JGM Pick of the Week: April 25, 2016

“Glorify”
The Gospel Starlights (released March 2016)
www.gospelstarlights.com

The Gospel Starlights of Tifton, Georgia, have been on the gospel highway since 1990. What is distinctive about the quartet is that it is comprised of four women and one man, as opposed to the more typical single-gender quartet structure. It makes sense when you realize that all the members are family: they formed the group in the home of their parents, Bennie Frank and Betty Gean Hill.

One could say that the male-female personnel makes it more of a gospel group than a quartet, but make no mistake: on their new single, “Glorify,” the Gospel Starlights have a quartet sound, right down to the backbeat, the pumping old-school vamp, and the precision antiphonal work between lead Andrew Hill and the ladies, represented by Victoria Alexander, Lowindy Barber, Tiffany Hill, and Betty Hill.  “Glorify” is straight-up handclapping praise music.