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A Piece of My Soul (The Anthology of Gospel)Christ Universal Temple, ChicagoMay 24 and 25 By Bob Marovich of The Black Gospel BlogLast night, A Piece of My Soul opened as a musical and ended as church.Faith Howard (r) sings a tribute to Albertina WalkerEvoking Jackie Taylor’s Black Ensemble Theater presentations in [...]

“Heaven”Bishop Neal Roberson & the MacedoniaMass ChoirBroken Chains Entertainment (2013)www.BrokenChainsEntertainment.orgGospel music is chockablock with evocations of the hereafter, from wistful and melancholy to out-and-out celebratory.  Bishop Neal Roberson and Josh Hicks join the mass choir of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church of Flint, Michigan on a sample of the latter.  In [...]

Alvin DarlingWaiting Right HereEmtro Gospel (2013)www.emtro.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogStellar and Dove-nominated artist Alvin Darling takes listeners by the hand and leads them back to the old landmark on Waiting Right Here.These days it is difficult to find a gospel project that does more than pay lip [...]

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogThe joyous musical, A Piece of My Soul (The Anthology of Gospel), returns to Chicago, the city where it debuted, for one weekend, Friday, May 24 and Saturday, May 25, at ChristUniversal Temple, 11901 South Ashland.  Gospel superstar Vickie Winans will be part [...]

Various ArtistsTop 25 Gospel Songs – 2013 EditionMaranatha Music/EMI Music CMG Distributionwww.maranathamusic.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogIf it were not for a couple of traditional-leaning selections, Maranatha Music’s Top 25 Gospel Songs – 2013 Edition could easily be titled Top 25 Praise and Worship Songs – 2013 Edition.Whether [...]

“Just What He Said”Joel BrileyClark Music Group (2013)www.cdbaby.com/cd/joelbrileyTwenty-two-year-old Joel Briley may be a praise and worship singer for The Love Center Church in Dunn, North Carolina, but on “Just What He Said,” he demonstrates the vocal prowess of a hard quartet lead. This single about God making a way out [...]

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.Much has happened since TBGB last checked in with Pastor Charles Jenkins of Fellowship Chicago a year ago.  Along with the choir’s performance at the 2013 Stellar Gospel Music Awards last January, the group was one of the two most honored artists at the [...]

Mr. DelFaith WalkaDMG/Universal Christian Music Group (release date: June 18, 2013)www.mrdel.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogMemphian Mr. Del, born Delmar Lawrence, is a former member of the Three 6 Mafia, the first African American rap group to win an Oscar for Best Original Song (“It’s Hard Out Here [...]

David Wright & the DW ProjectHeavenGodfather Records (2011)By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogAnother ensemble featuring the progeny of gospel royalty is David Wright and the DW Project.  Wright’s father, Godfather of Gospel Music Rev. Timothy Wright, met an untimely end in April 2009, the result of a tragic [...]

The McCrary SistersAll the WayMcC Records (released April 30, 2013)www.mccrarysisters.netBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogThe acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree, as the saying goes.In the McCrary Sisters’ case, the spark doesn’t travel far from the flame.The sisters—Ann, Deborah, and Regina McCrary and Alfreda McCrary Lee—come from [...]