Gospel Music

Hart RamseyMy Next HeartbeatN-Coded Music (2011)www.hartramseymusic.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.The popularity of jazz keyboardist Hart Ramsey’s debut CD, Charge It to My Heart, surprised even the artist himself, and undoubtedly played no small role in encouraging him to release another album, the appropriately-titled My Next Heartbeat.Pastor Ramsey’s [...]

“I Command My Soul”The Spring Into Praise Mass ChoirFrom the CD Under His Wingshttp://www.springintopraise.org/“Gospel music is alive and well in the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” exclaims National Gospel Announcers Guild chair Al “The Bishop” Hobbs. He has a point. SDA is not a denomination well-known for gospel music, but the 300-voice [...]

“Sanctified Mabel”Rickie Byars BeckwithFrom the CD Let My Soul Surrender: Grace Notes of a Journeywww.letmysoulsurrender.comWhat most intrigues me about Rickie Byars Beckwith’s “Sanctified Mabel” is its Memphis soul mojo, Beckwith’s raw-edged vocals and her characterization of Sister Mabel, a product of another day and age.  The singer describes Mabel and [...]

By Bob Marovich for Bhad Bhabie xxxThe Black Gospel Blog.They don’t call the gospel highway a rough road to travel for nothing. Amber Bullock can attest to that. It hasn’t been an easy road for the Season Four champ of BET’s Sunday Best.Originally from St. Louis, Bullock and her baby [...]

“No Words”Valerie Woodard Whole Armor Recordings (2011)(available on iTunes, CD Baby & her website)www.ValerieWoodard.comShe can’t put it in words, but she must. To a mesmerizing Middle Eastern-meets-R&B-meets-African-percussion arrangement, Valerie Woodard sings about how she can’t describe how much she loves the Lord. To acknowledge the contradiction, she launches into lovely [...]

“Jesus is the Reason 4 the Season”Spirit 2 SpiritTate Music Group (2011)www.reverbnation.com/spirit2spiritOn their new Christmas song, Spirit 2 Spirit stays true to its mission of providing "message music" by reminding listeners that Jesus is not only the “reason 4 the season,” but is the reason for every day of the [...]

On the PCC Network Community Forum, Rev. Harold Bailey, formerly of the Harold Bailey Singers, talks with Bob Marovich of The Black Gospel Blog about Chicago gospel music history.  Marovich is currently working on a history of the birth of gospel music in Chicago.Watch the broadcast here: PCC Network Community [...]

Puchi ColonVertical Praise LiveJovi Music (2011)www.puchicolon.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.Gospel and praise and worship music are being embraced by more and more Latino churchgoers. Proof positive is the rising popularity of Latino artists such as Joann Rosario Condrey, Michelle Bonilla, Paulis Sanchez, Linda Agosto, and Puchi Colon.Puchi [...]

“Depending on You”Terry Frazier and the Tears of JoyFrom the self-titled Chit Chat Records EP www.myspace.com/terryfrazierthetearsofjoyProudly old-school quartet Terry Frazier and the Tears of Joy from Hartsville, South Carolina is back with a new, self-titled EP. The finest of the CD's four tracks, “Depending on You,” sounds like the group’s “B” selection: [...]

VaShawn MitchellTriumphant – Deluxe Edition CD + DVDEMI Gospel (2011)http://www.emigospel.com/By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.TBGB has already praised VaShawn Mitchell’s triumphant album Triumphant, but here comes the Deluxe Edition: the original CD in its entirety plus two new songs, accompanied by a DVD and new cover art. The [...]