News

By Robert M. Marovich Last March, the COVID-19 pandemic washed over Bishop J. Drew Sheard’s family and associates like a tsunami. His brother, the Reverend Ethan B. Sheard, tested positive for the virus. So did his children, well-known musicians J Drew II and Kierra. His mother, Willie Mae Sheard, and father, Bishop John H. Sheard, pastor of Greater Mitchell Temple Church of God in Christ in Detroit, also contracted the virus. “It hit my family pretty hard,” Sheard, Senior Pastor of Detroit’s Greater Emmanuel Institutional (GEI) Church of God in Christ, told the Journal of Gospel Music. “The most difficult ...

By Cecille Richman, Guest Contributor While many might say that gospel music is incredibly niche, the opposite is actually true. Formed out of a mixture of African American folk music and religious hymns, it’s a soulful genre that has inspired countless others. Genres now considered foundational to American popular music, including soul, blues, and R&B, can all trace their history back to gospel. The recent launch of Legacy Music Group is proof of gospel music’s incredible influence and popularity. Hundreds of popular artists have made use of gospel music or gospel musical influences in their discographies. In a ZenBusiness guide ...

Singer Wraps Whirlwind Year With Holiday Programming Alongside Dolly Parton and Ne-Yo. Nashville, TN (December 11, 2020) – GRAMMY®-winning singer/songwriter Tasha Cobbs Leonard has been named Billboard’s Top Gospel Artist of the Decade. News of the top honor came late last week, as Billboard began announcing its year-end and decade-end charts. Cobbs Leonard was also named the Top Female Gospel Artist for the 3rd consecutive year. This year alone, Tasha Cobbs Leonard earned two additional RIAA® certifications—one Platinum certification for her hit single “Break Every Chain,” and a Gold certification (her third) for the #1 radio single “You Know My ...

  RCA INSPIRATION TO RELEASE NEW MUSICFROM THE VOICES OF FIRE CHOIR, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PHARRELL WILLIAMS’ I AM OTHER (Nashville, TN) – November 23, 2020 – RCA Inspiration, one of the premiere labels in Gospel and inspirational music, announces a record deal with Voices of Fire, to release new music from the new choir, in partnership with Pharrell Williams’ company i am OTHER. The newly-formed choir stars on the Netflix docuseries “Voices of Fire,” led by Williams’ uncle Bishop Ezekiel Williams. The docuseries debuted on the streamer Friday November 20th and Williams serves as an executive producer on the ...

(Houston, Texas) Blacksmoke Music Worldwide Founder and CEO Mr. Kerry Douglas counts the joys of life a little sweeter as he recovers from an extensive bout with COVID-19. The venerable record company executive, award winning hit making radio promoter and most recent proud father was conducting “Gospel Music business as usual” when COVID-19 stopped him in his tracks placing an indefinite hold on his daily activities. “I knew something was wrong, I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I was fatigued and tired and then the flu like symptoms set in. We don’t know why things happen, but we ...

Southern Gospel’s Legacy Five and Gospel’s The Wardlaw Brothers Unite For “9 Makes Us 1” Nashville, TN — Legacy Five and The Wardlaw Brothers are two groups, from two genres of music traditionally separated more often by race than by the style of music. Legacy Five is in Southern Gospel which consists of predominantly white artists. The Wardlaw Brothers are in Gospel which is made up of predominantly black artists. It is understood that music is divided into genres for industry cataloging purposes and creative stylistic referencing. But music too often has a racial divide that supersedes creative content. The ...

By Bob Marovich Earlier this year, the Chicago Children’s Choir was busy coordinating some 5,000 youth meeting in various in-school and after-school ensembles throughout the region. The sound of song was in the air everywhere. Then COVID-19 happened. Choirs became potential virus spreaders. Everything moved to virtual learning. CCC launched the online Arts Enrichment Sessions to keep its youth engaged during the pandemic and to impact young people ages 8 to 18 nationwide. “The Gospel Essentials” is among fourteen different arts enrichment courses from which students can choose. Taught by Chicago musician and educator Lonnie Norwood Jr., “The Gospel Essentials” ...

From a press release: With the explosive growth of digital streaming, the rise of social media and other online distractions, many have pronounced terrestrial radio dead. However, KOKA – The Heart of Gospel – Shreveport, Louisiana’s first African American radio station, with a history dating back to the 1950s – is very much alive. The station – which had been in decline for some years – has been robustly resuscitated by its proactive 31-year-old program director, Charles “Pastor CeJay” Johnson. In the midst of a national pandemic and civil rights unrest, Johnson has taken stands and made decisions that have ...

Atlanta, Aug 8, 2020 (Issuewire.com) – James C. Birdsong, Jr., a member of the renowned Birdsong family, will receive the Shining Star Award on Friday, August 28th, 2020, at 7 p.m. via pay-per-view live stream. The Shining Star Award is presented every year by Preach the Word Worldwide Network TV, an international Christian TV network in Roswell, Georgia, that reaches 50 million homes and devices around the world. Birdsong, 40, is being honored for his contributions to the Gospel music industry, leadership abilities in the community, and being a mentor for today’s youth throughout the United States. The author of ...

From Classical Movements: Vox Virtual is a first-of-its-kind online a cappella festival, August 22-29. It will bring together musicians representing cultures and traditions from around the world for a week-long program of free streaming concerts. The very unique part of the festival is each concert will be livestreamed free across all participating ensembles’ Facebook pages through cross-posting. In other words, when an artist or presenter posts a live video, it mainly reaches their audience. However, by having multiple pages going live with the same performance, the audience size increases substantially. It is a new model rather than simply sharing someone ...