The Journal of Gospel Music

Michelle David & the Gospel SessionsIt’s a Soulful Christmas(release date: November 27, 2020)http://michelledavidandthegospelsessions.com By Robert M. Marovich Holland’s Michelle David & the Gospel Sessions lend their stripped-down small-combo Sixties soul stylings to new and classic Christmas songs on It’s a Soulful Christmas. Looking a little like a Columbia Records release from the Sixties, the album art telegraphs the retro sounds within. David channels the coquettish soprano of Diana Ross throughout the project, most especially on the nearly note-for-note cover of Stevie Wonder’s quintessentially Motown “What Christmas Means to Me.” While the perky single “This Christmas (I’ll Be By Your Side)” ...

Singer Wraps Whirlwind Year With Holiday Programming Alongside Dolly Parton and Ne-Yo. Nashville, TN (December 11, 2020) – GRAMMY®-winning singer/songwriter Tasha Cobbs Leonard has been named Billboard’s Top Gospel Artist of the Decade. News of the top honor came late last week, as Billboard began announcing its year-end and decade-end charts. Cobbs Leonard was also named the Top Female Gospel Artist for the 3rd consecutive year. This year alone, Tasha Cobbs Leonard earned two additional RIAA® certifications—one Platinum certification for her hit single “Break Every Chain,” and a Gold certification (her third) for the #1 radio single “You Know My ...

“Jesus What A Wonderful Child” Rhyme & Reason feat. April Hall From the Enon Music Group album A Reasonable Gift (release date: November 20, 2020) By Robert M. Marovich It does my heart good to know that the Angelic Gospel Singers’ “Glory, Glory to the New Born King,” once the most popular Christmas carol in the African-American community, is still being sung more than 70 years since its release. The production team of Josh Lay and Morgan Turner, known as Rhyme & Reason, covers it under its alternate title, “Jesus What a Wonderful Child.” Powerhouse singer April Hall gives the ...

“Do You Believe” PJ Morton feat. Yolanda Adams From the Morton Records CD Christmas with PJ Morton – Deluxe Edition (release date: November 20, 2020) By Robert M. Marovich Some songs sound as if you’ve heard them your whole life. “Do You Believe” is one of them. PJ Morton’s Christmas song has a buoyancy that is evocative of Donny Hathaway. Effervescent singing by Morton and Adams makes it sizzle. This is the version for others to emulate. Why it is not included among the holiday songs currently on pop radio’s Yuletide rotation is anyone’s guess. “Do You Believe” can be ...

“Born to Die” Angela Moss Poole 141st Lane Media (release date: 2014) www.AngelaMossPoole.com By Robert M. Marovich Not the Glenn Burleigh cantata, this “Born to Die” is a song written and performed by Dr. Angela Moss Poole of Miami, Florida. A bittersweet ballad, “Born to Die” reminds us of the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Poole sets the song on that “special night” in Bethlehem, but she also references Christ’s ultimate sacrifice at the cross as the true gift that keeps on giving. An exceptional production and arrangement, coupled with Poole’s lithe soprano reading, sell this holiday treat, a re-release ...

Dr. F. James Clark Presents Shalom Church & Friends Victorious (Live) EP City of Peace Music (release date: September 4, 2020) www.shalomandfriends.com By Robert M. Marovich The six-track Victorious (Live) is the latest release and the first of two new EPs by Dr. F. James Clark and Shalom Church (City of Peace) in Florissant, Missouri, a town situated north of St. Louis and near the conflux of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The megachurch choir’s five-star debut album, 2015’s Simply Amazing, lived up to its title. Dello Thedford, that album’s composer and conductor, is at the helm on Victorious. Thedford once ...

“Trust in the Lord” Danielle Sunny Bryant Ndamix Music Group (release date: November 13, 2020) By Robert M. Marovich On “Trust in the Lord,” Danielle Sunny Bryant encourages the discouraged by setting Proverbs 3: 5-6 to a meaty contemporary arrangement. Bryant’s attractive vocalizing toggles between modern and traditional, demonstrating her comfort with both styles. Starting out even-keeled, she moves the song toward the vamp, where the background vocalists do the melodic lifting so she can turn up the temperature and deliver a bluesy evangelism. The preferred extended version gives listeners a larger dose of Bryant’s vocal proclivities, including falsetto whoops ...

“Come Praise the Lord”Sounds of ImaniHeaven-Wings Records (release date: September 26, 2020)www.soundsofimani.com By Robert M. Marovich There have been husband-and-wife singing duos in gospel music since the beginning of the genre. For nearly 25 years, Pastor Gerald and Lady Carol Irvin have maintained the tradition, with “Come Praise the Lord” their latest single. Unlike the duo’s breezy, Hawkins-esque “Because of Who You Are,” the new song is a disco-driven piece that encourages everyone to dance while praising. “Move your feet to the beat,” the background vocalists chime, as Gerald and Carol weave their vocals together like a gospelized Yarborough and ...

Sponsored Post Petula Beckles is excited to announce the Petula Beckles & Friends: Home for the Holidays virtual concert series. Set to launch on Thursday, December 3rd at 7:00PM EST, the concerts will be streamed LIVE from her New York apartment via Crowdcast. Tickets can be found at her website at www.petulabeckles.com.

Episode 149 Playlist It’s gonna be alright – Mie’l & Company Lord give me another chance – Apostle John E. Ross Nobody can – Calvin Suggs feat. Paul Porter Come back – Elain Thomas Thank you Lord – Pastor Mack Mason Help them out – Charles Jerkins Take me back – DOE Never seen – Hanson Asiedu See God move – Leland Philpot I’m not ashamed – Monica Lisa Stevenson feat. Paul Porter Hallelujah anyhow – Canton Spirituals feat. Rev. Al Green 9 makes us 1 – Legacy Five and Wardlaw Brothers Dr. Jesus – Swanee Quintet