The Gospel Angels – I Still Remember
The Gospel Angels I Still Remember Next Level Publishing (2004) www.thegospelangelsdc.com By Bob Marovich I Still Remember has been around for more than a decade—it was released the year the Journal of Gospel Music was born, in fact—but this album by the Gospel Angels of Washington, DC, is worth revisiting [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: June 22, 2015
“Something About That Name” Lorraine Stancil Anointed Sounds Records (2015) I’m rather stoked about the recent release of so many traditional-style gospel singles, including this one by Psalmist Lorraine Stancil-Lawson. Product of the Pentecostal church, Psalmist Stancil is known to kick off her shoes just like Shirley Caesar, and on [...]
“Find a Way to Love” – Mr. McCloud
“Find a Way to Love” Mr. McCloud Concrete Records Available on iTunes starting July 1, 2015 On “Find a Way to Love,” Detroit Pastor Robert McCloud puts his estimable hip hop experience to work in the service of good. He offers a general apology to all those he has hurt [...]
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Airing from 1963 to 1984, Jubilee Showcase was the longest running gospel music television show before BET's Bobby Jones Gospel. Every week, host Sid Ordower introduced television audiences of all races and creeds to the era's gospel stars. Offering "music that both entertains and inspires," as Ordower announced at the [...]
“Hey Daddy” – Derrell Thomas
“Hey Daddy” Derrell Thomas Full Circle Records (2015) www.fullcirclerecords.us Most likely because of the primacy of the family matriarch, but also because of gospel’s roots in Victorian-era hymnody, gospel music is brimming with songs about Mother. “Mother Bowed,” “Mother Prayed for Me,” “I Can See Everybody’s Mother,” “Mother Sang Those [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: June 15, 2015
“I’ll Stand” Lady Voncile feat. Pastor R. L. Bush http://gloryboundrecords.bigcartel.com To the whirring of an organ and sassy opening licks from a guitar and piano, Lady Voncile Belcher delivers this church-ready solo about faith with flatfooted conviction. She hands the microphone to the Reverend R. L. Bush, who gives the [...]
J. B. Smith: No More Good Time in the World for Me
J. B. Smith No More Good Time in the World for Me Dust to Digital (2015) www.dust-digital.com By Bob Marovich There is something bone chilling about hearing lonesome blue notes echoing off prison walls. That’s what folklorist and historian Bruce Jackson captured when he recorded the unaccompanied singing of Mr. [...]
Mr. Del Presents Holy South: Memphis in Mayhem
Mr. Del Presents Holy South: Memphis in Mayhem DMG (2015) www.noisetrade.com/holysouth/memphis-in-mayhem By Bob Marovich Quite possibly taking its title from a deliberate word play on the annual Memphis in May festival, the Memphis in Mayhem mixtape is available free of charge on Noisetrade (use the link above) by Holy South, [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: June 8, 2015
“I’ll Make It All Right” Trish Standley From the forthcoming Jan’s Joy CD No One Else www.trishstandley.com Gospel thrush and fashionista Trish Standley covers the Beautiful Zion Missionary Baptist Church Choir of Chicago’s 1973 hit, “I’ll Make It All Right,” with all of the joyous soulful funkiness of the original. [...]
Lonnie Hunter feat. Structure – #GETITDONE
Lonnie Hunter feat. Structure #GETITDONE Tyscot Records www.tyscot.com Syndicated radio host, choir director, worship pastor, former model, Stellar Award winner, recording artist, CEO, educator, and now clothing line owner, Lonnie Hunter is gospel’s Renaissance Man. Despite his busy schedule with "The Lonnie Hunter Show" and as host of the McDonald’s Inspiration [...]
“All Praise” – Anton Milton & Glorified
“All Praise” Anton Milton & Glorified Lunjeal Music Group/Malaco Music Group (2015) www.malaco.com South Carolina native Anton Milton, now working out of New Jersey, cites Israel Houghton, Fred Hammond, and John P. Kee among his inspirations. His single, “All Praise,” testifies to this with its energetic ensemble vibe. The kind [...]
Brad + Rebekah – All You’ve Done
Brad + Rebekah All You’ve Done Discovery House (release date: June 2, 2015) http://bradandrebekahmusic.com By Bob Marovich On their national debut album, All You’ve Done, Brad + Rebekah, a husband-and-wife praise team, loft their admiration and gratitude melodically, and vertically, to the Most High. The album opens, appropriately, with “Wake [...]
“Holy Spirit” – Marjane’
“Holy Spirit” Marjane' J Jane Music Group (2015) www.marjanemusic.com Marjane's lovely vocals float over this passionate, urgent call for spiritual guidance in daily life. The background vocalists are all Marjane, too—a multi-tracking technique first used in gospel in the early 1950s by Clara Ward and fellow West Coaster Doris Akers. [...]
“Thank You” – Tonya Lewis-Taylor
“Thank You” Tonya Lewis-Taylor From the CD Delayed But Not Denied www.tonyalewistaylor.com “Thank You” is a contemporary gospel song delivered energetically by Tonya Lewis-Taylor, who seems to summon her estimable vocal strength from within several vital organs to offer a declaration of gratitude to God. The background vocalists urge her [...]
Rev. J.C. Jenkins & the Sounds of Joy – Don’t You Forget to Remember
Rev. J. C. Jenkins & the Sounds of Joy Don’t You Forget to Remember Sharp Records (2015) www.sharprecordsusa.com www.reverbnation.com/revjcjenkinsthesoundsofjoy By Bob Marovich The Sounds of Joy, featuring the hard-singing lead vocals of Rev. J. C. Jenkins, is a nod to the deep southern soul quartet sound of the 1970s and [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: May 25, 2015
“In His Hands” The McDonald Sisters Ra-Ola Music Inc. (release date: April 1, 2015) A family group with more than 30 years of gospel singing experience, the McDonald Sisters of Fayetteville, North Carolina, continue to represent traditional gospel quartet with their new single, “In His Hands.” To an aisle-walking, handclapping [...]
Perfection – “Totally”
Photo Credit: Facebook Perfection “Totally” Malaco Music Group (2015) www.malaco.com On “Totally,” the members of contemporary quartet Perfection ("Word of God Speak") declare that they are tired of fighting fate and henceforth give themselves over completely--hands, feet, and heart--to God’s will. "Less of me and more of you" is [...]
Various Artists – Connected 2 Calvary, Vol. IV
Various Artists Connected 2 Calvary Vol. IV www.connected2calvary.com By Bob Marovich At a recent panel discussion co-hosted by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the Recording Academy, gospel artist Tye Tribbett joked that releasing music in today’s technological society means literally releasing it, setting it free [...]
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