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RIP: Chuck Girard (Love Song)
Chuck Girard of the pioneering Christian rock band Love Song passed away Monday, August 11, 2025, at the age of 81. Born in Los Angeles, California, on August 27, 1943, Girard was a member of the vocal group the Castells (Era), whose "Sacred" and "So This Is Love" made the charts in 1961 and 1962, respectively. He later became part of the surf rock band the Hondells, whose single, "Little Honda," became a top ten hit in 1964. In 1970, Girard became a founding member of Love Song, a relatively short-lived but nonetheless influential Christian rock band that inspired many [...]
Dorinda Clark-Cole and Vincent Bohanan Set to Host Stellar Nominee Pre-Show Dinner and Awards at the National Museum of African American Music
RADIO AWARDS HOSTED BY LONNIE HUNTER; PRE-SHOW RED CARPET HOSTED BY META WASHINGTON & RIZZO SPECIAL PERFORMANCES AND GUEST APPEARANCES BY: ERICA CAMPBELL, MICAH LEE, TASHA PAGE LOCKHART, LISA KNOWLES-SMITH, EVVIE MCKINNEY, DOE, LUCINDA MOORE, MARTHA MUNIZZI, TED & SHERI AND MORE (July 29, 2025) Nashville, TN - The 40th [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: July 28, 2025
“You Are Holy” Kelly Young Hart Independent (release date: July 21, 2025)
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Recent Posts
RIP: Chuck Girard (Love Song)
Chuck Girard of the pioneering Christian rock band Love Song passed away Monday, August 11, 2025, at the age of 81. Born in Los Angeles, California, on August 27, 1943, Girard was a member of the vocal group the Castells (Era), whose "Sacred" and "So This Is Love" made the charts in 1961 and 1962, respectively. He later became part of the surf rock band the Hondells, whose single, "Little Honda," became a top ten hit in 1964. In 1970, Girard became a founding member of Love Song, a relatively short-lived but nonetheless influential Christian rock band that inspired many [...]
Dorinda Clark-Cole and Vincent Bohanan Set to Host Stellar Nominee Pre-Show Dinner and Awards at the National Museum of African American Music
RADIO AWARDS HOSTED BY LONNIE HUNTER; PRE-SHOW RED CARPET HOSTED BY META WASHINGTON & RIZZO SPECIAL PERFORMANCES AND GUEST APPEARANCES BY: ERICA CAMPBELL, MICAH LEE, TASHA PAGE LOCKHART, LISA KNOWLES-SMITH, EVVIE MCKINNEY, DOE, LUCINDA MOORE, MARTHA MUNIZZI, TED & SHERI AND MORE (July 29, 2025) Nashville, TN - The 40th [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: July 28, 2025
“You Are Holy” Kelly Young Hart Independent (release date: July 21, 2025)
Sponsored Post:
Gospel icon Kirk Franklin is joining forces with Insignia Assets, a new entertainment venture established by Norman Gyamfi and Jonathan Jay.
“This is Redemption” is a tuneful and energetic paean to the power of salvation.
The USC Upstate Gospel Choir’s single “Already Done” uses Psalm 46:10 (“Be still and know that I am God”) as the foundation for a statement of divine victory.
North Carolina-born and bred Regina Vandereijk has re-released her recent five-star album, The Lord Is There, as a Deluxe Edition.
Desmond Roberson and the Roberson Bunch take on the Tindley standard “Pass Me Not” with cheerful delight.
The 2025 BMI Christian Awards will be held on June 17 at the organization’s Nashville office.
LATEST 5 STAR REVIEWS
Various Artists Malaco 50th Celebration Malaco Music Group (release date: February 25, 2022) www.malaco.com By Robert M. Marovich The nearly two-hour Malaco 50th Celebration two CD set (and companion DVD) is one of the best releases thus far this year. Recorded live on July 12, 2018, at the record company’s golden anniversary gala at Thalia [...]
Dedicated Men of Zion The Devil Don’t Like It https://fatpossum.com/collections/bible-tire-recording-co (release date: March 3, 2022) By Robert M. Marovich On The Devil Don’t Like It, their follow-up to 2020’s Can’t Turn Me Around, the Dedicated Men of Zion quartet breathes new life into a handful of gospel classics by fitting them with arrangements that sound [...]
