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41st Stellar Gospel Music Awards To Impact Charlotte, NC, August 15
Central City Productions announced the first wave of performers and special honorees for the 41st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, hosted by Kirk Franklin.
RIP: Clyde Wright, Member of World-Famous Golden Gate Quartet
Clyde Wright, jubilee and gospel quartet singer and member of the world-famous Golden Gate Quartet, passed away on July 1, 2026, at age 98.
RIP: Bishop James C. Austin Sr., Prelate, Pastor, Youth Choir Director
Bishop James C. Austin Sr., pastor of St. Luke Church of God in Christ in Chicago, transitioned from earth to glory on June 30, 2026.
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Recent Posts
41st Stellar Gospel Music Awards To Impact Charlotte, NC, August 15
Central City Productions announced the first wave of performers and special honorees for the 41st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, hosted by Kirk Franklin.
RIP: Clyde Wright, Member of World-Famous Golden Gate Quartet
Clyde Wright, jubilee and gospel quartet singer and member of the world-famous Golden Gate Quartet, passed away on July 1, 2026, at age 98.
RIP: Bishop James C. Austin Sr., Prelate, Pastor, Youth Choir Director
Bishop James C. Austin Sr., pastor of St. Luke Church of God in Christ in Chicago, transitioned from earth to glory on June 30, 2026.
Sponsored Post:
This episode includes music reviewed on the Journal of Gospel Music between late January and early April 2026.
“Tis So Sweet” Clarence McEwen Independent (release date: April 3, 2026)
“Kings and Priests,” written and performed by Kvng David (aka Alexander David), a Nigerian-born gospel singer based in the UK, helps raise self-esteem by celebrating the royalty inherent in every one of God’s children.
“He’ll Fix It” The Marable Twins & Company From the 3Sonz Records album Grateful (release date: March 27, 2026)
The vertical praise that the Toronto-based group just can’t keep to themselves they express on “Tell It."
Inspired by Psalm 91, “Overcomer” by Ghanian gospel singer-songwriter Reggie Jones (born Regina Ansah) is an orchestral ode to endurance.
LATEST 5 STAR REVIEWS
Various Artists Gospel, Vol. 6: Female Gospel Groups 1940-1962 Fremeaux & Associes (2022) http://www.fremeaux.com By Robert M. Marovich If it weren’t for women, there might not be gospel music as we know it today. A gutsy statement, but accurate. For every Thomas Dorsey, Theodore Frye, and James Cleveland, there were dozens of women who, denied [...]
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 [...]
LATEST PICK OF THE WEEK – SINGLES
“Blessings” Tanya Nolan Artsessionz (release date: February 7, 2025)
“Abide With Me” Ricky Kej feat. Ricky Dillard From the 2025 CD Gandhi: Mantras of Compassion
A week after Bishop Norman Hutchins left this earth, Pastor Markees Williams released his version of Hutchins’s “Nobody But Jesus.”
The husband-and-wife duo Arbour Season emit vibes of indie pop groups Tennis and Low on the tender “Come to Me,” based on Matthew 11:28-29.
BET Sunday Best Season 9 champion Melvin Crispell III drops serious techno on his gush of praises to Jesus for having made it through the troubles and strife.
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 [...]
JGM was saddened to learn of the passing of Pastor Joseph A. Peay Sr. He transitioned from earth to glory on October 11, 2025, at age 85.
Henry Jackson DMus--who transitioned from labor to glory on September 18, 2025 at age 80.
