Author: Libra Boyd

Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Val Alexander, a longtime guitarist and member of The Gospel Keynotes, died December 15, 2020.

According to his obituary:

Val Alexander, Jr. was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Val Alexander, Sr. and Elizabeth Emanuel Alexander. He was born and raised in the city of Greensboro and is a Class of 1967 Graduate of Dudley High School. He was married to Beatrice Alexander who preceded him in death. He was the youngest of nine children. His mother gave him a guitar for Christmas when he was a teenager. He taught himself to play and used his talent to bless people throughout the United States and around the world. He is one of the Original Gospel Keynotes.

He and his wife Beatrice lived in New Jersey for a period of time until they decided to settle down in Union Springs, Alabama to be close to her mother. To their union they had one daughter Simone Alexander. He left Union Springs and relocated to Greensboro (NC) in 1997 when his mother became ill. He came off the road of singing gospel music to take care of his mother and was able to gain employment working for the Industries of the Blind where he served as Assistant Supervisor. He also continued to play for the Original Gospel Keynotes part-time.

Upon returning to Greensboro he used his skill of playing the guitar to teach, promote and play for local groups as well as his church Mt. Pleasant Christian Church Disciples of Christ for which he had been a member since 1963. He played for the Mattie Alston and the Voices of Praise, The Sons of Zion, The True Tones, The JJ Gospel Singers, and the Harmonizing Five to mention a few. Val was a loving and devoted husband, father, son, brother, and uncle. He was very humble and quiet and soft-spoken.

Some years ago when I first met Val, he shared with me that he traveled with Willie Neal Johnson and The Gospel Keynotes – whose notable songs include “Show Me the Way” and “Jesus, You’ve Been Good to Me” – for approximately 25 years. I continued to see him every year when he came to the church where I serve as minister of music. Without fail, he’d come to where I was, shake my hand, and share a word of encouragement. Eventually, he asked me about collaborating on some music he was working on for an upcoming project. As we now see, our plans are not always God’s plans.

In recent years, I took notice of him again traveling and playing with the Original Gospel Keynotes. Watching him was watching a legend who influenced many present-day guitar greats.

Criss “Righteous” Johnson, longtime guitarist for Pastor Shirley Caesar posted on Facebook, “Mr. ‘Val Alexander’ from one of the greatest ‘Quartet Gospel’ singing groups of all time….(The Country Boy) ‘Willie Neal Johnson And The Gospel Keynotes’ of Tyler, Tx.” He included the hashtag #whatanincredibleinfluencer.

Kevin Wilson, CEO and founder of the International Musicians Summit, also offered reflections on social media. “Val Alexander, Sugar Hightower, Spanky Alford & Al Dent are musicians and friends I’ve had the honor of sharing the stage with! I truly miss all of them. Rest well Val-e Joe!!! I’ll never forget the years we shared music and ideas. #Legends”

“Rest Well Mr. Val Alexander,” shared multi-genre guitarist Fitz McGill on Facebook. McGill, who has worked with Tyler Perry and Kelly Price, among others, continued, “For those of you that don’t know who this man is he was the guitarist for the Quartet group The Gospel Keynotes. Starting around the age of 9 years old when My father would take me to the quartet programs he would convince the promotor [sic] to allow me to be the opening act. Mr. Val starting sowing chords and encouragement backstage that pushed me to excel as a guitarist. Throughout the years of life, he would mentor, teach, and show me little things about the guitar and pedals. Thank you brother for all you sowed into our lives. My condolences to the family and the community of Quartet Music.”

Pastor John P. Kee took to Instagram to pay tribute as well, noting, “He was so kind to me when I entered the industry!”

I join countless others in sending prayers up for the Alexander family and all who grieve the passing of Val, a humble man who now rests from labor.

Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.

GMF was sad to learn of the passing of Ora Watkins-Jones, perhaps best known as a lead vocalist for the Southwest Michigan State Choir of the Church of God in Christ, under the direction of Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. Her family certainly is in our thoughts and prayers during this emotional time.

Read more from Bob Marovich at the Journal of Gospel Music.

Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.

Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Ladies of De’Voted as well as their supporters recently bade farewell to group members Anita Mechelle Fairley and Jennifer “Jaye” Boykin. Fairley and Boykin passed away just five days apart on December 5th and December 10th, at the ages of 51 and 46, respectively. Boykin transitioned one day short of her 47th birthday.

