Roscoe Robinson & the Birmingham BlindBoys God’s Love Lifted Me Higher Mississippi Delta Blues (2014) www.mississippideltabluesinfo.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog Gospel quartet singers are the Energizer Bunnies of music.  Decade after decade, through innumerable personnel changes and stylistic revolutions, they keep on going. Such is the story of veteran gospel quartet lead Roscoe Robinson.  Although sighted, the 85-year-old Robinson has sung with just about every blind quartet in existence.  He recently organized the Birmingham BlindBoys, named for his Alabama hometown. In April, the Birmingham BlindBoys—Paul Montgomery, Rev. Julius Love, James Perkins, and Robinson—released their debut album ...

Lisa Knowles and the Brown Singers The Evolution Continues One Voice Media (released March 18, 2014) Available from Amazon.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog Lisa Knowles of Memphis, Tennessee, is one to watch in 2014. Not only does she sing electrifying solos as a member of James Fortune & FIYA, and has guested on many gospel CDs over the past several years, but she demonstrates her devotion to gospel quartet as the leader of Lisa Knowles and the Brown Singers.  The ladies’ latest album, The Evolution Continues, combines contemporary gospel flair with Deep South quartet soulfulness. In ...

Jai Reed Songs From My Heart K. Lamp Entertainment, LLC (2014) klampentertainment@gmail.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog Although he is a New Orleans guy, Pastor Jai Reed must still consider it a treat to sing in the Gospel Tent at the Crescent City’s legendary Jazz and Heritage Festival.  This year, he was on the program during the festival’s first weekend, and no doubt performed selections from his new CD, Songs From My Heart. Two components that emerge from the album are Reed’s clear, melodic tenor; and quality songs from the pen of producer/musician/songwriter Kevin Lampton.  First the ...

The Mckee Choir What Shall It Take Sharp Records (2014) http://themckeechoir.bandcamp.com/album/what-shall-it-take By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog Named for Rev. James E. Mckee, the Mckee Choir was organized several years ago by Ulannie “Link” Brewer.  The choir’s album, What Shall It Take, was recorded at its home church of Dunham Temple CME in Greenwood, South Carolina, where Rev. Mckee is pastor. The album is reminiscent of the self-produced church choir recordings that proliferated in the 1970s and 1980s.  The 36-member Mckee Choir is a decent group with an above average, albeit uncredited, female lead vocalist whose intense vocal ...

Johnny B. Williams Songs for the World to Sing Salathiel Records (2013) www.salathielrecords.com  By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog I extolled the virtues of Johnny B. Williams in 2009 after listening to his five star album, The Way I Worship.  With his latest CD, Songs for the World to Sing, Williams continues to demonstrate prowess as a singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. The album is packed with crisply produced radio-sized selections, all written and performed by Williams, who hails from Jewett, Texas. The songs range in their musical foundation from urban AC and contemporary gospel to tunes with ...

Arnetta Murrill-Crooms (Self-titled) On The Beat Entertainment (2013) www.OnTheBeatEntertainment.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog Arnetta Murrill-Crooms hails from the talented Murrill Family of North Carolina.  Alumni of Donald Lawrence’s Tri-City Singers, the Murrill siblings released their own album, the Lawrence-produced Family Prayer, in 2008.  It featured Arnetta leading the single, “There’s a Healing.”  The album garnered Stellar and Grammy nominations. Arnetta, who recently received the Best Female Gospel Artist honor at the 2013 Queen City Awards, has released her debut solo CD.  In a genre known for distinctive voices, Arnetta’s voice stands out for its musky texture ...

Geneatha Wright Just As I Am Godfather Records (2013) www.godfathergospel.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog Geneatha Wright of South Florida offers Just As I Am. Her style falls within the Florida multicultural P&W sound made popular by the likes of William McDowell, Javen, Madelyn Berry, and sisters Martha Munizzi and Mary Alessi. The album was recorded live at the Bible Church of God in Boynton Beach, Florida, where seven-year-old Geneatha Daughtry started her music ministry by joining the Little Singing Angels Children’s Choir.  She went on to sing with the Daughtry Family and became part of gospel ...

North Carolina Community Choir A Story To Tell Malaco Records (2013) www.malaco.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog If there’s a choir to give the Mississippi and Chicago Mass Choirs a run for their money, it’s the North Carolina Community Choir. Formed initially to back the Sensational Nightingales on “Every Promise in the Book is Mine,” and Rev. F.C. Barnes and Darrell Luster on “(God Is God) He Won’t Change,” the group decided to become permanent.  Their debut album, A Story To Tell, is a masterful expression of the gospel choral sound. The album is loaded with traditional-style ...

  Alexis Spight L.O.L.: Living Out Loud Music World Gospel (2013) www.musicworldgospel.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog During “Musiq,” a selection from her debut CD, L.O.L.: Living Out Loud, BET Sunday Best Season Five First Runner Up Alexis Spight sings that music is part of her DNA, that if you cut her open, “harmonies and lyrics I’ll drain.” That is an interesting image, but I get it. Indeed, the sounds on L.O.L., released by Music World Gospel last month, seem to pour out of her.  They are nearly as kaleidoscopic in color as the cover photo of the redheaded, bespectacled Spight ...

Donald Malloy Live: Finally Home (2012) www.donaldmalloyministries.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog. There’s something about old-fashioned, good-time gospel music that alleviates troubles by its very presence.  It does not need complex, mind-altering, or heavy riffing to ease the burdens. That’s what Donald Malloy’s sixth CD, Live: Finally Home, is about.  Offering a live performance in his hometown of Cheraw, South Carolina, Malloy gives traditional gospel just enough of a beat to keep in step with the times.  Stellar Award-winning Isaiah D. Thomas produced the album and wrote and arranged some of the songs. Malloy gets the audience ...