Gospel Music

“I’m Still Here”Carl BristerAgape Musicworks (2013)www.carlbrister.comThe single from Carl Brister’s forthcoming CD is a testament to endurance despite going “through hell and back.”  His tough testimony of molestation as a youth is presented with a forgiving urban AC vibe, a rap assist from Steve “Chef” Walker, and an earworm of [...]

Dr. Charles G. Hayes (left) with Allen CatheyI am very saddened to report that Dr. Charles G. Hayes, known fondly as "Father Hayes," has passed away.More information about his homegoing services will be forthcoming as it is made available.A native Alabaman, Dr. Hayes came to Chicago in the late 1950s [...]

Various ArtistsBlack Gospel Rarities Vol. 4www.crystalballrecords.com (US) or www.bim-bam.com (UK)By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogIn December, music historian, researcher, and dedicated crate digger Galen Gart released the fourth volume in his Black Gospel Rarities CD series. Like its predecessors, Vol. 4 is a mixed assortment of sides plucked from minty gospel 45s and [...]

Photo credit: The TennesseanOur friend Gary from Dutch Radio informed TBGB this morning that Rev. Dr. Morgan Babb, member of the famed Radio Four quartet, solo artist, pastor, and radio announcer, died last Friday at age 84.Read more in the Tennessean:  Rev. Dr. Morgan Babb.WLUW's Gospel Memories radio broadcast will salute Babb's [...]

“Only the Grace”Lemmie BattlesFrom the Ashro Music & Media CD Testifywww.ashrorecords.comChicago Mass Choir alumna and powerhouse vocalist Lemmie Battles shows what she’s made of, in more ways than one, on the testimony-laden “Only the Grace.”  Steeped in the churchy Chicago sound that spawned the Argo Singers and Caravans, Battles channels [...]

Dee-1Psalms of David II Dee1 Music (released October 19, 2013)www.Dee1Music.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogNew Orleans’ MC Dee-1 made history at the end of 2013 by being one of the first Christian rappers to be signed to a major label, RCA Inspiration.  His most recent release, Psalms of [...]

Charlie Horner of Classic Urban Harmony informed TBGB that Rev. Brenda Boone’s annual Black History Month gospel concert will take place at 4:00 PM, Sunday, Feb 23, 2014, at Willet Hall, 3701 Willet Dr., Portsmouth, VA.Scheduled artists include:Luther Barnes & the Sunset JubilairesJackson SouthernairesThe Fantastic ViolinairesFrankie Davis & the Mighty All StarsVan [...]

Pastor H.E. Dixon & Truth TabernacleOld Time Country ChurchSaw Mill Records (2007)www.ministriesoftruthtabernacle.orgBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogThis CD escaped me upon its release nearly seven years ago, but Pastor H.E. Dixon & Truth Tabernacle’s Old Time Country Church is the best album of traditional gospel singing since Bishop [...]

“You Alone”Arkansas Gospel Mass ChoirFrom the Emtro Music Group/T Records CDYou Alone (2013)www.agmchoir.comNa Asia Barnes’ lovely lead work is the highlight on “You Alone,” a delicate praise ballad rendered in glossy tones by the Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir.Organized in 2007 and directed by Georgia Mass Choir alumnus Charles E. Moore, the [...]

Cadillac James reported to TBGB today that his brother, Bishop John L. Cotton, first lead singer of the Dynamic Cotton Brothers of Macon, Georgia, passed away on Friday, February 1, 2014, at the age of 75.Bishop Cotton led the Cotton Brothers' classic "Be There Directly."  The quartet is best known [...]