Ladies of De’Voted is a female quartet-styled group based in Sanford, NC. Among their well-known songs are “All Over Me” and “Move in This Place,” both featured on their CD titled, Grace (2016). “As for Me” from their project titled, Joshua 24:15 (2018) was a frequently requested song on The Gospel Music Fever Radio Show. Boykin was the group’s primary lead singer.

In 2015, the prominence of Ladies of De’Voted was propelled by their appearance at WIDU’s Carolina’s Best competition, where they emerged as winners in the quartet category. Their popularity continued to soar after a video posted by Angela Breedlove in 2018 went viral on social media. The video features Ladies of De’Voted singing “All Over Me” and currently has well over one million views.

GMF extends heartfelt condolences to the Fairley and Boykin families as well as to Ladies of De’Voted during this emotionally difficult time.

Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.

From an updated press release (12/9/20):

Troy Douglas Clark, a behind-the-scenes music industry veteran who worked as both a talent manager and background vocalist, died of liver failure on November 25, 2020, at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, CA. Two of Clark’s longtime industry friends, recording executive Neily Dickerson and singer Earnest Pugh, have announced a virtual concert celebrating Clark’s life. Dr. Judith Christie McAllister and Pugh will host the virtual Facebook Live concert Friday, December 11, 2020, at 8 PM ET/ 5 PM PT on the @SetAPartandChosen1 page.

The concert will feature gospel stars such as Yolanda Adams, John P. Kee, B. Slade, Kurt Carr, Chrystal Rucker, Nikki Potts, Charles Butler & Trinity, Nikki Potts, Chaz Shepherd, Shamika Bereal, Toya Adams, and more. There will also be appearances from music executives Vicki Mack-Lataillade, Neily Dickerson and Phil Thornton.

There will be a public wake on Thursday, December 17 at 3-5 PM PT at Arnold Family Funeral Services in the Hillside Chapel, 2561 North Fair Oaks Avenue, Altadena, CA 91001. The family requests that viewers adhere to CDC guidelines by wearing masks.

Clark, 53, was a former R&B/Gospel singer who spent the bulk of his career behind-the-scenes of the music industry. In the 1990s, he worked as an A&R Director for GospoCentric Records where he worked with Stephanie Mills, Kirk Franklin, and Kurt Carr, among others. In 2002, he launched Clark Management where his roster of artists included Earnest Pugh, Octavia Pace, B. Slade, Charles Butler & Trinity, among others. “Troy will be greatly missed by countless souls that he impacted with his warm heart, smile, humor and remarkable talent,” says Pugh.

Clark is survived by his mother, Sandra Clark; his sisters Traci Clark and Tamitra “TuTu” Clark; best friend, Everett Jackson, and several extended family members. His father, Dexter Clark, preceded him in death.

Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.

GMF sends condolences to the family of Carl Lashaun Anthony, member of George Dean and the Gospel Four. Anthony transitioned November 14, 2020, in Byhalia, MS. Anthony was both a guitarist and singer with the Memphis-based group. His voice is recognizable on such tunes as “Give Him My Heart,” “Going Home Another Way,” and “Blessing Line.” In 2016, he announced the availability of his first solo EP, Family Prayer.

The obituary and service information are posted by Serenity Funeral Home in Mississippi.

Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.

Bishop Rance Allen, of the Grammy® Award nominated inspirational soul and gospel trio, The Rance Allen Group, has passed away at the age of 71. 

“While recovering from a medical procedure at Heartland ProMedica [in Sylvania, OH], Bishop Rance Allen passed away around 3 AM this morning,” said Allen’s wife of 49 years, Ellen Allen, and his manager, Toby Jackson, in a joint statement. “I wasn’t expecting to hear this news this morning,” said Tyscot Records President, Bryant Scott, who was nearly speechless upon hearing of the singer’s death.  “This is a great loss to us personally but also to the church community at large.” 

The Rance Allen Group’s progressive brand of Gospel and Allen’s signature grunts and squalls have inspired a generation of gospel artists ranging from Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond to John P. Kee and Bryan Andrew Wilson. In the 1970s, they pioneered a fusion of R&B rhythms with spiritually charged message music on hits such as “Ain’t No Need of Crying,” “I Belong to You” and their cover of The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination” as “Just My Salvation.” The retro-soul vibe carried over into the group’s hits of the last two decades such as “You That I Trust,” “Miracle Worker,” and “Something About the Name Jesus,” which has clocked over 175 million streams. It’s a brand that won them fans beyond the Gospel world such as American Idol’s Randy Jackson, and Pop rockers Huey Lewis & The News. In a 2019 Rolling Stone interview, Lewis cited “Ain’t No Need of Crying” as one of his all-time Top 5 favorite soul songs alongside tracks by Ray Charles and others. 

