Bishop J. Drew Sheard Presents GEI Live Karew Records (release date: September 30, 2016) www.karewrecords.com By Bob Marovich GEI Live is a family affair: church family and blood family. Recorded live on August 17, 2015, at Greater Emmanuel Institutional (GEI) Church of God in Christ in Detroit, Michigan, Bishop J. [...]
By Bob Marovich JGM learned today that powerhouse gospel vocalist Lecresia Campbell passed away on September 29. Born in Chicago, Campbell was the lead singer on Walt Whitman & the Soul Children of Chicago's 1990 gospel smash, "Perfect Praise (How Excellent)." She earned a bachelor's degree in Applied Voice at [...]
Various Artists Best of Proverb & Gospel Corner Records: 1959-1969 NarroWay Records (2016) www.gospelfriend.com By Bob Marovich Gospel music has had many multi-taskers, chief among them the late Brother Henderson of Los Angeles, California. In the late 1950s, Sylvester C. “Duke” Henderson forsook his R&B singing career, hung up his [...]
“Keep on Praising” Jewell & Converted Independent; release date: September 23, 2016 www.cdbaby.com/cd/jewellconverted The fiery female quartet Jewell & Converted score their second JGM Pick of the Week with “Keep On Praising.” To a handclapping tempo, lead singer Jewell Taylor offers hypothetical personal challenges as Converted responds by chanting “What [...]
Philadelphia, PA, September 1, 2016 – September is Gospel Music Heritage Month, and on Thursday, September 29 at 2:00 p.m., the Blockson Collection of Temple University Libraries will present "Gospel Gold: The Golden Era of Gospel Music," honoring legendary Dixie Hummingbirds guitarist Howard Carroll. Hosted by Gospel Highway Eleven (WNAP [...]
By Bob Marovich Rocky Mount, North Carolina, an hour's drive from the state capitol of Raleigh, is neither rocky nor mountainy. The population is a modest 60,000, but the town looms large in gospel music lore as the longtime home of one of the genre’s most important family dynasties: the Barnes [...]
Christopher Williams Stepping Out (private release, 2015) www.cdbaby.com/cd/christopherwilliams24 By Bob Marovich Stepping Out by Christopher Williams, a Jacksonville, Florida, singer, songwriter, worship leader, and Rhythm of Gospel Award nominee, showcases a contemporary gospel stylist with more than a dash of smooth jazz in his veins. Most of the album's ten songs contain pop melodies [...]
Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir God Be Glorified (self-produced; release date: May 14, 2016) www.ndcgmwa.com By Bob Marovich Gospel choirs trained under the Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA) umbrella possess a certain style that non-GMWA choirs do not necessarily have. It’s spit-polish combined with passion, thunderous voices that [...]
Atlanta, GA - September 20, 2016 – Grammy-award winning rap artist Lecrae celebrates the RIAA Gold Certification of his breakthrough album Anomaly. Released with Reach Records on September 9, 2014, Anomaly debuted at #1 on the coveted Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, receiving universal acclaim and making Lecrae a force [...]
"I Give You Praise, Lord" Chicago Mass Choir From the New Haven Records CD I Give You Praise (2016) www.chicagomasschoir.com On their latest single, "I Give You Praise, Lord," the celebrated Chicago Mass Choir delivers P&W with P&D (power and drama). The song begins with the sopranos singing delicately, like [...]
