By Robert M. Marovich JGM was saddened to learn of the passing of singer Duranice Pace of the Pace Sisters on January 14, 2021, at age 62. Born May 13, 1958, in Atlanta’s Poole Creek community to Murphy and Bettie Ann Pace and brought up in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Duranice was one of nine sisters who comprised the Stellar- and Grammy-nominated Anointed Pace Sisters. The sisters began singing in church, in local talent shows, and participated in COGIC national conventions, where in the 1970s they won Best Gospel Group. They also toured nationally with their uncle, ...

By Robert M. Marovich JGM learned that Sister Rosetta Davis, a longtime member and beloved soloist of the Charles Fold Singers of Cincinnati, Ohio, passed away during the 2020 Christmas holiday. A firebrand of a singer, Davis started her singing career at a young age. In the 1950s, she was billed as the Little Blind Girl on what may have been her first single, “There is a Fountain” / “I Know My Robe is Going to Fit Me Well,” on Hilltop Records. Davis’s work with the Charles Fold Singers was robust, including solo turns on the choir’s recordings and especially ...

By Robert M. Marovich A. Jeffrey LaValley informed JGM of the passing of his friend, gospel singer and pastor Steve Hawkins. Born in Waco, Texas, on Valentine’s Day, 1953 (“That’s why I’m such a sweetheart!” he chuckled during our 2014 interview), Hawkins was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where his father was pastor of the Jerusalem Church of God in Christ. As a youngster, Hawkins learned the finer points of singing from his mother. His uncle and aunt, Dorothy and Lawrence Abrams, took him on the road to open for the Original Five Blind Boys, in which Lawrence was a member ...

By Robert M. Marovich Debra Robinson informed JGM yesterday that Val Alexander, longtime singer and guitarist for the Gospel Keynotes, passed away on Wednesday, December 16, 2020. Alexander can be heard on Gospel Keynotes recordings as early as 1970. Here is a brief bio on the Gospel Keynotes: From Tyler, Texas, Willie Neal Johnson – affectionately known as “Country Boy” – began his professional singing career when Rev. C. W. Jackson invited him to join a local group, the Five Ways of Joy Gospel Singers, while he was still a teenager. The Five Ways of Joy instilled in Johnson a ...

By Robert M. Marovich Marcel West of Detroit informed JGM of the passing of Mother Ora Watkins-Jones, stalwart lead vocalist for the Southwest Michigan State Choir of the Church of God in Christ, under the direction of Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. Of a choir with more than 100 members, a few names stood out from the pack. Rose Marie Rimson-Brown. LaBarbara Whitehead. Vanessa Bell Armstrong. The Clark Sisters. Donald Vails. And Ora Watkins-Jones. Mother Watkins-Jones is perhaps best known for her vocal contribution, with Rimson-Brown (who passed away earlier this year), on the Southwest Michigan State Choir’s first radio hit, ...

GOSPEL MUSIC LEGENDS EARNEST PUGH & JUDITH CHRISTIE MCALLISTER WILL HOST VIRTUAL CONCERT CELEBRATING LIFE OF TROY DOUGLAS CLARK Troy Douglas Clark, a behind-the-scenes music industry veteran who worked as both a talent manager and background vocalist, died of liver failure on November 25, 2020, at 3:30 PM PT at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, CA. Two of Clark’s longtime industry friends, recording executive Neily Dickerson and singer Earnest Pugh, have announced a virtual concert celebrating Clark’s life. Pugh and Judith Christie McAllister and Pugh will host the virtual Facebook Live concert Friday, December 4, 2020 at 9 PM ...

The 63rd GRAMMY Awards will air Sunday, Jan. 31, on CBS Congratulations to all of the nominees for the 63rd GRAMMY Awards in the Gospel categories: 36. Best Gospel Performance/Song• WONDERFUL IS YOUR NAMEMelvin Crispell III • RELEASE (LIVE)Ricky Dillard Featuring Tiff Joy; David Frazier, songwriter • COME TOGETHERRodney “Darkchild” Jerkins Presents: The Good News; Lashawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins, Lecrae Moore & Jazz Nixon, songwriters • WON’T LET GOTravis Greene; Travis Greene, songwriter • MOVIN’ ONJonathan McReynolds & Mali Music; Darryl L. Howell, Jonathan Caleb McReynolds, Kortney Jamaal Pollard & Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters 37. Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song• ...

By Robert M. Marovich Marcel West of Detroit informed JGM that gospel singer Louise McCord-Williams passed away on November 3, 2020. For many years, McCord was a member of, and frequent soloist with, Detroit’s famed Voices of Tabernacle Choir, under the direction of Rev. James Cleveland. Among the songs she led or helped lead were “Down by the Riverside” (with Hulah Gene Hurley), “Yes God is Real,” “Jesus Be a Fence Around Me” and, with Rev. Cleveland, “There is No Greater Love,” “He’ll See You Through,” and “Plenty Good Room.” In 1966, McCord, a mezzo-soprano, was invited to join the ...

NASHVILLE, TN (October 30, 2020) – The 51st Annual GMA Dove Award winners were announced via worldwide broadcast, which aired exclusively on TBN. Under the banner of “Carry The Change”, the show celebrated Gospel Music’s diversity and promoted unity through dynamic performances and testimonials. The night’s biggest awards went to for KING & COUNTRY for “Artist of the Year”, We The Kingdom for “New Artist of the Year”, Tasha Cobbs Leonard for “Gospel Artist of the Year” (presented by SoundExchange), and Joseph Habedank for “Southern Gospel Artist of the Year”. Re-imagined to accommodate the absence of a live audience, this ...

From a Press Release: Bishop Rance Allen, of the Grammy® Award nominated inspirational soul and gospel trio, The Rance Allen Group, has passed away at the age of 71. “While recovering from a medical procedure at Heartland ProMedica [in Sylvania, OH], Bishop Rance Allen passed away around 3 AM this morning,” said Allen’s wife of 49 years, Ellen Allen, and his manager, Toby Jackson, in a joint statement. “I wasn’t expecting to hear this news this morning,” said Tyscot Records President, Bryant Scott, who was nearly speechless upon hearing of the singer’s death. “This is a great loss to us ...