Jonathan Nelson has a new label home with a newly signed recording contract under Tyscot Records’ Tyscot Worship imprint. The agreement links Nelson with the long-running gospel label as it approaches its 50th anniversary. According to Bryant Scott, President of Tyscot Records, this is a partnership that has been years in the making.
Known for his work in contemporary praise and worship, Nelson has built a career encompassing songwriting, choral leadership, and solo recording, with songs such as “My Name Is Victory,” “I Believe (Island Medley),” and “Finish Strong.” The new contract comes as he prepares his first album of entirely new material since Declarations in 2018, with a radio single expected this year.
Nelson has spent much of his career working closely with churches, choirs, and other leaders in gospel music. Early recognition came when Donald Lawrence recorded his song “Healed,” which became a Top Ten gospel radio hit and introduced his songwriting to a wider audience. Since then, Nelson has remained active both as a recording artist and as Director of Worship and Arts at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. His new contract with Tyscot Records places his forthcoming body of work with the world’s oldest-operating Black-owned gospel label.
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.
After four decades away from the Grammy conversation, Candi Staton has returned to the ballot. The 85 year-old singer has received her fifth nomination for Back to My Roots, marking her first Grammy nod in 40 years and placing her once again beside some of gospel and roots music’s most established names. The album is nominated for Best Roots Gospel Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, scheduled for February 1, 2026, in Los Angeles.
Back to My Roots is Staton’s 32nd album and arrives late in a career that has moved fluidly among gospel, soul, R&B, dance, and Americana. Recorded with her British band as well as longtime collaborators, the project revisits material that reflects her formative years, including traditional gospel songs, spiritually themed originals, and select covers. Several tracks draw directly from lived experience, including “1963,” Staton’s recollection of the Birmingham church bombing, and “I Missed the Target Again,” written in the aftermath of her recent divorce. Her older sister, Maggie Staton Peebles, appears on two songs.
Staton’s last Grammy nomination came in the mid-1980s alongside Shirley Caesar, Tramaine Hawkins, Albertina Walker, and Deniece Williams. Since then, she has continued to work steadily, often outside the mainstream spotlight, building a later career catalog rooted in Southern soul and Americana traditions. This latest acknowledgment positions Back to My Roots as a career milestone that closes a 40-year gap while underscoring the endurance of a unique voice that carries gospel, history, and survival.
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.
(Sandy Spring, MD) Richard Smallwood, an eight-time Grammy® Award nominated, classically trained composer and gospel recording artist, died on Tuesday, December 30, at 12:36 AM, at the Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. He died of complications of kidney failure. He was 77.
Over the last five decades, Smallwood has written some of the biggest songs of the gospel music genre such as “I Love the Lord,” which was remade by Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass Choir for 1996’s The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack, and Boyz II Men’s 1997 album, Evolution, closed with a song “Dear God” that included a refrain of it. “Total Praise” was covered by Destiny’s Child on their 2007 a acapella track, “Gospel Medley.” With The Richard Smallwood Singersand later Vision, Smallwood enjoyed his own hits with “I Love the Lord” and “Total Praise” as well as “Center of My Joy,” “Anthem of Praise” and “I’ll Trust You.”
Smallwood was born November 30, 1948, in Atlanta, GA, but was primarily raised in Washington, D.C. by his mother, Mabel and his stepfather, Rev. Chester Lee “CL” Smallwood, who was pastor of Union Temple Baptist Church in southeast Washington, D.C. He began to play piano by ear by the age of five. By seven, he was taking formal lessons and by eleven, he had formed his own gospel group. Roberta Flack was one of his high school teachers prior to launching her recording career with Atlantic Records.
Smallwood graduated cum laude from Howard University with a degree in music. He developed friendships with fellow classmates Donny Hathaway, Debbie Allen, and Phylicia Rashad. He was a member of Howard’s first gospel group, the Celestials, who were reputed to be the first gospel group to sing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Smallwood was also one of the founding members of Howard University’s Gospel Choir. Following college, Smallwood taught music at the University of Maryland for a while.
