Interviews

Phil Thornton on WOW Gospel 2017: “A Source of Hope and Inspiration”

2017-02-14T15:54:22-06:00February 11th, 2017|

Phil Thornton. Photo Credit: Derek Blanks By Bob Marovich What does it take to compile an annual survey of the Best of the Best in gospel music? Phil Thornton knows. As Senior Vice President and General Manager for RCA Inspiration, which just released WOW Gospel 2017, the latest [...]

Kinsmen: Creating Family Harmony

2017-01-30T03:22:36-06:00January 30th, 2017|

By Bob Marovich From their genesis in the Vasser Family basement to their forthcoming debut as television actors, the men of Kinsmen demonstrate how a family that sings together stays together. Around 1985, Robert Vasser, a member of Rev. Dr. Clay Evans’ Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, gathered his [...]

Phillip Carter Delivers Songs Choirs “Can Learn in Two Rehearsals or Less”

2016-10-17T15:33:11-05:00October 17th, 2016|

By Bob Marovich Some twenty years ago, Phillip Carter gathered a half dozen of his friends into a local studio. He had written some songs and wanted to hear what they sounded like as performed by a vocal group. Carter told JGM: “I taught them the music, and we thought, [...]

Dayna Caddell Keeps On Pushing

2016-09-17T18:25:23-05:00September 17th, 2016|

By Bob Marovich "Keep pushing and hold on to God, because there's a way out." That's how Grammy and Dove Award nominee Dayna Caddell describes the theme of her first full-length solo album, Push, released July 8 on Forty Entertainment/eOne. The album's positive disposition and personal testimonies encourage listeners to [...]

LaVarnga Hubbard Calls On Her Chicago Mass Choir Family for “Worthy”

2016-08-20T20:53:51-05:00August 20th, 2016|

By Bob Marovich Lady LaVarnga Hubbard, known as the Duchess of Gospel Music, has been a member of the Chicago Mass Choir since it was the Ecclesiastes Community Choir, under the leadership of the late James C. Chambers. Her lead on Chicago Mass's “Call Him Up” has ensured the song a [...]

“Live the Life You Dance About:” Vanessa Odom on the Praise Dance Phenomenon

2016-08-07T20:33:31-05:00August 7th, 2016|

St. Luke Gospel Expressions By Bob Marovich Once upon a time, there was an artistic expression of worship, inaugurated and performed by youth, that wasn’t accepted by all members of the church. I’m not talking about gospel music, or Christian hip hop. Vanessa Odom I’m talking [...]

The Gospel Sensations: Trendsetting With Old School Harmonies

2016-07-29T03:17:29-05:00July 29th, 2016|

By Bob Marovich To carve out a niche in a quartet community crowded with local and national artists, the Gospel Sensations are employing a time-honored principle that has been all but abandoned in gospel music. A cappella harmony singing. That’s right: trendsetting by going back to the way gospel quartets [...]

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