Tune to 88.7 WLUW Chicago this Sunday morning, December 7, from 3:00 to 7:30 a.m. Central Time for the monthly live broadcast of “Gospel Memories” – the soundtrack to That Old Time Religion.

Not in Chicago? No problem. Go to http://www.wluw.org/, click the Listen Live button, and enjoy “Gospel Memories” from wherever you are!

Highlights of the December 7 Broadcast:

The Eighth Annual "Gospel Memories" Christmas Caravan
featuring classic recordings of Christmas carols, spirituals and hymns by:
Davis Sisters
Harmonizing Four
Wings over Jordan Choir
Gospel Keynotes
Bishop Charles Watkins
Ward Singers
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Angelic Gospel Singers
Mahalia Jackson
Pilgrim Travelers
Staple Singers
Paul Breckenridge
First Church of Deliverance Choir w/Earl “Fatha” Hines
...and many more!

In Loving Memory: South Africa’s first lady of song, Miriam Makeba (right)

Benediction: “The Lord’s Prayer” – Fellowship M.B. Church - Chicago, Rev. Dr. Clay Evans, Founder and Pastor

Preacher Feature:
Rev. A.W. Nix - “Start a New Life on Christmas Day” (1928)

(NOTE: Rev. Nix sings on this sermonette! Hear the voice that first inspired young pianist Thomas Dorsey to consider dedicating his life to gospel music, back in 1921.)

Recordings by classic artists such as:
Rev. Timothy Wright and the Washington Temple COGIC Choir (1974)
Stanley Keeble & the Voices of Triumph (their first single)
The Moss Brothers: teenaged J Moss & Bill Jr. (right)
Spiritual Tornados
R.L. Knowles
Sallie Martin
…and much more!

So tune in and turn on to "Gospel Memories" -- it's a sound religion!

“Cry Your Last Tear”
Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Mass Choir
From Bishop Paul S. Morton Presents the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Mass Choir
Tehillah Music Group/Light Records CD 2008
www.lightrecords.com

In the capable hands of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Mass Choir, VaShawn Mitchell’s superb composition, “Cry Your Last Tear,” is splendid.

The simple lyrics and message, wrapped in a “choirtet” arrangement, strike a chord among the attendees of the recording session, as I'm sure it will among gospel music radio listeners.

Along with V.O.W.'s "Somebody Somewhere," "Cry Your Last Tear" ranks among the finest gospel recordings I’ve heard in 2008.

Cheers for the Mass Choir, and for Mitchell, who is well on his way to becoming a sacred songwriter of significance.

TBGB has had a number of inquiries recently regarding the health status of Tommy Ellison.

We asked Sam Williams, Tommy's manager, to let us know how things are going. Sam sent us this update:

Good Evening,

We really appreciate the love and concern from all of Tommy's friends, we don't consider them fans they are our many friends.

The latest information regarding Tommy, he's progressing slowly and that is of good news, please continue to keep Tommy in your prayers.

God Bless,
Sam Williams
Manager of Tommy Ellison & The Five Singing Stars

Ride With Jesus
The Holy Sons
Quartet Boyz Records 2008
http://www.myspace.com/theexcitingholysons

Hailing from Chicago’s west side, where the group was formed twenty years ago as the New Garden Messengers, the award-winning Exciting Holy Sons have slowly but surely made their mark on the national quartet scene.

The group may not be as well-known outside of the tight-knit quartet community as the Mighty Clouds of Joy or the Pilgrim Jubilees, but they have shared the stage with these leading quartets. Moreover, they have made appearances in highly-visible venues, such as at the Gospel Music Workshop of America, various Gospel Announcers Guild programs, the American Gospel Quartet Convention, and on the Sunday afternoon quartet stage of Chicago’s Gospel Fest (2003).

So the Exciting Holy Sons are on their way. Today the group consists of David Hallom, U.L. Hallom, Kevin Hamilton, Ronald Wilkins, Charles Walls, Anthony Roach, Jerry Morton and Authur Gould. In fact, the Hallom Family is the underpinning of the quartet as singers, musicians, and management (Sis. Terry Hallom formed the group and remains its booking agent). They have a brand new CD, Ride With Jesus, released on Dwight Gordon’s Quartet Boyz label.

