Gospel Music

Classic Gospel – Essential Recordings: Week 114

2014-07-21T21:59:57-05:00September 17th, 2004|

Week #114: "To the End" - Hightower Brothers Nashboro 719, early 1960s [also available on Nashboro LP 7011; on CD as "The Best of the Hightower Brothers" NASH 4004] Eschewing the frenetic shouting typical of the Hightower Brothers' most popular recordings, Robert Lee "Sugar" Hightower slows it up on "To [...]

CD Review: Bishop Leonard Scott – “Hymns for the Nation”

2014-07-21T21:59:57-05:00September 11th, 2004|

Bishop Leonard Scott – “Hymns for the Nation” (Tyscot 2004) There are some projects that I especially enjoy reviewing, and this is one of them. Bishop Leonard Scott’s “Hymns for the Nation” not only features an all-star cast, including Albertina Walker, DeAndre Patterson, and Nicki Ross-Turnley, but also showcases old [...]

CD Review: Joe Stevenson & Friends

2014-07-21T21:59:57-05:00September 11th, 2004|

Joe Stevenson & Friends: "I Had to Wait on Him" (Blessed Man Music, 2004) Joe “Quarterback” Stevenson – a high school and college gridiron athlete, law enforcement officer, elected official, and musician – passes for far more completions than incompletes on his debut effort, “I Had to Wait on Him.” [...]

“Free” – LaShell Griffin (Epic Urban/Gospel, 2004)

2014-07-21T21:59:57-05:00August 26th, 2004|

Personally, I'm not a big fan of "American Idol" type contests, but I must admit that they have identified some very talented singers, especially LaShell Griffin. LaShell was the winner of Oprah's Pop Star Challenge, and if this is a way for a 36 year-old mother of five to get [...]

Classic Gospel – Essential Recordings: Week 113

2014-07-21T21:59:57-05:00August 24th, 2004|

"Great Get'n Up Morning"/"Get Away Jordan" D.C. Christian Harmonizers North American (no #) ca. mid-60s Back in the 1950s and early to mid-1960s, one side of a pop single very often contained a medium or quick-tempo song for fast dancing, and the other side a slower, ballad-style recording for slow, [...]

Classic Gospel – Essential Recordings: Week 112

2014-07-21T21:59:57-05:00August 6th, 2004|

“Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray” Frederick ‘Nee’ Smith & the Sensational Gospel Light Rae Cox 144 early 1960s The Rae Cox and Enrica labels were formed by veteran jazz musician Teddy McRae and Eddie Wilcox sometime around 1959. The labels featured RnB, doo-wop, and a fair amount of gospel. It is [...]

Tracy Worth: Don’t Let Heaven Pass You By

2014-07-21T21:59:57-05:00July 29th, 2004|

 Tracy Worth: Don’t Let Heaven Pass You By Serenity SEL4602 (2004) Reviewed by: Bob Marovich www.island.net/~blues/gospel.htm For far too many musicians, being successful in contemporary urban gospel music means keeping up with the Joneses, or more appropriately, with the Kee’s, the Franklin’s, and the McClurkin’s.  While John, Kirk, and Donnie [...]

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