Steve Rackley looks to Jesus as his son, Jacob, looks
to him.


        Of all of the songs on Steve Rackley’s album, his favorite is the eleventh and final track, a duet with his 11-year-old son, Jacob. 
       “I Want to be Just Like You” is a father’s prayer to be like his heavenly Father, and a role model for his son. 

       I whisper a prayer that someday he’ll see
       He’s got a Father in God ‘cause he’s seen Jesus in me. 

        Father and son had the opportunity to sing the song to prisoners at the local prison, where Rackley sometimes goes for an early Sunday morning chapel service. Rackley explained to this writer, in an interview with The Christian View, that, “the prisoners were crying.” 

        But I’m trying so hard to learn from the best, 
        Being patient and kind, filled with your tenderness,
       ‘Cause I know that he’ll learn from the things that he sees,
       And the Jesus he finds will be the Jesus in me.

      Father and son first sang the song together at their church, on Father’s Day when Jacob was a toddler.
      “He held a microphone, and the whole time, he was pointing at people in the audience and waving,” the proud father recalled, with a smile. 


      
                          Jacob and Steve Rackley    


      When Rackley presented his son with the new CD, Jacob cried. “He thought it was going to be a hidden track,” Rackley explained about the final song. “After praying about it, I had decided to put it on as a regular track. It cost a little extra for an eleventh track, and for changing the artwork to put his photograph on the back. But I wanted people to know, before they open the CD, that my son is singing with me.
      “I feel this is something I can give him that means something.
      “Originally, he was not going to sing with me, because he was afraid. After the tracks were laid down musically, and my vocals and the background vocals, he decided that he would do it. So, before the final mix, I asked if Jacob could come in and have his tracks laid down on mine. I didn’t want it brushed up. I wanted it to sound like him. The first take is what’s on there.” 
        Father and son have sung “I Want to be Just Like You” several times, including at a Gideons convention. 

        Right now, from where he stands, I may seem mighty tall, 
        But it’s only ‘cause I’m learning from the best Father of them all. 

      Rackley himself can remember standing in a chair at the age of five, singing with his mother at the church where he grew up.


    
      Steve Rackley; his late paternal grandmother, Edith
      Gravley; his son, Jacob; and his parents, Pat and James
      Rackley.

      “In junior high and high school, I didn’t sing a lot,” he said. “I didn’t feel it was a masculine thing to do,” he joked. “As I got older, I got back to singing. I enjoy it. I’ve never had formal training. I tell people that God taught me to sing, and, when He gets tired of me singing, He’ll take it away from me.
      “Gospel music makes me happy. I enjoy seeing the expression on a person’s face when a song starts and seeing it change as I sing the song. I like to sing old songs that haven’t been heard in a long time, songs that older people relate to.”
      Rackley often sings for residents in local nursing homes, and also at weddings and funerals, and for The Southern Gospel Showcase, filmed at AAP Studios in Easley by his fellow church member Thomas Watson. His Pastor, Dr. David Gallamore, has allowed him the opportunity to go with him and sing when he preaches in revival services at other churches.
        For several years, Rackley has sung for about 300 senior adults from several churches who attend an early summer retreat at Springmaid Beach. “I usually sing about 60 songs while I’m there,” he said. “I enjoy seeing a lot of the same people from year to year. There are faces I’ve missed, and I’ve asked about them and found out that they’ve passed away, and that’s sad.
      “I’ve had the opportunity to go to a lot of the churches that are members of the fellowship at Springmaid, and sing in their church services or their Christmas banquets or their senior citizen meetings. So it’s a good opportunity, and I try to take advantage of every opportunity I can to sing.
      “Ever since I started going to Springmaid, people would ask if I had a CD, and I would always have to say no. I wasn’t able to afford to do one, and I didn’t know how to do one.”
      With assistance from a fellow church member, as well as a financial contribution from a couple in his church, Rackley was able to see doors open and his dream come to fruition. “I couldn’t have done it without them,” he said. “They’re special to me.” 

      


      The album was produced by Danny Crawford, who served as musician (piano, keyboards, orchestrations) with Joel Key (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin), Joe Howard (drums), and Brian Knight (bass guitar). 
       Valerie Ellenburg and Heather Day sang background vocals, as did Crawford.
      “I’ve always wanted to do an album, but how well this CD does will not dictate whether or not I sing anymore,” said Rackley. “I’ve really done it as a convenience for people who have asked, to have something to put in their hand and say, ‘Listen to this. It may change things.’
      “Several people have said they want to put the CD into the hands of someone who’s not in church. A lot of times, we can’t witness in words, but we can put a CD in someone’s hands, and let it do the talking for us, so it’s a good opportunity.
      “Several people have said that their small child knows all of the words to the song that Jacob sings. If nothing else, that’s worth it, seeing young people enjoy hearing him sing. Maybe it will inspire them to sing also.” 

     
                                 Jacob Rackley


      In addition to the title song, written by Joy Becker and Dan Dean, in which Rackley sings twice, with Jacob and also solo, other songs included on the album are “What a Day That Will Be,” written by Jim Hill, “When I Get Carried Away,” written by Carolyn Jeannette Cross and Phillip Allen Cross, “I Can’t Even Walk,” written by Colbert and Joyce Croft, “The Anchor Holds,” written by Ray Boltz, “He Still Speaks,” written by Terry Nelson Toler, “Master of the Sea,” written by Squire E. Parsons, Jr., “Feel the Nails,” written by Ray Boltz and Steve Millikan, “Oh, What a Savior,” written by Marty Hamby, and “Midnight Cry,” written by Charles Robert Day, Jr. and Gregory Alan Day.
      “It was hard to choose the songs,” Rackley said. “I had a list of more than 40 songs I wanted to put on the CD. I just kept praying about it, and it seemed like God led me to the songs that needed to be on there.” 
       “He Still Speaks” is a song that Rackley has sung at his church as part of a trio with Michael ‘Barney’ Barnes and Minister of Music Don Gibson. “My mother had a lot of influence on that song being on the CD,” Rackley said. “That has become Jacob’s favorite song, so I’m going to work on learning that one with him.”
       In the meantime, “I Want to Be Just Like You” will be the signature song for father and son. 

      I whisper a prayer that someday he’ll see
      He’s got a Father in God ‘cause he’s seen Jesus in me. 

      It’s more than a song. It’s their life, as father and son both look to their heavenly Father.