Category: News

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

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.

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.

Kee to be inducted into NC Music Hall of Fame – Oct. 17, 2013

John P. Kee is one of eight artists being inducted into the NC Music Hall of Fame this Thursday, October 17, 2013, at 7:15 PM.  The award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, musician, choir director, and pastor was born in Durham, “outside the county line,” and presently shepherds New Life City of Praise in Charlotte.
Inductions into the hall of fame are held annually to honor and
commemorate North Carolinians who have made significant contributions to American
music.
The induction ceremony will take place at the GEM Theatre in Kannapolis.  Tickets to the event can be purchased at the NC Music Hall of Fame Museum or online at northcarolinamusichalloffame.org.

Congratulations to Pastor Kee from GMF!

Crouch okay after having been rushed to hospital

Let’s keep Pastor Andraé Crouch in our prayers.

Gospel icon Andraé Crouch rushed to hospital after falling ill