Eventually, he founded the Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977, inspired after seeing the Edwin Hawkins Singers perform live. The group brought a progressive, contemporary sound to gospel music. They performed throughout the Washington, D.C. area before they were signed to Onyx Records (the black gospel division of Benson Records) in 1982. Their debut LP, The Richard Smallwood Singers, spent 87 weeks on Billboard magazine’s Spiritual Albums sales chart. With lead vocals fluctuating between the charismatic Dottie Jones, the smoldering Jackie Ruffin, the earthquaking Darlene Simmons, and Smallwood’s dry tenor, they created a distinct sound that caught on with middle-class, mostly black Christian young adults. Whereas most gospel artists of the period appealed to an older crowd, the Smallwood Singers enjoyed a young, educated following.
Their 1984 LP,Psalms, hit #1 on Billboard’s Spiritual Albums sales chart and earned them a Grammy® award nomination. They moved over to Word Records’ Rejoice black division for the 1987 LP, Textures, which peaked at No. 7 on the same chart and produced the biggest hit of the group’s career with the ballad, “Center of My Joy.” Composed by Smallwood with Bill and Gloria Gaither, the song had a soft pop feel that built to a rousing gospel crescendo with a background vocal arrangement alternating between a classical chorale sound and a passionate gospel blowout. It was the first song to introduce Smallwood to the white Christian community and has since been covered by artists as diverse as Ron Kenoly, Tanya Goodman-Sykes, and the Sensational Nightingales. The group’s popularity led to an invitation to perform in the Soviet Union – reportedly the first gospel group to do a concert tour of the country at the time in the late 1980s.
The group also supplied background vocals for soul/gospel music legend Candi Staton on her 1988 LP, Love Lifted Me, and her 1989 album, Stand Up and Be a Witness. Smallwood shadowed Staton’s vocals on the title cut of the latter project. Smallwood was also among the all-star choir that backed Quincy Jones’ Handel’s Messiah – A Soulful Celebration album in 1992.
By the early 1990s, the Smallwood Singers had left Word Records for a brief tenure with Sparrow Records before finally landing at Jive/Verity Records (now RCA Inspiration). “I’ve been with every major gospel label that there is,” he once said. “I’ve been able to compare different labels and the way that things are done – the support or lack of. I’ve been in the position of the new kid on the block, where the importance or focus was put on the names that were known better than I was at the time, and all the energy was put on them….the label just did not give me the support, and that’s a frustrating feeling because you have a lot of ideas and concepts that you’d like to see, and you go to the label and say, `hey, I’ve got this idea about marketing or promotion’ and they say `well, we’ll see’ and they just kind of put [the record] out there, and if it makes it, it makes it on its own, without any serious support from the label. I’ve been there.”
With his new label home, Smallwood disbanded the Smallwood Singers. He formed a large backing choir named Vision that he featured on a string of albums that produced gospel radio hits such as “Angels” and “Total Praise.” The lush, near-classical “Total Praise” was introduced in 2001 and has become Smallwood’s biggest and most unexpected hit. “My mother was ill, and my godbrother was terminally ill with brain cancer,” he told a reporter on the red carpet at the 2014 BMI Trailblazer Awards, where he was honored. “So, I was feeling helpless in terms of what I could do as a caregiver. And God just sort of gave me that song in the middle of all that, which really gave me a peace about the whole thing and let me know that he was still in control of the situation. So, it came to me in a very difficult time of my life, but certainly I had no idea it was going to have the impact that it had.”
Smallwood’s 2007 album, Journey: Live in New York, featured performances from Chaka Khan, The Hawkins Family, Kelly Price, and Kim Burrell. Smallwood’s final album, Anthology, was released in 2015 and featured the Gospel radio hit, “Same God.” In 2019, Smallwood published a book, Total Praise: The Autobiography, which detailed Smallwood family secrets as well as his personal battles with grief and depression.
In the last few years, a variety of health issues have prevented Smallwood from recording. In his darkest days, he always referenced music as a solace and a method of ministry. “I don’t know that I have all the answers or any of the answers,” he once said in a 1993 Washington Post interview. “But being a minister of music, I need to be open to listen and give a word of encouragement through songs of testimony. Singing is only part of it. The ministry itself is much more than that.” Aside from eight Grammy® Award nominations, Smallwood earned three Dove Awards and multiple Stellar Gospel Music Awards.
