Bishop J. D. Means Sr. If He Bring You to It. . . He’ll Bring You Through It Mean Means Music Group (release date: October 29, 2018) http://bishopjdmeanssr.com/ By Bob Marovich Bishop J. D. Means Sr.’s CD If He Bring You to It. . .He’ll Bring You Through It is filled to the brim with music, so much so that it feels like two albums in one. Or maybe three, depending on how you look at it. The first half of the album is comprised of newly-composed songs with heaping helpings of old-school soul. Means renders these fundamental songs of ...

By Bob Marovich Few gospel artists can claim to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Only one, to my knowledge, can also boast that a major prop from his former band is now on display in the Smithsonian. Calvin Simon can lay claim to both. As a founding member of the popular funk group Parliament Funkadelic, Simon is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. The P Funk Mothership, an iconic stage prop, is part of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Although Simon has laid those days to the ...

“Where Are U?” CL Carr C eL Entertainment (2017) Available from iTunes By Bob Marovich One evening in late October 2000, I was visiting my 40-year-old wife in the hospital. She had been diagnosed with cancer in 1992. The cancer had spread and by this point she didn’t have long to live. We knew it because she had lost significant weight to the disease. I was as physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted as a heart-sick husband could be. As I drove home from the hospital that night, pulling on whatever reserve energy was left in my body, all I ...

“God’s FreqWincey” Wincey From God’s FreqWincey (released in 2015) www.winceycomusic.com On her new single, “God’s FreqWincey,” Wincey Terry-Bryant plays off her first name to testify about how prayer gives her a clearer focus on her past, present, and future. The song has a breezy California vibe and Wincey’s singing has the light touch of fellow Newark native Dionne Warwick. Wincey has healthy doses of performing experience, having worked in the television and film industries, and even recorded with jazz great Grover Washington Jr. Being on “God’s FreqWincey” certainly enables Wincey to do plenty of important work. She runs a nonprofit called Nanababies ...

Jr. Mack, a musician who has worked with groups from the Allman Brothers Band to the Sensational Six of Alabama, sent this message: I regret to inform you that Deacon Enoch Franklin from Colonia, NJ, has passed away. Enoch was the last surviving member of the Gospel Clefs from Newark, NJ. That’s Enoch singing the first verse of “So Good” and “I Prayed And Got Religion” (The Gospel Clefs / Savoy MG-14053). He also sang “The Lord Saved Me” from The Clefs Savoy MG 14023 album. He is heard again as the second lead singer on “Out Of The Fiery ...

“God Has a Blessing” Sha’Quan Welch Believe Music Works www.shaquanwelch.com Set in 12/8 time and featuring a traditional-style vibe, complete with bluesy vamp and piano, “God Has a Blessing” riffs lyrically on the church aphorism, “God’s got a blessing with your name on it.” The song comes from the pen of songwriter, musician, and vocalist Sha’Quan Welch, who has a deft feel for melody, lyrical rhythm, and song timing. The skilled musicians and vocalists support Corey Fulmore’s high falsetto work on this radio-friendly group single. Sha’Quan Welch is minister of music at Newark’s Galilee Baptist Church, under the leadership of ...