Maranda Curtis Die to Live Butterfly Works / Red Alliance Media / Fair Trade Services Release date: February 18, 2022 www.iammaranda.com By Robert M. Marovich Although his declaration doesn’t appear until several minutes into the album, Bishop John Francis essentially states the theme of Maranda Curtis’s new album Die to Live. After quoting John 12:24, [...]
Javon Jackson The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni Solid Jackson (release date: February 18, 2022) https://www.javonjackson.com https://nikki-giovanni.com By Robert M. Marovich The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni is a Black History Month treat from a jazz combo led by Javon Jackson, saxophonist and former member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and the iconic poet and [...]
Various ArtistsSacred Soul of North CarolinaMusic Maker Foundation / Bible & Tire (release date: October 15, 2021)https://biglegalmessrecords.com/collections/bible-tire By Robert M. Marovich Just before the pandemic shut down the world, Alice Vines of the Glorifying Vines Sisters of Farmville, North Carolina (crate diggers will know their singles on Pinewood and Sound Hut), gathered ten other local [...]
LATEST PICK OF THE WEEK – SINGLES
Based on Amos 9:13-15, “Suddenly” is an auspicious debut single from Christian Anderson, an accomplished and affecting Greensboro, North Carolina, singer.
“There Wouldn’t Be a Me” Shonda English Gospel Diva Music (release date: January 23, 2024)
“Never Turn Back” Gregory G. Pearson feat. Angelena Starks Inner Court Music (release date: September 15, 2023)
Melvin Crispell III – the BET Sunday Best Season 9 champion – gives James Fryson’s classic composition “God Is” an easygoing shuffle tempo.
Bri Babineaux’s best single in a while, “Confident” lives up to its title in lyric and overall musical swagger.
Conversations with the Gospel Legends: Delores Scott
On our latest episode of "Conversations with the Gospel Legends," we talk with singer Delores Scott, member of the 'Ship, the Tommies, and an altogether integral part of Chicago's gospel community. Special thanks to Rev. Harold Bailey, Mr. Clarence McMillon, and the PCC Network for making this broadcast possible.
Conversations with the Gospel Legends – Rev. Dr. Stanley Keeble
On this episode of "Conversations with the Gospel Legends," the Reverend Dr. Stanley Keeble talks about his days as an accompanist, as part of the Fellowship M.B. Church music ministry, his Voices of Triumph group, his mentor Willie Webb, and the Chicago gospel scene of the 1950s and 1960s. Conversations [...]
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 Like Beatles and Bob Dylan purists, fans of gospel’s celebrated Clark Sisters know every harmony, every vocal ornamentation, and every nuance of every singer on every song by heart—almost better than the artists themselves. No pressure on Donald Lawrence, musical director of The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel. The biopic premieres [...]
By Bob Marovich From time to time, such as on major holidays or when the young people’s choir was singing, young Gloria Fowles and her family accompanied their grandmother to Abyssinian Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. At Abyssinian, they would listen to sermons from its pastor, the Reverend Raphus P. Means, and gospel music [...]
By Bob Marovich The sacred-secular divide in music is a uniquely modern conception, and it misses the point. In West Africa, where most enslaved Africans came from, all music was sacred and all music was secular. There was no distinction…until the music came to America during the African Diaspora and distinctions based on intent were [...]
By Robert M. Marovich The Journal of Gospel Music was saddened to learn of the passing of the Reverend Dr. Janice Brown-Stephens. She transitioned from earth to glory on August 30, 2024, at age 80. The following is based on a bio I wrote for the Malaco Music Group website some years ago: The Reverend [...]
First Lady Wanda Wilson Fielding submitted this homegoing information: We will celebrate Quincy‘s amazing God ordained life in the blessed facility of: Faithful Central Bible Church 400 W Florence Avenue, Inglewood, California 90301 (310) 330-8000 The viewing will be on Friday September 13 between 5pm-7pm. The Musical Tribute will follow immediately from 7pm-9pm or as [...]