With a name like his, John Boozer said he learned along the way to have fun with it, noting he’s heard all the jokes and has long embraced his nickname of “Booze.”
Serving as interim minister of music at North Shelby Baptist Church in the Birmingham metro area since 2018, Booze said his pastor even calls him that from the pulpit.
When he taught at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, from 2000 to 2017, his students also used the nickname. And now as the newly named director of Alabama Singing Men, he’ll see whether it sticks.
More than a music group
Booze joined ASM in 2025, but he participated in the group’s first-ever concert at a state convention annual meeting in 1973 while he was in college at Samford University.
“More than being a music group, it’s a group of guys who come together for fellowship,” he said, noting ASM has been featured at state convention annual meetings for 50 years running now.
ASM has had three directors since its inception in 1973: Paul Hall, Timothy Banks and Thomas Smith. Smith retired from the position two years ago, after 25 years of faithful conducting.
In the interim, longtime music ministers Ed Cleveland (currently serving as minister of senior adults at First Baptist Church Montgomery) and Roger Walworth (music minister for First Baptist Church Fort Payne) jointly led the group.
Booze said the two men did an outstanding job maintaining the group’s high standards and brotherhood during the interim period. It was recently, ahead of ASM’s annual fall retreat at Shocco Springs Conference Center, that the group asked Booze to step up as their new director.
“It’s an incredible honor to be in this position. We have some wonderful men in the state of Alabama who’ve given their lives to worship the Lord,” he shared.
Background
ASM’s accompanist of 43 years, acclaimed pianist Frank Jones, said, “We are blessed to have Boozer as our new conductor.”
Booze holds a bachelor’s in church music from Samford, a master’s degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and a doctorate in choral conducting from Louisiana State University.
He’s served churches in Alabama, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. He taught at Baptist College of Florida, Southeastern Seminary and still teaches at Kenya Baptist Theological College, where he serves as music chair and visits several times a year. He’s served in various ministries through the years, including as a children’s music camp leader at Shocco and in a staff position at Ridgecrest Convention Center in North Carolina. He’s been a guest conductor and clinician at over 100 events.
Booze and his wife Patricia have two adult children, John Britt and JoBeth, and six grandchildren. He’s an avid cyclist and enjoys coaching his grandson’s recreation league basketball team.
During ASM’s upcoming retreat on Sept. 10–11, members will spend two days in intense rehearsal, learning the music for their upcoming season. Along with the annual concert at the state convention in November, ASM travels for a spring tour and provides special music at several churches within the tour timeframe.
Booze said he is excited about the current musical repertoire because it offers a variety of new arrangements for the group. It includes spirituals, beloved hymn settings and some contemporary pieces.
“I’m excited about getting to know the guys better, developing more relationships and involving more men as I meet them,” he said.
All Baptist men who serve in music ministry, whether in an official capacity or as a faithful choir member, are welcome to sign up at alabamaworship.org/asm.
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