Rance Allen was born November 19, 1948 in Monroe, MI. One of twelve children, he began singing and preaching as Little Rance Allen at the age of five. “We were raised in a family where you went to church every single night,” he once said. “To keep our interest, my grandmother Emma Pearl went to a pawn shop and bought instruments, drums, guitars and amplifiers.” Using records by the Rev. James Cleveland and Ray Charles as his guides, he learned to play the piano before picking up the guitar with Chuck Berry as an influence. His grandparents served as his agents, but he once told writer Lee Hildebrand, “I didn’t have a life like most kids had. I wasn’t allowed to go out and play baseball with the guys and do the things a kid does.”

Circa 1967, Rance, with himself on guitar, started the Rance Allen Singers with his older brother Tom on drums and younger brother Steve on bass. They recorded their first song “Let’s Get Together and Love” – a psychedelic song with Allen’s stratospheric high notes and a direct message about Jesus Christ sacrificing his life on the Cross so that mankind could love one another – for the local Reflect label. Then, in 1971 they won a prize of $500 at a Detroit talent contest where legendary Stax Records promotion man Dave Clark was in the audience. Clark liked what he heard and took the renamed Rance Allen Group into the studio and recorded an album’s worth of material that was purchased by Stax Records.

Stax President Al Bell loved the trio’s music so much that he started The Gospel Truth subsidiary specifically to promote it. Their first single was “Just My Salvation,” a 1971 gospel cover of The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination.” Soon, they were appearing on bills with the likes of The Dramatics and Barry White and taking their R&B-infused gospel to an un-churched audience. Their following was built off of hits such as “I Got to Be Myself,” “Ain’t No Need in Crying” and “That Will Be Good Enough for Me.”  

In 1975, they moved to Capitol Records where they recorded a couple of albums before returning to Stax in 1979 after the company was purchased by Fantasy Records. During this period, the group enjoyed its biggest Stax-era radio hit, “I Belong to You,” which reached the Billboard R&B Singles Top 30 chart. From there, they moved to Myrrh Records where they recorded two albums, including, I Give Myself to You, which peaked at #5 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart in 1985.

It was during the 1980s that Rance Allen really began to focus on evangelism. Church of God in Christ (COGIC) leader, Bishop G.E. Patterson, began to mentor him. Under his guidance, Allen founded the New Bethel Church of God COGIC in Toledo, OH in July 1985 and he was elevated to Bishop within the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in 2011. Aside from preaching at his own church, Allen spent a lot of time on the road evangelizing with Bishop Patterson. Allen didn’t record again until former Stax chief, Al Bell, launched Bellmark Records in 1991. The Rance Allen Group rolled out the album, Phenomenon. It hit #1 on the Billboard gospel albums sales chart with the radio hit “Miracle Worker,” and earned them a performance slot on “The Arsenio Hall Show.”

A decade later, they signed with Tyscot Records and entered a new phase of their career with the Deitrick Haddon-produced set, All the Way, in 2002. However, it was 2004’s The Live Experience that has become the biggest selling album of the group’s entire career. It featured Kirk Franklin on “Something About the Name Jesus” which has amassed over 175 million streams alone. The album also featured appearances from Fred Hammond on “Miracle Worker” and LaShun Pace on “I Can’t help Myself.” In the years since, the group has scored radio hits with “Do Your Will,” “You That I Trust” with Paul Porter, “Closest Friend” and “A Lil Louder (Clap Your Hands).” 

In 2018, rap icon Snoop Dogg featured Rance Allen on his Top 10 Billboard Gospel Digital Songs Sales chart hit, “Blessing Me Again.” It won a BET Award for Best Gospel/Inspirational Song in 2019. At the time of his death, there were plans in the works for Allen to record a new gospel album with contributions from PJ Morton, Charlie Wilson and Kirk Franklin before the COVID19 pandemic put the project on hold. The Rance Allen Group’s most recent studio recording, “I’m So Glad It’s Christmas (Tyscot),” was released on all digital music platforms on October 30, 2020.

Allen is survived by his wife, Ellen Marie Allen, and his brothers, Steve and Tom, and other extended family members.

– From a press release

Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.