Category: News

BeBe and CeCe to be inducted in GMA Gospel Hall of Fame

Congratulations to BeBe and CeCe Winans, who are among this year’s inductees into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame.  The honors ceremony will be held May 5, 2015, at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena in Nashville. Bishop Paul Morton, Founding Bishop of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International and noted singer/recording artist, will also be honored.

Read more here: Gospel Music Association Announces Hall of Fame Inductees & Honorees

Gospel winners announced at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards

Congratulations to the gospel winners at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, announced last evening (February 8, 2015) in Los Angeles.

Best Gospel Performance/Song
“No Greater Love” – Smokie Norful
Written by Aaron W. Lindsey and Smokie Norful 

Best Contemporary Christian Performance/Song
“Messengers” – Lecrae featuring For King & Country
Written by Torrance Esmond, Ran Jackson, Ricky Jackson, Kenneth Chris Mackey,
Lecrae Moore, Joseph Prielozny, Joel Smallbone and Luke Smallbone
 
Best Gospel Album
Help – Erica Campbell

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong. – For King & Country 

Best Roots Gospel Album
Shine For All The People – Mike Farris

Nominees for 30th Annual Stellar Awards announced; Campbell, Dillard lead nominations

Nominees for the 30th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards were announced today (January 13). Erica Campbell and Ricky Dillard and New G lead the list of multiple nominations with 10 each.  Check out the full list here.

This year’s awards show moves to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and will be taped for telecast on March 28, 2015. Comedian/actor David Mann and wife, Stellar winner Tamela Mann will share hosting duties with comedian/actor/radio personality Rickey Smiley.

Industry giants Andraé Crouch and Al “The Bishop” Hobbs will be honored posthumously with the Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award. Bishop Paul Morton and President Barack Obama are set to receive the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award and the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award, respectively.

Tickets for the taping are available at www.orleansarena.com.  The official site for the Stellar Awards is www.thestellarawards.com.

Congrats to all nominees and honorees.

www.thestellarawards.com#sthash.eivo5Ged.dpuf
(www.orleansarena.com#sthash.Kudos to all nominees and honorees.

Film First releases trailer for forthcoming Mavis Staples documentary

Film First has released a trailer for its forthcoming doc film, Mavis!  The movie is directed by Jessica Edwards, founder of the independent film production and media company based in Brooklyn, NY.

According to its site, Mavis! is a feature-length documentary chronicling the music career of Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers. It will premiere in March 2015 at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, TX.

Watch the trailer here: Mavis! Exclusive

Andraé Crouch Hospitalization: Official Statement from Sandra Crouch

Yesterday (Sunday, January 4), reports circulated throughout social media about Andraé Crouch’s hospitalization.  Crouch’s sister Sandra has released an official statement that you can view on USA TODAY at the following link: Gospel great Andraé Crouch hospitalized

GMF joins thousands of others in praying for Pastor Crouch and his family.

Update (1/6/15) @ 6:47 a.m. – Yesterday at 12:58 p.m., the update below was shared on Crouch’s Facebook page.

UPDATE FROM SANDRA CROUCH:

Andraé Crouch, who was hospitalized on January 3rd, has had some positive response to the medical attention that has been given to him. The medical team has given some encouraging news and we are so grateful for the many thousands of people who are praying on behalf of my brother.

With the continued medical attention and your prayers, we are trusting the Lord for a full recovery.

Al Green fêted at 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, airs Dec. 30

Rev. Al Green is among five recipients of the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors. The gala was held December 7, at the Kennedy Center and will be broadcast on CBS tomorrow, December 30, at 9 PM ET.  The Kennedy Center explains:

The Honors recipients recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts—whether in music, dance, theater, opera, motion pictures, or television—are selected by the Executive Committee of the Center’s Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines.

While Al Green demonstrates musical excellence in both the soul and gospel genres, gospel great Marion Williams (whose career included tenures with the Clara Ward Singers and the Stars of Faith) is the only strictly gospel singer to have received the honor since its inception 37 years ago. Don’t you think it’s time for more of our deserving gospel artists to be recognized?  I can certainly think of a handful who merit recognition for their lifetime contributions and excellence, such as Shirley Caesar, Andraé Crouch, Richard Smallwood, and Edwin Hawkins. 