Smallwood is survived by his brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and several godchildren.
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 saddened to learn of the passing of Elder Goldwire McLendon, 95, on December 17, 2025. Longtime gospel devotees revered the beloved singer and elder, while a wider audience came to know him as a finalist on the third season of BET’s Sunday Best.
Ultimately placing as runner-up to Le’Andria Johnson on BET’s Sunday Best, he first captivated judges Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell, and Tina Campbell with his audition performance of the Gaither hymn “He Touched Me.” At 79 years old, his velvet vocals, gentle “soft-shoe shuffle,” and unmistakable anointing endeared him to viewers week after week, culminating in a memorable finale appearance and the subsequent release of a 7-track project titled, The Best of Elder Goldwire McLendon (reviewed by GMF in 2012).
Still, long before he garnered acclaim from the gospel talent competition, Elder McLendon made his mark along the gospel highway. A soloist and former member of Philadelphia’s legendary Savettes, a recording group on the Savoy label, he was a fixture in the city’s gospel community for decades. His reputation for stirring the Spirit was evident early on. According to Anthony Heilbut in The Gospel Sound, it was McLendon who sang “Just to Behold His Face” at the 1970 homegoing service for Ruth Davis of the Davis Sisters, prompting gospel icon Clara Ward to fall out, “hollering long, loud, eminently musical shrieks.”
Most recently, in 2023, a new generation was introduced to McLendon when a video captured at his surprise 93rd birthday dinner went viral on social media. In the clip, McLendon is seen singing “It Is Well,” a moment shared by his granddaughter, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Samara Joy. Music clearly runs in the family; his son, Antonio, Samara’s father, is a singer, songwriter, and musician who toured with Andraé Crouch.
GMF extends sincere condolences to the McLendon family, friends, and all whose lives were touched by his voice and witness.
A Celebration of Life service is scheduled for Saturday, January 10, 2026, at Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Philadelphia, PA. Viewing will begin at 8 a.m., followed by the service at 10 a.m.
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.
Rise Again vinyl LP cover (1980). Jeffrey Newberry is pictured at the top center of the album artwork.
GMF joins the gospel music community in mourning the passing of Jeffrey Newberry, Sr., who transitioned December 14, 2025. He was 69.
Newberry joined the Gospel Keynotes in the late 1970s under the leadership of the late Willie Neal Johnson, the group’s organizer and frontman. His bass-baritone voice and charisma were featured on several of the group’s popular songs, including “Rise Again,” “Hold On (Just A Little While Longer),” and “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now,” the title song of their Grammy-nominated album.
At the time of his passing, Newberry was carrying the torch with his eponymous group, Jeffrey Newberry & The Keynotes.
A Celebration of Life service took place Saturday, December 20th, at Lighthouse Worship Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Present and past members of the Keynotes, along with Newberry’s grandchildren and son, Jeffrey Newberry, Jr., were among those who rendered musical tributes during the nearly three-hour service. Former Keynote Larry McCowin shared lively reflections and presented a resolution to the family on behalf of the group.
In tribute to his father, Jamaque Newberry emotionally described him as “a presence like no other” with “a voice like velvet,” who “sparked us with a light in all of us to be the best that we can be.”
GMF extends sincere condolences to the entire Newberry family.
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.
Nominees for the 2026 GRAMMYs were announced on November 7, and below are artists who received nominations in the Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music categories.
