Cleveland Singers, Caravans Thrill at GMWA in Orlando, FL

Members of two generations of Cleveland Singers reunited in song at the Gospel Music Workshop of America’s “Tribute to the King” program on Wednesday afternoon, August 15, 2007. The alumni who participated in the reunion were Eugene Bryant, Cleo Kennedy, Henry Jackson, Calvin Bernard Rhone, Gene Viale, Rodney-Wayne Finney, and Wayne Anthony, with Kurt Carr on keyboards and Bruce Carter on bass.

The Cleveland Singers sounded and looked as good as ever, performing King James classics “Lord, Do It” and his reworking of the Gladys Knight hit, “Jesus is the Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me.”

After the group’s performance, gospel superstar Kirk Franklin asked Cleo to perform a solo, saying how he knew her music from recordings but never had the chance to hear her perform live. Cleo consented gladly, hitting several of her trademark high notes as she sang for Franklin and the audience of conventioneers and locals.

The “Tribute to the King” program, celebrating the life of James Cleveland, was held in the Coronado Springs Resort Grand Ballroom at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The four-hour program also included the Caravans, who performed their “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep.” Longtime Caravan member Inez Andrews (below) took the lead on the song, which is as much her signature as is “Lord, Don’t Move the Mountain.”

This year’s GMWA convention marked the organization’s 40th anniversary. James Cleveland, along with a host of gospel music industry executives and musicians, formed the GMWA in 1967 in Detroit to promote, professionalize, and perpetuate gospel music. The 2008 convention will be held in Nashville, Tennessee.