Sunday Best Debut CDs - Take A Listen!

I'm happy that the debut albums from last season's Sunday Best winner Crystal Aiken & runner-up Shari Addison are finally out! BET.com has clips from both CDs at their website. Click here to hear tracks from Crystal, and here to hear from Shari. Crystal's tracks are more contemporary while Shari's are more traditional style, but as they say on the
Gospel Music Channel - it's all gospel! Enjoy!

Never Underestimate the Power of a Song...

...good afternoon, all! Just a quick blog to mention something that happened recently.

My husband & I have been going through a few things on the medical front, and we got a prognosis on my part that might have me not driving for a bit. Needless to say, it was NOT the news we were expecting or wanted to hear. After driving home and crying/yelling all the way, I happened to play a song by Yolanda Adams called "Somewone Watching Over Me". It's one of my favorite songs anyway, but you know how sometimes you don't really listen to the words until you're going through something? Well, this was one of those times, and I definitely heard the words loudly & clearly. To say the song was a relief and a comfort to me is an understatement. Just goes to show that gospel music does have the power to do more than move your body. It can also move your soul.

Have a blessed day!

A Little Gospel Background...

Good morning, all! Hope you've had a chance to check out some of the artists that we've featured so far on this blog.

Gospel music has seen a resurgence of popularity in the United States in the past few years. However, there are a lot of artists from the beginning of Gospel music that are not as well known. There are artists like the Dixie Hummingbirds and the Blind Boys of Alabama that have sung quartet style Gospel music for many decades. [You might be most familiar with the Dixie Humminbirds for their background vocals on Paul Simon's hit "Loves Me Like A Rock" that came out in 1973.] There's also some solo artists that started out in the format of ensambles. One of the most familiar groups was the Caravans, a female group that started in the 50's. However, a lot of the singers from that group are still active today, including Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, and Shirley Ceasar. A little known fact is that the legendary singer/songwriter James Cleveland was also an instrumental part of this group as their musician.

A great resource to find out about both the pioneers as well as the current stars of gospel is Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia
by Bil Carpenter, an industry insider. Go ahead and check it out.

And have a blessed day!

Latest Gospel Music News

Good morning, all! Here's some of the latest news in the Gospel Music industry, compliments of www.gospelflava.com;

Yolanda Adams to Host Inauguration Ball — There will be a significant gospel music presence at the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama. The American Music Inaugural Ball takes place on January 20, 2009 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.. Hosted by Dionne Warwick and Yolanda Adams, performers at the Legends Ball include Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Smokie Norful, and The Caravans along with George Clinton, Chaka Khan, The Temptations, and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Festivities kick off at 8pm.

The SuperBowl Gospel Celebration Returns — The Super Bowl Gospel Celebration makes its return to the Super Bowl festivities on January 30, 2009. Emanating from the Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida, this is the 10th year for the storied event and will include performances from Mary Mary, Hezekiah Walker & LFC, and Marvin Sapp. The celebration will also see the return of the NFL Players All-Star Choir and is the only gospel event sanctioned by the NFL. Go to http://www.superbowlgospelcelebration.com/10year/index.html for more info.

BET to Launch New Gospel Show — On the heels of its wildly successful countdown show 106 & Park, BET is ready to launch the show's spinoff, known as Generation Gospel. The weekly show will be hosted by 21:03's Jor'el Quinn and Trin-i-tee 5:7's Angel Taylor and will feature a live studio audience, music videos, celebrity guests, and much more. Guest correspondents include Tye Tribbett, Kierra Sheard, and Sunday Best finalist Jermaine Sellers. The premiere episode airs on January 11, 2009 at 12pm ET, with performances from Marvin Sapp and Kierra Sheard.

Have a good day!

Sunday Best Live Auditions

Hello again! I just came across this information for the live auditions for the BET show "Sunday Best", and I had to share them with you in case you'd like to audition to be a part of this show. This is the second season, and if you missed it then you DON'T want to miss it this year. I'll have some posts on last year's winner Crystal Aiken and the runner up Sherri Addison later this week. For now, here's the audition information.

Live auditions for season two of "Sunday Best" begin in January '09. They're open for one and all. So, if you have the chops to sing with the angels, prove it!

Find your way to one of the locations below to audition for the show.

Jan 10, Atlanta
Georgia World Congress Cntr.
285 Andrew Young International Blvd., NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30313-1591
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Jan 25, Chicago
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
2233 South Martin L. King Drive,
Chicago, Illinois, USA 60616-9985
7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Jan 31, Washington, D.C.
BET Studio 2
1235 W. St. NE
Washington, D.C. 20018-1211
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more info, call the "Sunday Best" hotline at: 1-866-405-BEST (2378).

You could be the Sunday Best. Good luck!

Just a quick note: Last year they had auditions in Los Angeles and Dallas, but this year they're just doing three cities. I hope that doesn't leave anyone with a true desire to be part of the show with no way to audition.

Vanessa Bell Armstrong & Friends

Good morning, everyone! Just a quick video to share with you from Vanessa Bell Armstrong, with a little bit of help from Vickie Winans & Twinkie Clark. It's her song "Never Alone" from her live album "Desire of My Heart". It's from a recording back in 1998 at the Spring Conference of the Great Lakes Jurisdiction of Michigan, Church of God in Christ. A lot of the best traditional Gospel artists seem to come from this Christian denomination.


Have a blessed day!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009, everyone! It's been a little while since my last update. There's been a few things happening on the health front, but God has seen fit to let me see another year, and for that I'm thankful. It's the same for everyone, no matter what situation you're in - if you made it to January 2009, God's given you another chance, and for that we can give Him thanks!

With that in mind, I'm sharing a video from my archives, "Another Chance" by the Dallas-Fort Worth Mass Choir, featuring the song writer - a VERY young Kirk Franklin. Enjoy, and I'll see you with another video [or two] tomorrow. - JC