Georgia Mass Choir & Whitney Houston

Hi everyone! It's Friday night, and hopefully you're in the mood to get your praise on!

The group that I'm featuring tonight is the Georgia Mass Choir. You might know them best as the choir that backed up Whitney Houston in the movie "The Preacher's Wife". They've actually been around since 1983 when founder Milton Biggham auditioned over 600 people to form the group, which currently stands at around 150 voices.

They are still recording, and had a CD in 2007 called "Tell It" that reached #4 on the gospel charts in the US. Some of their best known songs include "Joy" [featuring Kirk Franklin], "Come On In the Room" [classic old-school traditional gospel!], "Help is on the Way" and a remake of one of my favorite Richard Smallwood songs, "I Love the Lord", which features a lead by Whitney Houston from the soundtrack of "The Preacher's Wife".

I'll post the clip for the song "Joy" so you can get an idea of the powerful sound of the choir. And since I brought the movie up, I'll also load a clip of Whitney and the choir singing "I Love the Lord". They're only recordings of the songs with no video, but the impact when you hear them will bless you tremendously.

Have a blessed evening!

On Time God - Yes He Is!

Good evening, ya'll.

I just returned from our first gospel choir rehearsal of 2009. It was like old home week with a bunch of old members coming back and some new members joining the team. For all those reading this, WELCOME!

The songs we're ministering this month are "On Time God" by Dottie Peoples and "Said He Would Be With Me" by Isaiah D. Thomas and Elements of Praise [I LOVE that group name!]. Both songs would be considered to be in the traditional style of gospel, but both have lyrics that speak to those who hear them. The first song talks about the story of Moses and the people of Israel that were coming out of slavery in Egypt being trapped between the Red Sea and the armies of the Pharaoh, and the story of Daniel in the lion's den. The chorus says He [meaning God] "may not come when we want Him", but He'll be there right on time. The second song reminds us that through our lives - through the storms, through the rain, through sickness and pain - that God would be with us. When you stop and think about that for a moment, you can't help but praise God!

Here's the video for "One Time God". Try as I might, I couldn't find a video for "Said He Would Be With Me", but you can go to the group's website here .

Have a blessed evening!

Angelo & Veronica to Sing at Inaguration Concert

Good evening! Been a long day at work, but thank God I made it! :)

I was looking through some gospel news online and found out that one of my favorite groups, Angelo & Veronica, were going to be singing at the inauguration concert for President-Elect Barrack Obama on this Saturday, January 17th. They have been a little bit out of the spotlight as far as having their own CD project out, but they've been a vital part of the gospel music scene for many years.

Angelo & Veronica Petrucci's story could read like something out of West Side Story. He's a Italian man from Boston with a love for mac & cheese, while Veronica is a Puerto Rican sister from New York City. In this case, what seemed like opposites found they had a love for the Lord, and the gift of music - which developed into a love that has lasted for sixteen years and counting.

My first CD that I purchased of theirs is the 1991 release "Higher Place". That introduced their combination of smooth jazz & R&B sound mixed with some pop highlights and very good lyrics that made it easy for folks to get into the music, whether they were believers or not. Since then they had five more Cd's, as well as guest artists credits with artists like Michael Bolton, Amy Grant, Kirk Whalum and Michael W. Smith.

They will be coming out with two new projects this year. One is called "Still In Love" which is a celebration of marriage and family. Veronica will be stretching her wings on a solo Spanish project entitled "Atrèvete a Soñar". My husband & I had the pleasure of meeting them a few years ago after a performance in the Bay Area, and they're truly in the music industry for ministry, not just the money. They are a refreshing duo, and you should check them out here .

Have a blessed evening!

GMAF Hall of Fame Inductees 2009

The Gospel Music Association Foundation [GMAF] has announced their inductees for this year. They include gospel legends Michael W. Smith & Dr. Bobby Jones, as well as the music quartet The Dixie Hummingbirds and country star Dolly Parton. To say this is a diverse group of artists is an understatement! The induction ceremony will happen on February 2nd in Nashville, the home town of the Gospel Music Association. Previous inductees include Amy Grant, Andre Crouch, the Winans and Elvis Presley. [Most of his fans know this, but Elvis loved gospel music and had at least two gospel albums that were major successes!]

Have a great day!

Stellar Awards Nominees 2009

Good morning, all! Hope you had a great weekend, and that you were able to listen to some good music. :)

At the end of this month there's going to be a show for the 2009 Stellar Awards. They are the equivalent of the Grammy Awards, except it's strictly gospel music artists. Here are some of the categories & nominees. My choices for the winners are in bold.

