Category: News

Eunice Wright puts music career on hold to save son

Giving Life to a Life for the Second Time Around
(Dover, Delaware) – June 20, 2012 – For the last four years, national recording artist Eunice Wright has ministered in song to deliver a message of faith, hope, and love to people across the county.  This Friday, June 22, her message takes on new definition as she takes a break from her busy music and secular careers to donate a kidney to her eldest son, Tony.
 
Tony, now 19, was diagnosed over two and a half years ago with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), a condition where both of his kidneys have completely shut down.  The cause of this failure is unknown, according to medical professionals.  Treatment options for ESRD are limited–either undergo dialysis and extend life span for five to ten years or opt for a transplant with the hopes of extending lifespan to 15 to 20 years.  In June 2011, Wright made the decision to donate one of her kidneys to her son, and for the last twelve months has been preparing for this Friday’s procedure.
“The process to prepare for the transplant has taken about a year for the doctors to determine that I was a good donor choice for my son,” says Wright.  “There were some health changes I had to make which lead to me losing 40 pounds.  I’m not mad about that part at all!” she jokes.  “I feel confidence that everything will be okay.  I’ve put this whole matter in God’s hands from the very beginning.  He has sustained us and will continue to do so through this journey in our lives.  I trust God and I’m at peace with whatever the outcome may be. God knows the plan He has for me and Tony and His plan is working in us right now.  I also look at it as giving life to my son a second time.  I brought him into this world with God’s help, and now, I’m fighting to keep him here as long as I can with God’s help.”
 
Wright is expected to be back in full force in approximately four to six weeks.  Tony’s recovery, according to doctors, is estimated to be a year.  We are soliciting your prayers for the healing and speedy recovery of Tony and Eunice, as well as your prayers for the Wright, Purnell, and Joyful Noyze families, as they support the two throughout this procedure.
Label executive Carlos Cannon, Sr. states, “It is a very delicate surgery that even afterwards, he (Tony) will have a lot [of] restrictions because of the nature of this procedure.  Surgical procedures are never easy and to have two immediate family members in an operating room at the same time can be overwhelming.  We appreciate your sincere prayers as God carries us all through this ordeal.”
 
Wright recently released her sophomore project Worth It All in April 2012.  Her new project features the hit single “Hello God” that is still making its way to radio waves around the country.  “Hello God” is available for download free on the official Eunice Wright website, www.eunicewright.com.  Worth It All and her debut project, Wait On Me, are also available for purchase on the official website, as well as on iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby.  For more information contact Joyful Noyze Entertainment or visit www.eunicewright.com.

Gabriel Hardeman, R&B/Gospel singer-songwriter, succumbs

From Bill Carpenter
Originally posted June 18, 2012 at 6:00PM
Last Updated June 21, 2012 at 9:08AM
Singer-songwriter, Gabriel S. Hardeman, best-known for co-writing R&B star Stephanie Mills’ 1987 #1 hit “I Feel Good All Over” and Teddy Pendergrass’ “Truly Blessed”, died Saturday, June 16, in the Philadelphia area from complications of interstitial fibrosis. He was 68 years old.
He was diagnosed with the illness in May 2000, but with medication functioned well until 2005, when he started intermittently using a portable oxygen tank. His condition improved after a 2009 single lung transplant at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, but he recently began contacting friends to say that his prognosis was grim and to say goodbye.

Born December 13, 1943 in College Park, GA, where his father was an African Methodist Episcopal pastor, Hardeman kicked off his music career by singing and playing piano at his dad’s church. His parents moved the family up north for better financial opportunities when he was still a youth. They settled in Harrisburg, PA, before finally moving to Philadelphia, where Hardeman graduated from William Penn High School.

After graduation, he briefly joined the R&B band, the El Dantes, before going off to West Virginia State College as a physical education major. Upon graduation, he worked as a physical education teacher and it’s during that period that The Gabriel Hardeman Delegation was born.

“There was a talent show, and I wanted to get some kids together and do some gospel music,” he told Rashod Ollison at Philadelphia Inquirer in 2001. “’Oh Happy Day’ was hot then. I had about 40 kids and the next thing you know, word got around and we had like, 80 kids in the choir.”

They started performing throughout the year but he’d lose his best singers as they graduated from high school, so he decided to create an independent group and named it The Delegation in 1973.

“We were doing then what folks like Kirk Franklin are doing now,” he told the Inquirer. “We would go into these conservative churches, and they would tell us we were doing the devil’s music.” The group signed to Savoy Records, where they recorded hit albums such as the self-titled LP that featured the radio hit “Feels Like Fire,” and earned a Grammy Award nomination. 
Hardeman became disenchanted with the politics of the gospel world and retired from recording for a while. However, he and his wife, Annette Hardeman (from the disco era trio, First Choice, best known for “Dr. Love”) began to write songs together. They wrote Stephanie Mills’ #1 R&B hit “I Feel Good All Over,” Mikki Howard’s #2 R&B smash “Love Under New Management,” and “This is the Last Time” and “Truly Blessed” for Teddy Pendergrass. They also did backing vocal sessions for R&B acts such as Patti Labelle, Phil Perry and Phyllis Hyman. 
Eventually, the industry demand for them to write more salacious R&B music conflicted with their faith and they devoted themselves to writing and producing gospel music. Aside from writing for gospel acts such as Edwin Hawkins and the Wilmington-Chester Mass Choir, Hardeman recorded his own albums for the Messiah and Birthright labels before making a comeback with the Stellar Award nominated To the Chief Musician CD in 2001. Hardeman returned to Atlanta in 2003 to take care of his elderly parents and he became a pastor in the Belleview Circuit AME Churches in the city. He returned to Philadelphia in 2008 to take advantage of the better medical facilities in the city.