Fascinatingly, the CD's first track, “I Know I’ve Been Changed” riffs off of Queen’s 1977 smash “We Will Rock You,” replacing the rock band’s unforgettable power chorus with “He Will, He Will Change You,” and retaining the familiar stomp-stomp-clap beat and fuzzy electric guitar. This may well be the first time the power pop anthem – or any Queen song, for that matter – has been gospelized!

“Thank You Lord” is the radio-friendly track, an uptempo drive number that features metronome-steady background vocals by the Exciting Holy Sons. Also memorable is “I Wanna Ride,” a sweetly smooth take on “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” that makes the journey from earth to paradise seem a whole lot more joyful than the spiritual version does. The “going home” theme continues on “House of the Lord,” and is the basis of the album’s title.

The CD concludes with a killer bonus live track that features the Holy Sons tearing up the stage with an eight minute version of “Touch Me.” Duelling lead vocalists bite hungrily into the song’s vamp in a style similar to fellow Chicagoans the Victory Travelers. The Sons’ performance was fiery enough to take the house, but the recording must have been made through the mixing board, because the live audience is nowhere to be heard.

The name change from the "Exciting Holy Sons" to simply the "Holy Sons" eludes me, though I'm sure there's a reason. Meanwhile, quartet enthusiasts can catch the Exciting Holy Sons on quartet cavalcades throughout the year and throughout the country. Ride With Jesus will give them access to the group’s hard-singing quartet sound whenever they want.

Two and a Half of Four Stars

“Get Your Praise On”
Dr. Yvonne Cole
From a forthcoming April 2009 full-length CD
C&W Records 2008
www.myspace.com/drycole

Even before Edwin Hawkins and the Northern California State Youth Choir took the music world by storm – and by surprise – the Bay Area had a vibrant gospel music scene. Dr. Yvonne Cole of Oakland is yet another member of a rich Bay Area gospel music community.

Adopted mother of Platinum RnB artist and reality television star Keyshia (“Heaven Sent”) Cole, Dr. Cole takes her turn at the microphone, delivering “Get Your Praise On” like a singing evangelist raised on a steady diet of Aretha Franklin records. An ensemble of skilled background singers serve as assenting congregation to Dr. Cole’s call for praise as the antidote to any problem.

Dr. Cole is not a newcomer to the industry, having sung with the female quartet the Spiritual Specials as well as with Pastor Elijah Baker and the Stars of Joy. She now has her own record label (C&W) and looks to release her first full project in April 2009.

TBGB wants to know whether Keyshia will be singing on her mother’s project….?

Meditation
Sista “O” & D’Vine Praize
Divine Records/Koch Distribution 2008
www.sistao.com

It is fitting that a colorful butterfly adorns the front and back covers of Meditation, the debut full length CD by Sacramento’s newest gospel group, Sista “O” & D’Vine Praize. Much of the music between the covers has the light touch, breeziness, and free-form creativity of the lovely winged creature. Think neo-soul song styling with a relaxing smooth jazz soundtrack.

Also like a butterfly, the ensemble demonstrates its ability to morph into another, completely different, form. It’s when the group performs as this other persona – an RnB and hip hop flavored inspirational group – that Meditation comes into full flower.

For example, the opening track and current single, “Givin’ It Up,” has a captivating chorus, with the brassy female ensemble D’Vine Praize supporting Sista “O” (aka Pam Odom) as if they’ve sung together in the church their whole lives. In truth, the group was formed a little more than two years ago.

Testosterone is added to the mix, specifically on "Rescue Me” and “Satisfied,” as rapper Ramsey (Y.A.) Odom turns the heat up a notch like a quartet’s second lead singer. Jock Smith also adds a rhythmic vocal chant on the latter track. Pastor Alonzo G. Morris contributes a heart-melting solo on “He’s Coming.”

Sista “O” began singing gospel as a member of the St. Paul Baptist Church Choir in Sacramento, California, and cites personal influences ranging from Sade (most telling on “Praise Today”) to CeCe Winans and Jill Scott. A breathier, less street-savvy version of Scott comes most to mind when hearing Sista “O” render songs such as “He’s Coming” and “Love.”

D’Vine Praize (Nashea Jackson, Jillian Morris, Tonya Davis-Hendree, Felicia Johnson, Veronica Duncan, and Catrina Blair) are reminiscent of Virtue and Ziel, and hearken back – as most female inspirational ensembles do – to the groundbreaking work of the Clark Sisters.