Best Gospel Performance/Song
“Do It Again“ Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, songwriter
“Church“ Tasha Cobbs Leonard, John Legend; Anthony S. Brown, Brunes Charles, Annatoria Chitapa, Kenneth Leonard, Jr., Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Jonas Myrin, songwriters
“Still — Live“ Jonathan McReynolds & Jamal Roberts; Britney Delagraentiss, Jonathan McReynolds, David Lamar Outing II, Orlando Joel Palmer & Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters
“Amen“ Pastor Mike Jr.; Adia Andrews, Michael McClure Jr., David Lamar Outing II & Terrell Anthony Pettus, songwriters
“Come Jesus Come“ CeCe Winans Featuring Shirley Caesar
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
“I Know A Name“ Elevation Worship, Chris Brown, Brandon Lake; Hank Bentley, Steven Furtick, Brandon Lake & Jacob Sooter, songwriters
“YOUR WAY’S BETTER“ Forrest Frank; Forrest Frank & Pera, songwriters
“Hard Fought Hallelujah“ Brandon Lake With Jelly Roll; Chris Brown, Jason Bradley Deford, Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings & Brandon Lake, songwriters
“Headphones“ Lecrae, Killer Mike, T.I.; Bongo ByTheWay, Clifford Harris, William Roderick Miller, Lecrae Moore, Michael Render & Tyshane Thompson, songwriters
I Will Not Be Moved — Live The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Then Came The Morning Gaither Vocal Band
Praise & Worship: More Than A Hollow Hallelujah The Isaacs
Good Answers Karen Peck & New River
Back To My Roots Candi Staton
See the full list of nominees in all categories here. The GRAMMYs are set for Sunday, February 1, 2026, and will broadcast live on CBS and stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
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.
Dallas, TX – Bursting on the scene in the early ’90s was a unique ensemble of singers who gave birth to what we now know as Urban Contemporary Gospel Music. Their unmistakable vocal style and flair became the sound of the ’90s and early 2000s. That ensemble was Kirk Franklin and The Family. This iconic group lit up the charts and toured the world, collecting multiple GRAMMY®, Stellar, NAACP Image, and Dove Awards, and selling over 7.5 million records and singles that reached Gold and Platinum status. Their vocals were the backdrop of hits “Why We Sing,” “Conquerors,” “Silver and Gold,” “Now Behold the Lamb,” “Melodies from Heaven,” and “Whatcha Lookin’ 4.” The group is now known as THE FAMILY, and they are back!
After an almost 30-year hiatus, the twelve dynamic voices of The Family have returned to Gospel music with a renewed mission, shared healing, and a testimony of what happens when purpose outlasts pain. The Family members are: Kisha Grandy–Lee, Dalon Collins, Carrie “Mousie” Collins, Darrell Blair, Teresa Rucker, Jeannette Johnson, Yolanda McDonald, Ramona Barlow White, “Mother” Shelia Brice, Demetrice Clinkscale, Nelda Washington, and Stephanie Glynn.
The iconic sound, vibrant energy, and undeniable anointing that this aggregation of singers possesses remain evident today. Their current single, “Jesus,” is heard on the chart-topping soundtrack from the movie Love Mountain. With this single, The Family has been preparing for their reunion project TOGETHER FOREVER,set to release on October 3, 2025. Their long-awaited EP is available now for eager fans to pre-order or pre-save on Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer.
This 30-year reset of The Family is being facilitated through a joint venture between veteran producer and songwriter Ernest J. Lee (David’s Dance Music) and music mogul Kerry Douglas (Blacksmoke Music Worldwide). This dynamic partnership is poised to bring The Family’s nostalgic sound back to their fans from the ’90s and to the new generation of Gospel music lovers.
The Family gave a showstopping performance and a glimpse of their return at the 40th Annual Stellar Awards Pre-Show in August. They are set to attend the 10th Annual Avidity Awards being held on November 1, in Dallas, TX. They will be honored with a special musical tribute and the Avidity Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Family’s album release celebratory concert is October 12. Hosted by Carmina Barnett and Aldren McCullar, A Night With The Family will take place at New Breed Christian Center, 4500 S. Riverside Dr, Fort Worth, TX.
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 extends heartfelt condolences on the passing of Rev. Dr. Thomas L. Walker, who passed September 14, 2025, at the age of 77.
For more than 50 years, Walker faithfully served as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Rocky Mount. Within the gospel music community, he was best known for his cover of “One Day at a Time,” written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson. His 1970s recording of the song with the T.L.W. Ensemble brought him wide recognition, and he revisited it decades later in 2010 with his group, Thomas L. Walker & Totally Committed, on the Keep Me In Your Will project.
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.
American Idol Season 23 Winner Jamal Roberts and Billboard Music Award Nominated Singer Kierra Sheard to Co-Host!
