“We Call” – Grant Allison IV
“We Call” Grant Allison IV One Nation Under God Records (Release date: April 14, 2020) www.grantallisoniv.com By Robert M. Marovich Though worship pastor Grant Allison IV has a new single (“Here”) and “We Call” has been around a while, I’m nevertheless struck by the loveliness and power of the latter [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: August 1, 2022
“With Joy We Draw Water” The Bishop’s Choir feat. Kyle Sanders Enon Music Group (release date: April 15, 2022) www.enonmusic.com By Robert M. Marovich The Bishop’s Choir gives the original John Howard Caravan classic, “With Joy We Draw Water,” a full-throated rendering, complete with impassioned lead by Min. Kyle Sanders. [...]
“Worship Him” – Donnell Russell
“Worship Him” Donnell Russell Independent (release date: May 30, 2022) www.donnellrussell.com By Robert M. Marovich “Worship Him” is a blast of extroverted praise by New Orleans’ own Elder Donnell Russell. If it sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the late Bruce Ballinger’s classic hymn given a hyper-rhythmic arrangement. While the background [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: July 25, 2022
“Jesus Knows” Lisa Knowles-Smith and the Brown Singers EvoWorld Music (release date: May 13, 2022) By Robert M. Marovich For their new single, Lisa Knowles-Smith and the Brown Singers draw on key lyrics from the folk spiritual, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” But that’s where the comparison ends. Whereas [...]
“Lord of All” – Carolyn Wright
“Lord of All” Carolyn Wright Independent (release date: April 3, 2022) By Robert M. Marovich Ms. Carolyn Wright lit up the Rhythm of Gospel Awards in Jacksonville, Florida, last month with her lead vocals for one of the many talented church choirs that were in attendance. I wasn’t alone in [...]
Hood Memorial AME Zion Church Celebration Choir – I’m In His Plans
Hood Memorial AME Zion Church Celebration Choir I‘m In His Plans Bison Disc (release date: February 23, 2021) https://hoodmemorialamez.com/ By Robert M. Marovich Time was, you would have looked long and hard in the AME Zion church writ large and found neither gospel music nor gospel singers anywhere within the [...]
JGM Pick of the Week – July 18, 2022
“Proud of Me” Treva Chezmusique (release date: June 18, 2022) www.trevajones.com By Robert M. Marovich Treva Jones is no stranger to gospel music or to the Journal of Gospel Music. Written by the premier songwriter V. Michael McKay, “Proud of Me” is Jones’s latest single. Her warm, resonant alto curls [...]
William Murphy – Worship & Justice
William Murphy Worship & Justice RCA Inspiration (release date: July 15, 2022) www.rcainspiration.com By Robert M. Marovich Do gospel artists have a responsibility to speak truth to power through their songs? Isn’t all gospel music message music, or should it be more explicit when it comes to the social gospel? [...]
Bro. Glenn – Childlike Faith
Bro. Glenn Childlike Faith WayMakker Music (release date: December 22, 2021) By Robert M. Marovich “Will you be ready when Jesus comes?” asks Christian hip hop artist Bro. Michael Glenn, aka Bro. Glenn, at the outset of his album Childlike Faith. I don’t know about you, but from the sounds [...]
JGM Pick of the Week – July 12, 2022
“Grace Over Me” Mike Geo Independent (release date: July 8, 2022) www.MikeGeoMusic.com By Robert M. Marovich What Staten Island CCM artist Michael Giordano, aka Mike Geo, offers in “Grace Over Me” is a fizzy, energetic outpouring of gratitude for salvation. When the walls are closing in, Geo closes his eyes [...]
JGM Pick of the Week – July 5, 2022
“Take Me to the River” VAA’DAM KJ Productions (release date: March 8, 2022) By Robert M. Marovich The last time JGM heard from Dallas, Texas-based female duo VAA’DAM, they were featured on Kisha Grandy’s 2021 album Epitome. Trina and Quita are back with “Take Me to the River,” a laidback [...]
“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” – Lady Redneck
“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” Lady Redneck Independent (2022) www.ladyredneckmusic.com By Robert M. Marovich Lady Redneck (aka country singer Stephanie Lee) renders the eighteenth-century hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” with lockstep fidelity to the original and a delicacy ideally suited to the lovely melody. Lee’s tender vocal, [...]
“Did It Again” – Ruth La’Ontra ft. Thomas and the Situation
“Did It Again" Ruth La’Ontra ft. Thomas and the Situation Tyscot Music and Entertainment (release date: July 8, 2022) www.tyscot.com By Robert M. Marovich Ruth La’Ontra’s new single, “Did It Again,” makes plain its premise in the lyrics: a “simple song to say thank you” for making “a way for [...]
Maverick City x Kirk Franklin – Kingdom Book One
Maverick City x Kirk Franklin Kingdom Book One Tribl Records / Fo Yo Soul / RCA Inspiration (release date: June 17, 2022) By Robert M. Marovich Maverick City Music, gospel’s current “it” group, joined with the venerable Kirk Franklin, no stranger to special event gospel projects, to bring music and [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: June 27, 2022
“That Name Is Jesus” Beloved St. John Evangelistic Church Independent (2022) www.BelovedStJohn.org By Robert M. Marovich As long as Pastor Clement M. Lumpton III and the Beloved St. John Evangelistic Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, keep on singing, the church choir will remain relevant. On its latest single, “That Name is [...]
Gospel, Vol. 6: Female Gospel Groups 1940 – 1962
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 [...]
JGM Pick of the Week – June 20, 2022
“He is the King” M. Cornelius Wyche & Octave Praise From the Enon Music Group album The Script (release date: January 14, 2022) www.enonmusic.com By Robert M. Marovich On their latest single, “He is the King,” M. Cornelius Wyche & Octave Praise worship the Lord, who is the antidote for [...]
JGM Pick of the Week – June 13, 2022
“Nothing Else Matters (Instead of Complaining, Praise Him)” Brent Jones JDI Records By Robert M. Marovich Brent Jones’ latest single, “Nothing Else Matters,” is a four-minute festival of praise set to a bouncy mid-tempo arrangement featuring Jones and the full-throated choir in call-and-response. “I don’t care who’s looking at me,” [...]
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