Willa Dorsey. Rev. Claude Jeter. Tommy Ellison. Elmo Franklin. Paul Arnold. Rev. Lawrence Roberts. Margaret "Babe" Allison. Mr. Ira Tucker. Irma Gwynn. Michael Cook. Charles Ashley Craig. Robert Wooten. Junious Norfleet. Hulah Gene Dunklin Hurley.And so on.What goes through my mind when I see these names is the saying, "When [...]
From an article by Nancy Haught, The Oregonian Monday January 12, 2009, 9:40 PMThe music that fills a Northeast Portland church Wednesday will honor Willa Mae Dorsey, 75, whose gospel-singing career lasted 56 years, filled five albums and won her a Grammy nomination. Dorsey died Jan. 5 in a Portland [...]
“I Desire More”Crystal AikinFrom her self-titled Verity CD (released Jan. 13, 2009)www.verityrecords.comCrystal Aikin, winner of BET’s inaugural “Sunday Best” competition, sings every ounce of glory out of “I Desire More,” demonstrating why she won the program’s top prize. From its dramatic opening to the stirring conclusion and fade, “I Desire [...]
Chuck & the Guiding CloudsAfter All These YearsQuartet Boyz Records 2008www.myspace.com/chuckandtheguidingcloudsEver wonder where the sweet soul sound of the seventies went? It’s being preserved by some gospel quartets.Proof positive: Chuck and the Guiding Clouds’ release After All These Years offers up hearty helpings of quartet spirit wrapped in the bright, [...]
BreakthroughPilgrim Missionary Baptist Church Choirs “Live”Independent release 2008(708) 237-3779I’m not certain exactly when churches recognized the fundraising, membership development and public relations potential of producing records of their gospel choirs, but my guess is it took hold in the early 1950s.The earliest known progenitor of this practice was the St. [...]
Cynthia JonesGotta SoulKingdom Records 2008www.kingdomrecordsinc.comYou may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but sometimes you can judge a CD by its cover.Especially in the case of Cynthia Jones’ Gotta Soul. On the cover (above), Jones is bedecked in an ultra-hip top and earthy jewelry, and coiffed [...]
From The State, Thursday, January 8, 2009:Viewing, funeral to celebrate life of Tommy EllisonBy OTIS R. TAYLOR JR. - otaylor@thestate.com Like James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke, Tommy Ellison got his start as a singer in church. But unlike them, he stayed there.The Salley native was lead vocalist of [...]
Anthony Heilbut (The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times) informed TBGB today that Rev. Claude Jeter, the amazing high tenor lead singer and original member of the famed Swan Silvertones, went home to glory yesterday, January 6, 2009.Jeter was 94 years old and living in New York City at [...]
From D.A. Johnson of Malaco...The Malaco Music Group regrets to inform you that Maurette Brown Clark's sister, Loretta Faison, passed after a brief illness on Saturday, January 3, 2008. Ms. Clark would like to thank all of you for your prayers and support. She asks that you please say a [...]
“Born Again”Perry Taft & CompanyFrom the forthcoming CD Born Again (available January 20, 2009)www.bksmusicgroup.comSomehow, it seems fitting that the first official Pick of the Week of the new year is an old-school quartet recording about being reborn spiritually. On “Born Again,” Perry Taft pumps out line after line with a [...]