The song lyrics on Meditation are rooted firmly in Scripture, and for those who wish to follow along, the specific passages are noted next to the song listing on the back cover.

Although an emerging group, Sista “O” & D’Vine Praize has opened for John P. Kee, Byron Cage, Myron Butler & Levi, and Marvin Sapp, and took home the Best Gospel Group Award at the Pure Gospo Live 2008 Gala Awards last month.

Three of Four Stars

Mississippi Mass Choir
The First Twenty Years
Malaco 2008
www.malaco.com

On the seventh day, Frank Williams created the Mississippi Mass Choir. And it was good. Loud. But really good.

If the Chicago Mass Choir is known for its vocal propulsion and the Georgia Mass Choir for its ability to leave you weeping, the Mississippi Mass Choir can knock you off your feet with its sonic power.

And now MMC is XX. Time flies when you’re in the rapture. And to mark the occasion, Malaco Records has released The First Twenty Years, a wonderful compilation of some of the group’s finest moments over the past two decades.

The liner notes include a brief history of Mississippi Mass, particularly its founding by the late Frank Williams, Malaco Records executive and lead singer with the Jackson Southernaires. Williams, along with Jerry Smith and COGIC music minister David Curry, held open auditions to form the nucleus of the first choir. In October 1988, only five months after the first rehearsal, the group recorded its debut album, Mississippi Mass Choir, Live in Jackson, MS. That album took, and held, the number one position on the Billboard gospel album chart for a record 45 weeks.

Today Mississippi Mass has about 150 members. “Students, nurses, police officers, doctors, teachers, truckers and people of various professions” comprise the choir. A common denominator is the group’s ability to take an old hymn or a new composition and make it their own, while casting it completely and unforgettably in the traditional gospel choir sound. This retrospective underscores the choir’s special knack, however, for interpreting the classics.

Among the tracks included on The First Twenty Years are “Near the Cross” from that historic first album in 1988; and “Your Grace and Mercy,” the choir’s hit version of Fanny Crosby's “Blessed Assurance." Other memorable tracks include “Jesus Paid It All,” the pew-rousing “They Got the Word,” and “It Wasn’t the Nails.”

The aptly titled “It Was Worth It All” provides the soundtrack for an altar call by Rev. Benjamin Cone, almost as compulsory for a Mississippi Mass concert as the COGIC “Yes Lord” chant was for recordings of another high-energy mass choir, the Southwest Michigan Mass Choir, led by Mattie Moss Clark.

Charismatic male and female soloists lend their talents to the muscular power of the chorus. The liner notes would have been even better had they recognized the lead vocalists for each song, and the year in which the recording was released.

If hearing is not believing enough, check out the companion DVD, which isn't a separate purchase but actually comes with the audio CD. Such a deal!

In an era of musical sub-categorization, Mississippi Mass Choir is all about gospel, with a capital G. Here’s to twenty more years of doing just what you do.

Four of Four Stars

From a press release, courtesy of www.marketwatch.com:

PITTSBURGH, Nov 25, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- A new constellation has joined the universe of Pittsburgh's cultural scene, the Pittsburgh Gospel Choir (PGC). The word "gospel" means literally "good news," which may be exactly what people are looking for in this economic climate.

A capacity crowd of over 1,200 people filled the pews and balcony of the East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh on a Saturday afternoon in November for the debut. They swayed, sang along, clapped, and rose to their feet for classics like Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and the rousing With a Strength Not My Own. It was "an incredible turn-out for an historic moment in Pittsburgh musical history," said the church's business manager, Pam Kimmel.

The Pittsburgh Gospel Choir is a new ensemble operating under the administrative umbrella of the renowned River City Brass Band (RCBB). It is Pittsburgh's first choral ensemble dedicated to the American gospel music tradition.

"The current audience for the arts and music in Pittsburgh wasn't diversified enough," says Ralph Murray, the local businessman who first conceived of the idea and marshaled the resources to bring it to fruition. "There had to be something that would appeal to a more representative population. Gospel is the vehicle to make that happen." Murray says that when he first approached people with the idea of forming a gospel choir, "from the beginning, everyone liked the idea."

