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“Don’t Faint” – Jekalyn Carr
“Don’t Faint” Jekalyn Carr WayNorth Music (release date: March 15, 2025) By Robert M. Marovich Jekalyn Carr, gospel music’s princess of positivity, its empress of encouragement, has made a career of releasing singles designed to reach down and pick people up in their distress. The latest is “Don’t Faint.” She delivers the song’s simple message of faith in the midst of flames and floods with the fiery force of a preacher in the pulpit. Her sermonette is matched by a gigantic and dramatic arrangement featuring background vocalists and a rhythm section that includes a drummer who sounds like he [...]
Pick of the Week: January 16, 2025
“Blessings” Yolanda Adams From the Epic Records album Sunny Days (album release date: September 13, 2024)
JGM Best CDs, Singles, and Historic Reissues of 2024
Journal of Gospel Music presents its Best of List for 2024
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Recent Posts
“Don’t Faint” – Jekalyn Carr
“Don’t Faint” Jekalyn Carr WayNorth Music (release date: March 15, 2025) By Robert M. Marovich Jekalyn Carr, gospel music’s princess of positivity, its empress of encouragement, has made a career of releasing singles designed to reach down and pick people up in their distress. The latest is “Don’t Faint.” She delivers the song’s simple message of faith in the midst of flames and floods with the fiery force of a preacher in the pulpit. Her sermonette is matched by a gigantic and dramatic arrangement featuring background vocalists and a rhythm section that includes a drummer who sounds like he [...]
Pick of the Week: January 16, 2025
“Blessings” Yolanda Adams From the Epic Records album Sunny Days (album release date: September 13, 2024)
JGM Best CDs, Singles, and Historic Reissues of 2024
Journal of Gospel Music presents its Best of List for 2024
Sponsored Post:
Fresh off the thirty-city I Got Away tour, in partnership with McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour, singer and songwriter Bri Babinieux is looking forward to releasing a new album this fall.
Latrice Pace of the Anointed Pace Sisters is up for two 2024 Stellar Awards: Song of the Year for “It’s Morning” and Contemporary Artist of the Year.
Heart Songs and Other Melodies, Vol. 1 is an eclectic collection that offers singers and musicians a folio of selections to add to their own repertories.
Capitol Christian Music Group (CCMG) has announced the promotion of Walter Thomas to Vice President of Artist Development at Motown Gospel and TAMLA Records. Additionally, Alexandria "Dria" Dollar has joined CCMG in the role of Senior Director of A&R at TAMLA & Motown Gospel.
This year marks the 44th anniversary of Reba Rambo's Dreamin’ and Sony Legacy has remastered it for a new generation.
LATEST 5 STAR REVIEWS
Tasha Cobbs One Place Live Motown Gospel (release date: August 21, 2015) www.motowngospel.com By Bob Marovich Recorded before nearly 3,000 worshippers at Redemption Church in Greenville, South Carolina, singer-songwriter Tasha Cobbs’ One Place Live is a solid follow-up to her number one CD, Grace. It actually surpasses the multi-award-winning debut album, as the worship songstress sounds [...]
AsOne AsOne 360 MusicWorx/Capitol Christian Distribution/Universal Music Group (release date: June 23, 2015) www.AsOneOfficial.com By Bob Marovich Interracial gospel/sacred singing groups go back more than a century—from the days of Polk Miller & the Old South Quartette at the turn of the twentieth century to Homer Rodeheaver’s singing with the African American Wiseman Sextette; and [...]
Fannie Lou Hamer Songs My Mother Taught Me Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (release date: June 30, 2015) www.folkways.si.edu By Bob Marovich While it took a recent act of domestic terror for the polarizing Confederate flag to begin coming down throughout the South, let us not forget that much of the way was paved more than a [...]
Casey J The Truth Marquis Boone Enterprises/Tyscot Records (released April 21, 2015) www.tyscot.com By Bob Marovich The next best thing to a live gospel music program is listening to a live gospel music program on a recording. That’s why it was smart for Casey J to release her debut album, The Truth, as a live [...]
The Fairfield Four Still Rockin’ My Soul Fairfield Four Records (2015) www.thefairfieldfour.com By Bob Marovich In 1925, when the Fairfield Four organized in Nashville, Tennessee, quartet singing was done a cappella. No instruments, just the human voice. And God saw that it was good. No--great. Over the years, quartets added to the mix an ever-expanding [...]
LATEST PICK OF THE WEEK – SINGLES
“Do You Know the Man” | Harlem Gospel Travelers | Colemine Records (release date: October 18, 2022)
“Jesus I’ll Never Forget” | Zak Williams & 1/Akord feat. Lowell Pye | Enon Music Group (release date: October 7, 2022)
“View the City REMIX” | RiZen | DAF Entertainment Group (2022)
“Believer” Jenise La Vonne Independent (release date: August 26, 2022) www.jeniselavonne.com By Robert M. Marovich “Believer” is indie gospel artist Jenise La Vonne’s best single to date. It has it all: a powerful open, sturdy vocals, compelling lyrics, solid song structure, and chart-quality production. To a loping rhythm, Jenise declares freedom from sin and her [...]
“Holy” Grant Allison IV One Nation Under God Records (release date: July 31, 2019) www.grantallisoniv.com By Robert M. Marovich Once again, JGM digs deep into Chicago worship pastor Grant Allison’s catalogue and comes up with “Holy.” The atmospheric P&W outing is based on Philippians 2:10 and Hebrews 13:8. Its simple melody, singable chorus, and dramatic [...]
By Robert Marovich
In A City Called Heaven, gospel announcer and music historian Robert Marovich shines a light on the humble origins of a majestic genre and its indispensable bond to the city where it found its voice: Chicago.
By Robert Marovich
In A City Called Heaven, gospel announcer and music historian Robert Marovich shines a light on the humble origins of a majestic genre and its indispensable bond to the city where it found its voice: Chicago.
By Bob Marovich On May 20, Micah Stampley releases his eighth album, To the King...Vertical Worship. The live recording, which took place at Oasis Family Life Church in Dallas, Georgia, on June 26 of last year, finds the gospel crooner offering up a batch of new songs, many co-written with his wife and songwriting partner, Heidi. [...]
By Bob Marovich On March 18, the Stellar Award-winning singer-songwriter Jonathan Nelson released Fearless (Light Records / eOne Music), a live recording that JGM gave its highest possible rating, five stars, for its ability to “be musically versatile and passionate yet remain firmly rooted in the atmospheric and hypnotic P&W technique.” Nelson spoke to JGM about [...]
By Bob Marovich A lot can happen in two years. Just ask Christon Gray. In 2014, the Christian artist released his solo debut album, School of Roses. It caught the attention of Kirk Franklin, who signed Gray to his Fo Yo Soul Recordings/RCA label. On Friday, March 11, 2016, The Glory Album, Christon’s second solo [...]
Dana “Ms. D.” Lin informed the Journal of Gospel Music that Charles V. Hamilton, affectionately known as Uncle Chucc and best known for his collaboration with Snoop Dogg, passed away on Friday, January 27, 2023.
The Journal of Gospel Music was sad to learn from Tim Dillinger-Curenton that Clyde Brown Moultry, a former member of Charles Fold's Gospel Messengers and the Cleveland Singers, passed away on December 21, 2022, at the age of 77.