So, here’s a challenge to GMF readers: review the criteria for this honor and submit your recommendation for 2015 here: Submit A Kennedy Center Honors Recommendation

Tankards’ reality series ‘Thicker Than Water’ returns in January for second season



(New
York, NY)  Bravo
Media’s Thicker Than Water season two will
premiere on Sunday, January 4, at 9 PM ET/PT. Season two features the
unpredictable Tankard clan as they continue to live their lives as best as they
can with their strong religious convictions at hand. Ben and Jewel Tankard are
back, leading their self-proclaimed “Black Brady Bunch” family with
children Brooklyn, Britney, Benji, and Cyrene. Joining the family in the
“Tankard Palace” is Ben’s oldest son, Marcus, who returns to Tennessee with his
wife, Tish, to a warm welcome from everyone—except Britney.


Beginning Monday,
January 5 through Friday, January 9, fans can join the Tankard Family
throughout the week for a series of live Facebook Q&As on the Thicker Than Water Facebook Page. Viewers
will get the inside scoop on the family, the drama and what to expect from
the upcoming season.
For
a sneak peek at the series, visit: www.bravotv.com/thicker-than-water/season-2/videos/first-look-thicker-than-water-season-2
Thicker Than Water is produced by Sirens Media with
Rebecca Toth Diefenbach, Valerie Haselton Drescher and Lucilla D’Agostino
serving as executive producers, and by John Doe Productions with Renard Young and
Darren Toon serving as executive producers. 

Dorinda Clark-Cole to be part of reality series ‘Preachers of Detroit’

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

I suppose the cast of a new Preachers… series wouldn’t be complete without a prominent preacher who is also a powerhouse singer. It’s apparent from the first two seasons that Deitrick Haddon has it on lock with the LA installment.  Come February 18 (10pm ET), Dorinda Clark-Cole will hold it down on the new Oxygen network series, Preachers of Detroit. 

The three-time Grammy winner and member of the legendary Clark Sisters wears many hats: COGIC evangelist, recording artist, TV and radio host, and fashionista with her own clothing line called The Rose Collection. The reality show will chronicle Clark-Cole’s efforts to juggle her whirlwind lifestyle (as her family’s primary bread winner), her desire to strengthen her relationship with her daughter Nikki, and her own self-care.

The Preachers of Detroit cast features six other high-profile persons of the cloth: Bishop Charles H. Ellis, III, Bishop Corletta Vaughn, Pastor Tim Alden, Pastor David Bullock, Bishop-Elect Clarence Langston, and Pastor Don William Shelby, Jr.

Rod Aissa, Executive Vice President of Original Programming and Development for Oxygen Media, says in a press release, “Preachers of Detroit is the latest iteration of the honest, thought-provoking storytelling that Oxygen viewers have so strongly connected with. We introduce a new group of Preachers who have various roads to faith, triumph and transformation, but share a united dedication to help influence positive change in Detroit.”

For a sneak peek of the series visit: www.oxygen.com/shows/videos/preachers-of-detroit-a-new-series

I’m just curious. What’s the likelihood of adding Preachers of Memphis to the franchise with Al Green rounding out the cast?

From
left to right: Bishop-Elect Clarence Langston, Pastor Don William
Shelby, Jr., Bishop Charles H. Ellis, III, Pastor David Bullock, Bishop
Corletta Vaughn, Pastor Tim Alden, and Evangelist Dorinda Clark-Cole. 

57th annual Grammy nominees announced

Congratulations to gospel’s nominees for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. Erica Campbell and Smokie Norful received two nods each.

The Grammys will air live Sunday, February 8, 2015.

See all the nominees for the gospel categories here: 57th Annual Grammy Awards Nominees [Gospel award genre]

Erica Campbell wins the 2014 Soul Train Award for Best Gospel/Inspirational Song

Congratulations to Erica Campbell, whose tune “Help” won the 2014 Soul Train Award for Best Gospel/Inspirational Song. Campbell beat out nominees Tamela Mann (“I Can Only Imagine”), Smokie Norful (“No Greater Love”), Inspired People featuring Charles Jenkins (“Real Love”), Michelle Williams featuring Beyonce and Kelly Rowland (“Say Yes”), and Donnie McClurkin featuring Tye Tribbett (“We Are Victorious”) for the win. 

Campbell is one-half of the duo Mary Mary. “Help” is the title track of her debut solo studio album. 

The Soul Train Awards was filmed November 7, at New Orleans Arena and aired November 30, on BET and Centric TV networks.