recording was nearly complete, God sent them David Morgan, who just happened to be a worship leader at his church in Tracy and a lead singer. He stepped in and immediately recorded several of the lead parts on the unfinished project. Finally, just before they had called it a “wrap”, Gary Ferguson rejoined the group and finished the lead on the last couple of songs. In late 2006, they released their 7th recording entitled, “You’re My Rock”.

Though it has been a long road, it seems that “Sweet D” has not missed a beat. Shortly after their last release, they added another new member. Their newest member is David’s younger brother, Stephen Morgan. Both David and Stephen have an extensive singing background, as they have been singing a cappella music in their own family group for many years.

Now, with six men and a new recording, they are lifting their voices for God’s glory, in full force. Looking back, it is obvious that God has seen them through good times and bad, and they know that it is He who has given them the voices to praise Him. They continue to offer Him their lives, their songs, and their voices for the encouragement and the uplifting of Christ’s church.