Various Artists Soul Don’t Worry! Black Gospel During the Civil Rights Era, 1953-1967 NarroWay Records (release date: September 21, 2018) www.gospelfriend.com By Bob Marovich Soul Don’t Worry is the most ambitious project to date for NarroWay / Gospel Friend, the Sweden-based gospel reissue operation headed by producer Per Notini. In the past, Notini has focused on chronicling individual artists and labels, but this time he has taken on an entire era’s worth of gospel music. And not just any era, but one of the most significant of the twentieth century: the fight for civil rights in America. Some listeners might ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 11, 2017) – GMA Foundation’s annual GMA Honors celebration was held on Tuesday, May 9 at Lipscomb University. Steve Green, Yolanda Adams, Gold City Quartet and Michael Blanton and Dan Harrell were inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame. The event also honored individuals and organizations that are impacting our culture both past and present. This year’s honorees were Amy Grant for Helping Hands, Dr. Shirley Caesar for Shirley Caesar Outreach Ministries, Compassion International and Natalie Grant for Hope for Justice. For the first time, the GMA inducted legacy artists who soared in national prominence ...

By Bob Marovich Traditional gospel music enthusiast Jordan K. Phillips informed JGM that Herbert “Pee Wee” Pickard, noted organist and pianist who accompanied the Gospel Harmonettes, James Cleveland and the Voices of Tabernacle,  and many other gospel artists, passed away today. Mr. Pickard,  a resident of Detroit, was a child prodigy.  Anthony Heilbut (The Gospel Sound) told JGM recently that as a preteen, Pickard caught the attention of Lionel Hampton around the time that Dinah Washington was the group’s lead singer.  Heilbut laughed that had Pickard joined Hampton and Washington, they would have invented soul music ten years before Ray Charles. Pickard not only ...