Last May, in one of his first performances with the Stamps Quartet, Roger Menees had a cold.

Lead singer Ed Enoch remarked, "How can you tell?"

In conversation, it's not difficult to imagine Menees sliding into the same low notes as the great J.D. Sumner. His voice is a gentle rumble, with a tinge of a country accent.

For a couple of months this year and last, Menees has been touring on and off with the Stamps while they look for a new bass singer. He may even be a candidate for a permanent spot.

"I've been listening to the Stamps ever since I started singing Gospel music," Menees said.

And he did his best to fill the shoes of the man who once recorded the lowest note ever achieved, but for a "higher" reason.

"It was good, but the thing I wanted to do was do my best for the Lord and be a blessing to people," Menees said. "That's the only reason I sing and do sing, to sing words of encouragement and uplift people."

Menees was born and raised in Anna and still lives on the farm he grew up on. He was saved when he was 11 years old and sang in church all his life.

One of the things he always loved to do was to listen to quartets. It was a comfort when he left Southern Illinois and was a student at the University of Illinois.

"I got so homesick to listen to Gospel music," Menees said. "I had to go buy a stereo and some albums to listen to in the dorms."

And other students would sometime listen as well.

"They hadn't heard that kind of music, a guy singing that low," Menees said. "They were kind of amazed."

It was that same time when Menees began singing in quartets. He started out with the Glorylanders out of Marion and has performed with many different groups over the last 37 years, including the Impacts from Louisville.

When he's not on the road with a quartet or at home farming, Menees has a third career as a bus driver. Over the past several years, he's been behind the wheel on tour for Southern Gospel quartets as well as mainstream artists like Alan Jackson, Usher, ZZ Top, Brian Setzer, The Jonas Brothers and Amy Grant.

Sometimes he'll get to sing a number. When he drove America, they asked him to join them on their hit "Horse With no Name." They requested he make it as "Gospel" as possible.

This fall Menees is even going to make an attempt at the lowest note record previously held by Sumner.

At this point, Menees hasn't heard whether or not he'll get the job with the Stamps, however, being on tour with one of his childhood favorites, and one of the most historically important quartets of all time to present the Good News was an honor.

"I really appreciated that opportunity," he said.

brent.stewart@thesouthern.com / 351-5074