Artist of the Year

Beverly Crawford; Live From Los Angeles; JDI Records
Dorinda Clark-Cole; Take It Back; Zomba Label Group
Kirk Franklin; The Fight of My Life; Fo Yo Soul/Gospocentric/Zomba Label Group
Marvin Sapp; Thirsty; Verity/Zomba Label Group
Ricky Dillard & New G; The 7th Episode: Live in Toronto; Nuspring Records/EMI Gospel

Song of the Year (Songwriter; Song; Label)

Canton Jones ; "My Day"; Arrow Records
Jonathan Nelson and Justin Savage; "My Name Is Victory"; Integrity Music
Marvin Sapp / Matthew Brownie; "Never Would Have Made It "; Zomba Label Group
Myron Butler and John Webb; "Stronger"; EMI Gospel
Percy Gray; "God Is My Everything"; New Haven Records

Male Vocalist of the Year

Byron Cage; Live at the Apollo: The Proclamation; Gospocentric/Zomba Label Group
Isaiah D. Thomas; The Greatest; Habakkuk Music
Marvin Sapp; Thirsty; Verity/Zomba Label Group
Marvin Winans; Alone But Not Alone; PureSprings Gospel
The John Tillery Project; The Next Level; Danbla Records

Female Vocalist of the Year

Beverly Crawford; Live From Los Angeles; JDI Records
CeCe Winans;Thy Kingdom Come; PureSprings Gospel
Dorinda Clark-Cole; Take It Back; Zomba Label Group
Jessica Greene; 4 The World; Habakkuk Music
Shirley Caesar; After 40 Years... Still Sweeping Through the City; ShuBel Records/Light Records
[I have a feeling that Shirley Caesar will actually win here, but Beverly Crawford's CD is great from beginning to end!]

Group Duo of the Year

Deitrick Haddon Presents Voices of Unity; Together in Worship; Tyscot Records
Israel & New Breed; Live: A Deeper Level; Integrity Music
Jonathan Nelson featuring Purpose; Right Now Praise; Integrity Music
The John Tillery Project; The Next Level; Danbla Records
Youthful Praise featuring JJ Hairston; Exalted ...Live in Baltimore; Evidence Gospel / Light Records

There you go. Check your local listings for show times. It's always more of a peek at a black church service than an awards show. :) Have a blessed day!

Kierra Sheard - Bold Right Life - Mini Review

Good afternoon, folks! After yesterday I thought I should share some more reviews of different artists I'm finding out about and enjoying. So here is one of the young up-and-coming "stars" in the urban gospel category, Kierra Sheard.

Those of us that listen to more contemporary gospel music are probably very familiar with her mother and aunts, the Clark Sisters, along with her cousin, J. Moss, who has a production company called PAJAM that also specializes in contemporary gospel music. While the Sisters are well loved in traditional circles, they have been known to take chances in contemporary gospel music, especially Kierra's mother, Karen Clark Sheard. Kierra's previous two albums were definitely geared towards her peer group, with a lot of music that was danceable but also kept the gospel message front and center. With this CD, Bold Right Life, she shows a completely different side to herself both artistically and physically. She's lost 86 pounds in the last year, and has done it in a natural way through diet & exercise. This is sure to please her fans, who have sometimes been concerned with how much weight she was carrying and have wanted to see her get healthy so she can have a long life and a long ministry.

The variety in the song selection also shows more maturity as she grows into adulthood and more independence in how she ministers in music. The best compliment I can give this CD is that you can play it during your private time of worship, but also play it in your car while you're hanging out with your non-Christian friends. The message is not compromised - when you have songs with titles like "Jesus" and "Oh Lord", you know you're not watering anything down - but neither is the hip-hop style of music that Kierra is known and loved for. You can view this clip from her CD and check a little bit of her gift out here.">

Have a blessed afternoon!

Gospel Music Channel - Mini-Review

Good evening! I'm getting in a little late today since I was celebrating my birthday with my family. But I wanted to share the website for Gospel Music Channel with you.

A lot of times when you mention the words "gospel music" you think of one thing: large choirs of mostly African-American women singing older spirituals and hymns from the sixties and seventies. But the gospel music world has expanded so much from the days of strictly being something kept in the four walls of the church to music that has something to offer every member of the family, no matter what ethnic group you're in or what kind of church you came up in. [Or if you didn't attend church at all.]

If you look at today's homepage you'll find links for artists as diverse as Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir from New York, Wynonna Judd, and the Newsboys, a predominantly pop/rock group. But the important thing about gospel music isn't the style of music, but the message behind is. Gospel literally means "good news", after all. So when you get a chance, check this website out to listen to some of the songs & see some of the videos. Then find out if your cable or satellite system carries them. If not, you might want to encourage them to add them to the channel line-up. It'd be worth it! Have a good evening!