Gospel Music

“Somewhere Listening”The Wardlaw BrothersFrom the forthcoming album God’s Been There (due out Fall 2012)www.twb5.comDubbed the “Boyz II Men of gospel” for their smooth, youthful harmonies and heartthrob leads, the five Wardlaw Brothers offer “Somewhere Listening,” a breezy, finger-popping song about the importance of preparing for the Rapture.  Reworking the old spiritual [...]

Chrystal RuckerYou DeserveEPM Music Group (released August 14, 2012)www.epmmusicgroup.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.Chrystal Rucker has a gospel voice.Not a pop or an R&B voice that sings gospel, nor a jazz or neo-soul voice in the service of the sacred.  Rucker has the flatfooted commanding shout, the flowers [...]

Boston, MA: Music World announced today that it has released the group Trin-I-Tee 5:7 from its contract to enable the group to explore new opportunities.  “Angel and Chanelle scored their first Grammy nomination as well as a Grammy night worldwide TV performance with Music World. Their careers will always be linked [...]

“Seasons”Bam Travishttp://bamtravis.viinyl.com/Marvin “Bam Bam” Travis got his nickname from playing the drums, but he delivers a solid vocal performance on “Seasons.”  While this is the first single from Travis’s debut solo album, due out this fall, he is a featured artist on “Go To Church,” from Deitrick Haddon’s A Beautiful [...]

KJ ScrivenThe Acoustic Experiment (2011)www.kjscriven.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogExperiment is the key word in KJ Scriven’s six-track The Acoustic Experiment.  While acoustic guitar in gospel is not unheard of—it was an essential tool of quartet singing for decades—as a main instrument, it is new to contemporary gospel.  [...]

“Better Than Life”Lisa Page BrooksFrom the Habakkuk Music CDBetter Than Lifewww.habakkukmusic.comFormer Witness vocalist Lisa Page Brooks has a knack for releasing top-notch gospel singles.  She follows-up her radio hit, “I Just Want To Say Thank You” with “Better Than Life,” the title track of her new album, produced by her [...]

When it rains, it pours. Jordan Phillips reported that gospel music lost another legend.Willa Ward-Royster died today at the age of 92. Along with sister Clara and mother Gertrude, Royster was a member of the Famous Ward Singers of Philadelphia, one of gospel music's most popular singing groups. Royster recounted the [...]

Anthony Heilbut alerted TBGB that Gladys Beamon Gregory, member of the famed Little Lucy Smith Singers, died today.Born in Chicago in 1925, Gregory was a gospel singer's gospel singer.  She was a member of the original Lucy Smith Trio from All Nations Pentecostal Church on Chicago's South Side, whose founder [...]

Terrell TaylorHe Is Good – The Live ExperienceTNT Ministries (2012)www.terrelltaylor.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.Experience is an ideal description of singer-songwriter Terrell Taylor's music. Possessing a praise and worship sound that evokes Shekinah Glory Ministry, Taylor’s song-scape is designed with the totality of the worship service in mind [...]

Jennifer Mekel and Friends“Destiny” LivePower of Word and Music Ministries (2012)www.jenniferjonesmusic.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogJennifer Mekel duets with skilled producer H. Doobie Powell on Powell's “It Won’t Work.” The single is the energetic and joyful opening number for Mekel's "Destiny" Live. A singer since her toddler days, Mekel [...]