Against the backdrop of America's historic choice for the next president, the multi-ethnic aspirations of the PGC gain added relevance. Its mission includes building positive connections among participants of all races, ethnicities, and ages.

"It is my desire and hope that everyone leaves our concerts saying 'Wow! That was a great way to spend an afternoon!'" says Artistic Director Dr. Herb Jones. For upcoming programs, he plans to offer a diverse fare of gospel music styles and voices, collaborating with orchestras, dance troupes, and chamber ensembles in at least four concerts a year, including performances at festivals and other events.

The choir's mission statement includes the goal that "the audience leave with a smile." For this Pittsburgh institution's debut, mission accomplished.

www.rcbb.com.

www.pittsburghgospelchoir.org

STORY AND PHOTO SOURCE: Pittsburgh Gospel Choir Performance information will be available through the RCBB at (800) 292-7222 or

Various Artists
Praise the Lord – The Gospel Collection
Meltone Entertainment Group 2008
www.MeltoneEntertainmentGroup.com

Imagine driving in your car on a Sunday afternoon in the American South, the AM radio tuned into a low-power local gospel music station.

Yep, Meltone’s three-CD collection Praise the Lord is like that.

This budget-priced set of previously (and fairly recently) issued recordings offers a marvelous shuffle of gospel artists and styles, and not exclusively Meltone-signed artists, either. The lineup includes recent iterations of classic quartets such as the Mississippi Blind Boys, Soul Stirrers, Violinaires, Brooklyn Allstars and Supreme Angels; Chicago choirs such as Rev. Clay Evans & the Fellowship Choir, Father Hayes and the Warriors (feat. Dianne Williams); and legendary singers such as Cissy Houston, Inez Andrews, Doc McKenzie, the Barrett Sisters, and the woefully underappreciated Katie Sankey. Hammond B3 wiz Moses Tyson Jr. is well represented, and label exec Melvin Couch contributes a few traditional tracks to the compilation, as well.

Many of the fifty songs are classic old-time gospels, such as “City Called Heaven” (Original Soul Stirrers), “Peace in the Valley” (Mississippi Blind Boys), and “Two Wings” (Inspirational Charms). Group signature songs such as the Brooklyn Allstars’ “Stood on the Banks of Jordan” and “Family Prayer” are reprised by the new membership and are as close to the original as modern audiences will allow.

Hard core quartet enthusiasts will appreciate the fact that Praise the Lord includes contributions by groups such as the Pilgrim Wonders, Chicago Travelers, and Martin Jacox and the Gatling Staff Choir, whose recorded output is not easy to find.

Of the fifty songs in the collection, the set’s true gem is Babbie Mason’s “God Will Open Up a Window.” It's a fine old-style congregational song that is rendered so cheerfully that the chorus literally seems to parade around the church in step with the saints.

If there's a downside, it's that some of the longer songs are faded out early to keep within the CD's time limitations, but the cuts are done tastefully and with respect to the content.

'Tis the season for music boxed sets. There aren't nearly as many released in gospel as there ought to be -- and if it weren't for the Proper boxes, hardly any -- but Praise the Lord is certainly a collection that will be a treat to your ears, and to your pocketbook.

Four of Four Stars

Once again, from the good people at www.EURweb.com:

Heavens Gateway, a 24-hour Internet radio station offering all Christian and Gospel Music, church ministries of all denominations, as well as positive and inspirational live talk, is now available.

President/Founder Dewayne L. Loving has chosen Mr. Ed Stephens Jr., President of the Virginia Gospel Announcers Guild, as his station operations manager and personal consultant.

Mr. Stephens' experience spans more than 25 years in the Gospel and radio industry Along with his expertise in special event promotion, Stephens promises to be a company asset.

"This radio (station) is my means of connecting to Christians who love gospel, Christian and inspirational music. If you can't listen to the radio at work you can now log on and get your praise on at your desk 24/7," said Stephens.

An outlet with various formats, Heaven's Gateway has old and new faith-based music from your favorites and up-and-coming artists, as well. From Yolanda Adams and Mary Mary to Toby Mack and Natalie Grant, and in between, it's all at the "Community Connect."

Check out the station at www.lovebroadcasting.net.

TBGB Note: Congratulations to Mr. Ed Stephens, a good man and a dedicated GAG member, on his new role! R-E-S-P-E-C-T!