“Higher Ground”Lemmie Battles
From the Ashro Records CD Testify(2013)
Cut from the same trad cloth as gospel squallers Dot Coates, Ruth Davis, and several Caravans, Chicago ’s Evangelist Dr. Lemmie Battles takes the listener to church on her new single, “Higher Ground.”
Summoning the evergreen movable couplets about feet striking Zion and singing in the heavenly choir, Battles “can’t wait ‘til I get up yonder” but must “keep on pressing on” until that day.
Born in Arkansas, Battles—Grammy, Stellar, and Dove Award-nominee and 2012 Rhythm of Gospel Awards Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year—grew as a soloist while part of the Chicago Mass Choir, where she has been a member for seventeen years. This is her first project for Ashro Records.
“Higher Ground” was produced by Pharis Evans Jr. and Marcus A. Taylor/GrooveQuest Productions. Evans’ father, incidentally, is Rev. Pharis Evans, pastor of Clark Road M.B. Church in Gary , Indiana , and his uncle is the Rev. Dr. Clay Evans, founder of Fellowship M.B. in Chicago . As they say, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Written by : Bob Marovich
Bob Marovich is a gospel music historian, author, and radio host. Founder of Journal of Gospel Music blog (formally The Black Gospel Blog) and producer of the Gospel Memories Radio Show.
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