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“Tender Mercy”Lonna HardinFrom the Various Artists CD The New SoulRedeemed Soul.com 2007http://www.redeemedsoul.com/Growing up in Texas and Michigan, Lonna Hardin sang. Sang in church, sang in the classroom, in high school hallways, at her commencement, everywhere. She soloed on a Charles Fold album, released an independent solo project in 1999, and [...]

Today, nearly every popular gospel artist has a Christmas project in his or her catalog. The Mississippi Mass Choir, Luther Barnes, and Yolanda Adams are among those releasing Christmas albums this season. But when did the tradition of gospel artists recording Christmas carols begin? One is inclined to answer that [...]

Over There The Frierson Brothers Joyland Records 2007 www.joylandrecords.com The Frierson Brothers – Rev. Fredrick, Sr.; Rev. Franklin; and Joe, Jr. – hail from New Jersey, but on Over There, the quartet sounds as if it's headquartered in the Carolinas. The song selection runs the gamut from the traditional (“Walk [...]

Witness gospel music history -- correction, American music history -- being made as the Dixie Hummingbirds, Marie Knight, Odetta, the Huff Singers, and Willa Ward with the Johnny Thompson Singers perform for the Sister Rosetta Tharpe Memorial Fund. Music will be in the air and all around at this fundraiser, [...]

Gospel’s uber-producer Percy Bady is always busy Kingdom building with his songs and production. This time, however, the Kingdom he's building is here on earth. It's a brand new record company. And while Bady spends each Sunday afternoon sending the praises up, his partner in the business spends his Sunday [...]

While running in the St. Jude Memphis Marathon this past weekend, I passed the offices of WLOK 1340 AM, "A Family Tradition."Headquartered in a diminutive building on a back street near Memphis’ bustling downtown, WLOK is just as important to the music history of Memphis as Elvis, Sun, Stax, Hi, [...]

Another excellent article on the thriving gospel music industry in Chicago. This Chicago Tribune article comes from the pen of Kelley L. Carter.Click here to see the article:Kelley L. Carter - Chicago TribunePhoto: Chicago's own Caravans.

Check out Aaron Cohen's excellent article about gospel music in the Chicago Tribune. He makes the point that Chicago is not only the birthplace of gospel music, but it has taken up permanent residence here, too.Special thanks to Aaron for listing "Gospel Memories" and The Black Gospel Blog in the [...]

VictoryValerie BoydShekinah International 2006http://www.valerieboyd.net/Nestled among standard urban contemporary arrangements on Valerie Boyd’s Victory is a collection of soulfully-sung, “wooden church” gospels that single-handedly make her solo project a four-star effort.Boyd is arguably best known for her old-school leanings, and it shows on Victory. The North Carolina-born vocalist transitions from the [...]

Here's another article for your enjoyment, a report by James Porter for Time Out Chicago on a major quartet program in Chicago this past weekend. http://www.timeout.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/?p=3373#more-3373Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! As the song goes, there's "so much to be thankful for!"