Author: 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.

CBN News publishes revealing interview with Dr. Bobby Jones

This year, Dr. Bobby Jones celebrates 33 years as host of the flagship TV gospel showcase, Bobby Jones Gospel.  He also recently celebrated his 75th birthday.

CBN News interviewed the former educator turned gospel singer/TV host, during which he shared a never-before-revealed aspect of his past.

Read it here: Bobby Jones: Gospel Music Legend Reveals Painful Past

Preview of “Hanging with the Manns” Reality Show

Can’t get enough of David and Tamela Mann?  They’re coming again really soon (hopefully) to a TV near you.


Hanging with the Manns, the couple’s new reality series, does not yet have a network home, but in the meantime you can catch the first episode, which is filled with plenty of adventure and laughs.

Joy Armour-Williams invites you to her fall gospel concert – Nov. 10

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Temple of Deliverance CD features gospel’s lady greats, benefits disaster relief efforts

From left: Lisa Page Brooks, Karen Clark Sheard, and Tamela Mann

(Baltimore, MD) Recently, three of gospel’s leading ladies came together for a live CD recording at the Temple of Deliverance COGIC, the historic Memphis church founded by the late Bishop G.E. Patterson as Bountiful Blessings Church in 1975. What was birthed was Pastor Milton R.
Hawkins Presents Live In The Sanctuary, by the church’s 200+ voice
Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ Women’s Choir.
Bishop Patterson, aside from being the church’s founder and a superior preacher, was also known for his spirited traditional gospel recordings of standards such as “My Record Will Be There” and “Inside the Gate.” The current pastor, Supt. Hawkins, is carrying on this musical legacy by partnering with Habakkuk Music to release the new CD.

Featured vocalists on the project are Karen Clark Sheard, Tamela Mann, and Lisa Page Brooks.  Accomplished musician/composer Derrick Starks handled the production tasks.

The 12-track CD is due in stores November 5, but is also available at a discounted price on iTunes pre-order prior to the release date. By supporting this project, fans are also supporting Temple of Deliverance’s ongoing charitable donations. Over the last few years, the organization has donated over $75,000 to cancer research and various global relief efforts (tornadoes in southern states, Hurricane Sandy, earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, etc.). For more information, visit www.habakkukmusic.com.

The Sensational Nightingales to celebrate 67th anniversary – Nov. 3

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Maggie Ingram & The Ingramettes conduct master class at William & Mary

Maggie Ingram and the Ingramettes
GMF File Photo

Anyone who has studied gospel music as an art form knows that it is more than claps, stomps, and shouts. Gospel music is curriculum; for it is woven into the tapestry of American culture. 

I am excited that trailblazers like Maggie Ingram and the Ingramettes are recognized for their contributions to the genre and called upon by academicians to educate others about how their lived experiences are situated in the context of the music they’ve written and performed for more than half a century.

See Erin Zagursky’s feature: Music class gets a visit from gospel music ‘national treasure’

 

GMF Related Stories

VA's Seatack community holds third annual 200th Plus Celebration gospel fest

Downhome gospel filled the cloudy air of Atlantic Avenue at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Saturday afternoon, as the Original Mighty Pearly Gates of Suffolk performed at the third annual Seatack 200th Plus Celebration. The quartet was one of several groups to rock the 17th Street Stage, hosted by the Seatack Community Civic League, before rain cut the outdoor musical short.

More than 200 years old, the Seatack community–located in present-day Virginia Beach, VA–is recognized by the Library of Congress as the oldest African-American community in the United States.  Seatack has a rich and fascinating, yet little known, history.  Accordingly, it is part of the civic league’s mission to ensure that the legacy of Seatack and the contributions of its citizens are always remembered. Saturday’s commemorative event featured a parade as well as the gospel fest.  You can learn more about the league and the community at www.seatackcivic.org.

The Original Mighty Pearly Gates
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Snowden

Stellar Awards announces change in quartet category

Recently posted on the Stellar Awards website:

Stellar Awards Fan Favorite Quartet of the Year

Although Quartets are a staple in the gospel music industry, the Stellar Awards criteria does not facilitate nationwide inclusion. Therefore, the category would be eliminated. However, because of the importance of quartets, the Stellar Awards Executive Board and Nominating Committee voted to have a separate Fan Favorite Quartet category, consisting of quartet projects released during our eligibility period. The Stellar Nominating Committee identified the quartets that will appear on the initial ballot and this initial list includes those quartets that were qualified to meet the initial Stellar Awards criteria.
The first Fan Favorite Quartet ballot will be available online at www.thestellarawards.com from October 25, 2013 – November 8, 2013. The top vote-getters from that ballot will move on to a second and final ballot, which will be voted on from November 15th to November 29th. The top four vote-getters from the second ballot will become the Fan Favorite Quartet Nominees and the winner will be announced during the Stellar Awards Pre-Show in Nashville on Friday, January 17, 2014.

Pringle preps for cancer awareness benefit; father diagnosed, dies of it within days

Desmond Pringle, gospel singer who recently became a spokesman for Cancer Treatment Centers of America, mourns the passing of his father Bishop Lavern Pringle, Sr.  Bishop Pringle died last Monday, October 7, from stage IV colon cancer.  Only five days prior did he learn of the malignant mass.  Bishop Pringle was 66 years old.

“We’re in a state of shock,” Pringle says. “This was totally unexpected because he was just diagnosed Thursday and passed on Monday. He didn’t seem sick on the outside and was doing all of his regular things until this past week. He’s representative of the husband, the father, the brother, the uncle, the son and friend who are being diagnosed too late in the game. It’s horrible because he didn’t have to die. So, a few days before my last Cancer Treatment Center concert of the year, I get this news and I’m going to push this message so that my father’s death is not in vain.”

Pringle headlines “A Night of Hope & Inspiration” concert this Friday, October 18, at 7 PM at West Angeles Church of God in Christ. Psalmist Nikki Potts of the Kurt Carr Singers will perform.  Additionally, there will be a tribute to the late Bishop Walter Hawkins who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2010. You can register for the free concert at www.ourjourneyofhope.com.

Arrangements for Bishop Pringle are as follows:

Viewing (No Wake Service)
Friday, October 18, 2013
6 – 8 PM
William A. Holmes Memorial Chapel/Suburban Funeral Home, Inc.
2336 Meeting Street Rd
Charleston, SC  29405

Homegoing Service
Saturday, October 19, 2013
1:30 PM
Royal Missionary Baptist Church
4761 Luella Ave
North Charleston, SC  29405

GMF extends condolences to Bishop Pringle’s wife, children, other relatives, and friends.  GMF also lifts Desmond in prayer as he continues to raise awareness about cancer prevention and treatment throughout the faith community.

Cobbs, Mann win at 44th Dove Awards

Cobbs
Tasha Cobbs and Tamela Mann are trophy heavy from this year’s Dove Awards.

During last night’s event, held at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena in Nashville, Cobbs earned awards for the categories of Gospel Performance and Contemporary Gospel/Urban Song (both for “Break Every Chain”), as well as for Contemporary Gospel/Urban Album (Grace).  Mann received two awards for Traditional Gospel Album (Best Days) and Traditional Gospel Song (“Take Me to the King,” written by Kirk Franklin).

Lecrae also walked with the Rap/Hip Hop Album award for Gravity.

You can view the complete list of winners here.

The 44th Dove Awards will air October 21, at 8 PM EST exclusively on the UP television network.