TBGB thanks Sheilah Belle and The Belle Report for providing the following list of homegoing services for William “Bill” Moss Sr. Viewing: 11 AM – 7 PMFriday, June 29thNew Saint Paul Church , Southfield Rd. & Grand RiverDetroit , MI Family Viewing:6 PM – 7 PMFriday, June 29thNew Saint Paul Church , Southfield Rd. & Grand RiverDetroit , MI Family Hour:10:30 AM Saturday, June 30thGreater Emanuel Church , 7 Mile Rd. & SchaeferDetroit , MI Homegoing Service:11:00 AMSaturday, June 30thGreater Emanuel Church , 7 Mile Rd. & SchaeferDetroit , MI

TBGB learned from The Belle Report that Bill Moss, Sr., member of Detroit’s Moss/Clark gospel music dynasty, went on to be with the Lord today. He died in a Detroit hospital. Moss’s sister, Mattie Moss Clark, almost needs no introduction, but for those who don’t know, she was the leader of the Southwest Michigan State Choir of the COGIC and gave birth (literally) to the Clark Sisters. Bill Moss is perhaps best known for founding the gospel group Bill Moss and the Celestials. A songwriter, Moss also started a record company, Bilesse, that recorded his group as well as other ...

Special thanks to Joseph Middleton for alerting TBGB about this notice, found on the Atlanta Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America website. Monday, June 25th, 2007. The Atlanta Chapter of the GMWA, Inc. Mass Choir will be the guest of our own Sis. Sarah McKissick in her 87th Birthday Celebration to be held at the Mt. Patmos Baptist Church 2207 Candler Road, Decatur, Georgia 30032 where the Pastor is Rev. Raleigh Rucker. Service begins at 7:00 p.m. * * * * * Sarah McKissick was a member, along with Gladys Beamon and Catherine Campbell, of Chicago’s Little Lucy ...

“Oh Clap Your Hands” Brenda Jefferson from A Time of Refreshing Scripture Music Group 2007 www.myspace.com/brendajeffersononline “Oh Clap Your Hands” is the radio single from Brenda Jefferson’s recently released collection of “Scripture songs,” A Time of Refreshing. Pastor Jefferson and her husband, Bishop M.B. Jefferson, lead the congregation at Deeper Life Christian Church in Tampa, Florida. “Oh Clap Your Hands,” featuring Lisa Page Brooks, is a mid-tempo foot-tapper that showcases the background singers (who chant a catchy motif) as much as the shouting interplay between Jefferson and Brooks. The song is sure to complement contemporary gospel radio playlists nicely. For ...

“Walk Around Heaven All Day”The CaravansVee Jay 945 and VJLP 5058 (1964) [Also available on Collectables CD The Best of Vee-Jay Gospel, Vol. 4](NOTE: This essay was originally published in 1996; it has been edited and updated for inclusion here.)“One of these mornings, it won’t be very long;You’ll look for me and I’ll be gone.” This couplet appears in thousands of gospel songs, but nowhere is it articulated with more elegance and foreboding than in the Caravans’ “Walk Around Heaven All Day.” Although billed as a Caravans recording, “Walk Around Heaven All Day” is really a solo outing for member ...

House of RefugeJim ByrnesBlack Hen Music 2007www.blackhenmusic.com If in the past ten to fifteen years, gospel’s lyrical content hasn’t strayed too far from its origins, its musical foundation sure has. North of the U.S./Canada border, it seems to have shed even more of its musical modesty, fraternizing openly with worldly sounds that church folk would have considered off limits back in the day. Proof positive: House of Refuge from St. Louis-born and now Vancouver resident Jim Byrnes sounds like the Fairfield Four meets the Marshall Tucker Band over tumblers of Schwab’s Memphis mojo. Byrnes whips gospel, jazz, blues, country, and ...

From D.A. Johnson of Malaco Records: We regret to announce that Rev. Eddie Porter, Father of Tyrone & Paul Porterof The Christianaires Passed on Thursday, June 7, 2007. The Homegoing schedule is as follows: Family HourTuesday, June 12th 6:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m.Williams Mortuary212 E. Minnesota StreetBrookhaven, Mississippi 39601601-833-5871 Home Going CelebrationWednesday, June 13th11:00 a.m.Friendship Church30 Friendship Lane Monticello, Mississippi 39654601-587-4269 Tyrone and Josie Porter2103 Pipeline LaneSontag, Mississippi 39665 Email expressions may be sent via this addressquartetgmwa@aol.com

From Eyeball Productions: The Gospel Discography 1943-1970 is the culmination of over forty years of research, starting with a column by Cedric Hayes called “Post War Gospel Records” in the fledgling Blues Unlimited magazine in 1963. Cedric was joined shortly afterwards by Bob Laughton, and the work slowly and painstakingly grew into the 1992 publication of Gospel Records 1943-70. During the fourteen years that have passed since that edition, a wealth of new information and detail has been uncovered, resulting in this thoroughly revised and substantially expanded 658 page incarnation. The listings follow the same format as The Blues Discography, ...

[Ed. Note: Some of you may remember the “Gospel” website at www.island.net. From the late ’90s to 2000, I contributed reviews and other content for the site. My reviews were of recordings I believed essential for building the ultimate gospel music collection. When the “Gospel” site was discontinued two or three years ago, all of my gospel music reviews went with it. Thankfully, I have hard copies of most of the original essays and will edit, update, and re-post them as “Flashbacks” whenever I can. Here is the first of more than 100 such recommendations I posted on “Gospel.” This ...

Oh Happy Day ReunionThe Original Edwin Hawkins SingersLight 2004 (originally released in 1992)http://www.lightrecords.com/ OK, I admit it: I am not a fan of the early ‘70s contemporary gospel scene, so I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy this project. Suffice to say that I enjoyed it very much, far more than I thought I would. Light’s 2004 “Classic Gold” reissue of the Original Edwin Hawkins Singers Reunion, a recording released originally in August, 1992, showcases an ensemble that sounds as fresh and energized as it did when it cut the genre-bending LP that went from private fundraiser to international blockbuster in ...