Carol Barham
By Stephanie Kelley
“God is real and desires to give you hope when all hope seems to be gone,” says Carol Barham, M.A.C. recording artist, singer and songwriter. Barham can testify to God’s ability to turn dreams into reality. It should come as no surprise that Barham grew up to be a country gospel music performer. This
genre of music has been a part of her life from a very early age. “My dear mama loved country music,” says Barham, speaking fondly of her mother, Neva Golden Smith. “I grew up listening to Loretta Lynn, Dolly, George Jones and Tammy Wynette.” By the age of three, young Carol was singing along to her favorite country tunes. Barham’s childhood wasn’t filled just with catchy tunes and her mother’s love. There was a dark side to her
early years. The family suffered the effects of her father’s alcohol addiction.
“In the four walls of our house was a lot of pain and abuse for my mom,” Barham recalls.
“Dad would stay out at the honky-tonks, spending the money he made on booze. That didn’t leave a lot of money to pay bills and pay for the necessities of life.” But Barham’s mom wasn’t going to let her family fall apart. “My mama got a job and was up every morning at 4:00 AM,” Barham remembers. Her mother would fix breakfast for the
children before heading out for a long day of work in a factory.
“She was a strong woman and did what she had to for her family’s survival,” says a grateful Barham.
Barham’s mom relied on God’s power and provision to get the family through those difficult times. “Mama would always say, ‘I heard Oral Roberts is coming on tonight,’ or, ‘Billy Graham is coming on tonight and we will watch the program,'” Barham recalls.
Young Carol and her mother loved watching the huge tent crusades of Oral Roberts or the massive arenas filled with people eager to hear Billy Graham. “And to see Johnny Cash and June Carter sing brought a smile to Mama’s face,” remembers Barham. Her mother was a very private person and Carol cherishes the memories of getting to share these moments with her mom and to witness first hand the things that helped her mama get
through the tough times.
When Barham was about 12 years old, her family moved to a small community where she and
her sister started going to a small Baptist church nearby. “And instantly they wanted us to sing
with the pianist and we did,” recalls Barham. Carol started her personal journey with the Lord there by accepting Jesus Christ as her personal savior.
“In my sophomore year, I met a cute guy dressed in his army fatigues. I didn’t like him at first but he was persistent and finally won me over,” Barham remembers.
This young private would visit Carol in school and all the female classmates would swoon.”The girls all loved his long eyelashes,” Barham giggles. Time passed and a young Carol and her handsome suitor grew closer. “I met his family and went to his Pentecostal church. Instantly I knew this was all different than anything I’d ever seen or felt. I fell in love with Jesus, much more and stronger than I was expecting. And fell in love with my would be husband, Paul Barham,” Carol says. “By my junior year, he was ready to get married and bought some land and a trailer, which would be our first home.” But this young relationship was not without obstacles. The young couple had to first convince Carol’s mother that she would graduate in spite of being married. “And that I did. She was there and so proud of me. I was proud of me too,” Barham remembers.
Carol’s new life as Mrs.Barham was centered around Christ and the church. “I didn’t want to miss a service. I plunged into the deep waters. No wading around the banks!” Barham recalls. The young couple started singing at their church and although they enjoyed their joint efforts, Paul knew that Carol had always had a dream to one day record her own original music.
Sadly, Carol’s mom passed away in 2006. “I had written a song for my mama titled, ‘You’re My Mama,’ and sang it to her with my brother, O’Neal Golden, playing his acoustic guitar. What a sweet and wonderful memory that was and still is today,” Barham remembers fondly. She was
and always will be Carol’s hero. “Truly, a gift God gave to me,” Barham recalls. “My mama would always speak good positive things to me. For instance, she told me that if you work hard and have a dream, you can achieve what seems to be impossible. So many things she taught me about life that have always stayed with me.” Carol knew she had to sing this song to her mama one more time at her homegoing.
“As I spoke over her, a lot of her own words of advice or funny things she would say came to mind. The full house audience had tears or were laughing. Fans began to love this song and I sang it many times,” says Barham. In 2012, Barham bumped into an old friend, Dennis McKay, at a shopping mall. After several God-inspired conversations, Barham debuted her first song in 2015. “You’re My Mama” instantly made the Country charts And in 2017, M.A.C Records released another song she had written titled, “I Can’t Praise Him Enough.” This was Barham’s first bluegrass style single and it appeared on national charts and remained for 20 months straight. It crossed over into Southern gospel audiences too, becoming a top 20 hit. “I always wondered how my music could be heard all over the world and now I witness it,” she said. Her next hit song was right around the corner. “The Holy Spirit dropped the lines into my spirit while we were on our way to New Orleans to board a cruise ship with Victory Voyage,” Barham
remembers. “’It was ‘God, Oral Roberts and Billy Graham that helped my Mama through,’ the melody I never forgot,” A new song was born but she wasn’t sure what to do with this new inspiration. “As I began to write and later record, my producer, Dennis McKay, felt this would be our next release to radio. The first time out, it hit the top 40 list of Christian Country on SGNScoops,”she exclaims. Before long, the song started showing up on various other industry charts. Currently the song is at #11 on SGNScoops Christian Country Gospel.
Today, Paul and Carol Barham are pastors of the Fountain Of Life Church Assemblies of God. The couple live near their two grown children and their families. Family is very important to the Barhams.
“We try to spend as much time as we can making memories with our children and grandchildren,” says the doting grandma. As much as family is important to her, Carol Barham is excited about her musical genre as well.
“I believe Christian Country has a bright future. It’s telling a story like Jesus told parables. People register with life’s struggles and difficulties, and I pray my songs will bring hope and healing to their lives,” says Carol.
Carol and Paul travel to various concert events where she is able to sing and preach the gospel. “My ministry is about sharing God’s love and letting people know they are important and can be saved no matter what they’ve done or where they’ve been,” she says. Carol continues, “God is the mender of your brokenness, and he can heal all the ugly hurt of your
past. I can now sing this song ‘God, Oral Roberts and Billy Graham’ with so much gratitude to God for how he took care of my mama. I can only imagine the look on her sweet face. I knowshe is smiling down on me and is proud that I followed my dream.
“Never give up! Dreams do come true… I am living proof!”