Ed. Note: Michael Corcoran is the author of He is My Story: The Sanctified Soul of Arizona Dranes, the companion book to the Tompkins Square 2012 reissue of the pioneering gospel pianist’s historic 1920s recordings. Read Corcoran’s marvelous article for Arts+Labor+Austin on the late gospel announcer Bill “The Mailman” Martin (photo above) and his connection to Texas gospel quartet history. http://artslaboraustin.com/death-of-a-mailman/

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog Where else but at Pastor Maceo Woods’ Gospel Supreme can you hear the Christian Tabernacle Concert Choir, the First Church of Deliverance Radio and Television Choir, the Wooten Choral Ensemble, Minister Tim White, the Carson Sisters, Pastor DeAndre Patterson, and on and on….and then conclude with a performance of “Jesus” by Lady Supreme Doris Sykes! Congratulations to Pastor Woods and his team for a spectacular gospel program last night at First Church of Deliverance (Bishop Otto T. Houston III, Pastor). Here’s thirty seconds of the Christian Tabernacle Concert Choir at the top of ...

“Whatever You Need” The North Carolina Community Choir From the 4 Winds Records release A Story To Tell (2013) www.malaco.com With “Whatever You Need,” the North Carolina Community Choir puts an asterisk after the statement that the Southeastern U.S. is exclusive territory of the gospel quartet.     The single is quintessential gospel choir: a hand-clapping, joyous workout on God’s infinitely abundant generosity.  Whether one needs love, peace, joy, or happiness, the song states, God “will give it to you.”  Still, one hears a definite quartet influence in the choir’s extended vamp and M. Duval Smith’s meaty down-home lead vocal.  Not ...

Clara Open Door Repertory Company Oak Park, Illinois www.opendoorrep.org By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog “I had to die in order to live.” So says the spirit of Clara Ward in the opening scene of Clara, a musical on the life of the gospel star, written and directed by Jeff Award-nominated McKinley Johnson (Train is Comin’, Georgia Tom).  The show held its World Premiere at the Open Door Repertory Company in Oak Park, Illinois this past week. Johnson’s musical views Clara Ward with a sympathetic eye but without avoiding the rougher details of her life.  The unflinching, stark ...

“Good To Me” Carolyn Traylor Malaco Records (2013) www.malaco.com Carolyn Traylor’s “Good To Me” is a brassy, bluesy declaration of God’s goodness with a beat that will have listeners clapping hands and bobbing heads. It has the right blend of traditional fire and contemporary smoothness. The Greenville, Texas, native is known for “There’s a Story Behind My Praise.” “Good to Me,” written by Chicago’s own Daniel Weatherspoon, is from Traylor’s album Waiting.

Pastor Van D. Roberson All the Days of My Life (2012) www.cdbaby.com/cd/pastorvanroberson3 By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog Pastor Van D. Roberson’s CD All the Days of My Life could easily be subtitled Pastor Van D. Roberson and Friends. The Texas-based minister summons an army of ministers, singers, and musicians to join him in having a little church. And they do have church. Roberson’s gravelly, quartet-hewn voice is the ideal vehicle for his simple, down-home messages. Joe Ligon of the Mighty Clouds of Joy joins him on “Momma Remembered,” a song about a long-sacrificing mother who has passed ...

“Waiting” Carolyn Traylor Malaco Records (2012) www.malaco.com Carolyn Traylor (“There’s A Story Behind My Praise”) is waiting for her change to come. She knows it’s on the way, too, because whenever she gets discouraged, “I pull out the resume and I see how you always brought me through.”  If that isn’t enough, she adds, “I’m not going to let you go until you bless me.”  So don’t get between Traylor and her blessings! Hailing from Greenville, Texas, Traylor is a traditional gospel singer who has sung with the likes of Dorothy Norwood, Ambassador Bobby Jones, and the late Albertina Walker.  Her gospel blues ...

Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago The Best of Both Worlds EMI Gospel/Inspired People (2012) www.emigospel.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog. It could not have been easy for Charles Jenkins to succeed the iconic Rev. Dr. Clay Evans as Pastor of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. Evans, a Civil Rights leader and founder of “The Ship,” had taken his church from very humble roots to one of the nation’s most significant religious institutions. Fellowship’s radio choir was no less celebrated than the church it represented. Directed at the beginning by Willie Webb and later by Evans’ sister, ...

Reverend John Wilkins You Can’t Hurry God Fat Possum Records/Big Legal Mess (2010) http://www.biglegalmessrecords.com/ Talk about old school. On You Can’t Hurry God, Reverend John Wilkins takes us way back into the North Mississippi Hill Country for sacred music, guitar evangelist style. The result is an album with the simple authenticity of an Alan Lomax field recording and the spicy soulfulness of a Willie Mitchell production. From the unhurried Toussaint McCall-esque title track to the rhythmic no-nonsense “Sinner’s Prayer,” You Can’t Hurry God is an invigorating journey along the blue highways of American music. Wilkins, pastor of Hunter’s Chapel Church in ...