Chicago, IL – The 2026 Soar Awards will tape its 9th annual ceremony on Monday, March 2, 2026, at Greenwood Oasis in Chicago, IL. Widely recognized in the gospel music community as the celebration, “where music, media, and ministry take flight,” the Soar Awards continues to honor the most influential voices across the inspirational music industry. The evening will be hosted by American Idol Season 23 WinnerJamal Roberts and Billboard Music Award nominated gospel star, Kierra Sheard.
“I couldn’t be more excited for the 2026 Soar Awards as we continue to celebrate the very best in music, media, and ministry,” says Soar Awards founder Justin Francis. “This year will be our biggest yet, filled with unforgettable moments that honor the legacy and future of gospel and inspirational arts.”
This year’s program will feature poignant musical tributes to gospel music legends Donnie McClurkin, Fred Hammond, and Erica Campbell. They will honor Pastor Chris Harris Sr. of the Bright Star Community Outreach in Chicago for his vast community philanthropy. There will be a special tribute to Bishop Leonard Scott, who specializes in recording hymns and who is also the founder of the oldest existing black gospel label in the USA, Tyscot Records. Scott’s tribute will celebrate Tyscot Records’ 50th Anniversary—a milestone moment in gospel music history.
Several leading artists have already been confirmed to perform. Gold-selling artists such as John P. Kee, Dante Bowe, Le’Andria Johnson, and Anthony Brown & group therAPy will be joined by gospel crooner Jason Nelson and quartet queen Lisa Knowles-Smith & the Brown Singers for a night of dramatic performances.
For the first time, the Soar Awards will expand its categories beyond music to celebrate outstanding achievements in Media and Ministry. The new fan-voted categories include:
· Media: Podcast of the Year, Personality of the Year, Influencer of the Year
· Ministry: Breakout Preacher of the Year, Preacher of the Year, Author of the Year
In addition, the Soar Awards will present its inaugural Ministry Honoree and the first-ever Ministry ICON Award in the inspirational media sector.
Musical categories will also broaden to spotlight the best in gospel and inspirational music, including Music Artist of the Year, Church Anthem of the Year, Most Played Song of the Year, Breakout Artist of the Year, and more. Final nominees will be announced in October 2025.
Launching alongside the awards show, the Soar Awards Experience will debut in 2026, featuring special events and activations leading up to the main ceremony.
The Soar Awards continues to raise the standard for celebrating music, media, and ministry—creating powerful, inspiring moments for audiences worldwide. The event takes place Monday, March 2, 2026, at Greenwood Oasis, 7621 South Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, IL 60619. The pre-show starts at 5:30 PM and the main show starts at 7 PM.
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.
(Los Angeles, CA) – CeCe Winans continues to stand as one of the most commanding voices in music, building on a legacy defined by both critical acclaim, spiritual impact, and heartfelt service. Her latest More Than This World Tour has expanded into a global phenomenon, marking her first international tour in more than a decade and reinforcing her influence as both an artist and evangelist.
The international tour spanned 11 countries across 3 continents, drawing more than 100,000 people worldwide. Highlights included:
Kingston, Jamaica – over 20,000 in attendance, where she was honored with the Key to the City and an official Mayoral Citation from Mayor Councillor Andrew A. Swaby, JP, celebrating her extraordinary contributions to gospel music and her life-changing global influence.
Port of Spain, Trinidad – a sold-out crowd of more than 12,500.
Africa – her first tour across the continent in over a decade, where a 7-city run drew nearly 50,000 peoplein South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Kenya.
The Africa leg of the tour ended with a deeply personal moment in Nairobi, Kenya, where Winans partnered with Compassion International to visit a local church and deliver food and toiletries to a family in need, underscoring her commitment to ministry beyond the stage.
Reflecting on the experience, Winans shared:
Walking into concerts filled with people from every corner of the world singing these songs of faith was overwhelming. This tour has reminded me that music truly transcends borders. It unites us, strengthens us, and draws us closer to God. And being able to step off the stage and serve communities, like my time in Kenya with Compassion International, was a powerful reminder that this calling is always bigger than me.
By the end of 2025, Winans will have performed more than 90 concerts worldwide, with the More Than This Tour continuing into Spring 2026 for its final bow. The record-breaking success of this tour reaffirms her place as one of gospel music’s most influential figures, inspiring generations with a message of faith, hope, and love.
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.