The viewing takes place Saturday, June 23 at 10AM, at the Hickman Temple A.M.E. Church, 5001 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143. The actual service starts promptly at 11AM.  One of his last requests was that friend and colleague, Bryant Pugh, play Richard Smallwood’s “I’ve Come Too Far” at his funeral.

Hardeman is survived by his wife, Annette Hardeman, and their son, Michael. 
GMF extends condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Gabriel Hardeman.

BeBe Winans writes book about Whitney Houston

Acclaimed gospel singer BeBe Winans has penned a book about his longtime friend, superstar Whitney Houston.  The Whitney I Knew is set for release on July 31.

Winans and his family offered emotional spoken-word and musical tributes during Houston’s February homegoing celebration.  His brother, Pastor Marvin Winans, Sr. delivered the eulogy.

CeCe, Winans’ sister, is Bobbi Kristina’s godmother.

The Associated Press reports: BeBe Winans writing book on Whitney Houston

“Daddy’s Angel” – Carl Brister

“Daddy’s Angel”
Carl Brister
From the CD, Undefeated (2011)
www.carlbrister.com

While there is an abundance of music honoring moms, only a handful of songs highlight the loving bond between fathers and their children like Carl Brister’s “Daddy’s Angel.” 
On his site, Brister shares how the ballad was birthed.
“I wrote the song ‘Daddy’s Angel’ a week before my second son, Jordan, was born,” he explains.  “My wife kept having false labor, and I was stressing out!!!  So to relax, I started playing the keyboard and God gave me the song.  I was reflecting on the experience of fatherhood I had with my first son, Justin, while anticipating Jordan’s arrival.  So the song is about both. By the time Jordan came home from the hospital I had put together a rough draft of the song so it would be the first thing he heard in the car.”
Another unique characteristic is that of a parent paying tribute to child, the opposite of which is often the case with Mother’s and Father’s Day repertoire.
The introduction to “Daddy’s Angel” captures the endearing relationship between daddy and child before Brister begins his beautifully tender ode, “The day you were born, somehow I knew that you were my angel.”

John P. Kee throws grandmother a “rockin'”centennial birthday concert – June 9

John P. Kee is celebrating the 100th birthday of his grandmother Ethel Shannon today, June 9, with a free concert at Durham’s Union Baptist Church on 904 North Roxboro Street.  The musical starts at 3:00 PM.
 
Mother Shannon, whose birthday is Monday, June 11, was featured on Kee’s V.I.P. Mass Choir project Lily In The Valley.
 
Earlier this week, Kee invited fans to send birthday cards and well wishes to 118 Leacroft Way, Durham, NC 27703.

Historian Anthony Heilbut’s new book confronts sexuality in black gospel

Anthony Heilbut is an authority on gospel music and a respected author, producer, and historian.  Amid the swirl of debate about homosexuality, same-sex marriages, and Christian perspectives, he has devoted an entire chapter of his upcoming book, The Fan Who Knew Too Much, to sexuality in gospel.

Because I know Heilbut is a scholar who has spent more than 50 years studying gospel music, I am confident his text will be more than just a page-turner.  It will be an eye-opening and provocative look into the intersections of race, religion, and sexuality in gospel music.

The New York Times recently published an article about Heilbut and his book, which is set for release Tuesday, June 19: Using Gospel Music’s Secrets to Confront Black Homophobia.

More information on Heilbut is available at his website, anthonyheilbut.com.

Habakkuk Music and BlackGospelPromo.com release CD featuring some of gospel’s top acts

Habakkuk Music and BlackGospelPromo.com have teamed up and released Got Gospel? The Best Indie Tracks, Yesterday, Today & Forever. This is the first of a series of compilation CDs to come.

According to BlackGospelPromo.com’s Veda Brown, creating a compilation CD has been a longtime interest.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for years.  So many of my friends in the industry have stepped up and allowed us to use their songs for this project and I’m grateful. Indie labels and artists have become a major force in music so we’ve selected some of the best indie tracks to create a must-have CD compilation.”

Got Gospel? The Best Indie Tracks, Yesterday, Today & Forever consists of 14 tracks by popular artists Vickie Winans, Lisa Page Brooks, Youthful Praise, Marvin Winans, Canton Jones, Bryan Wilson, Rance Allen and others.


Additional information about Habakkuk Music and BlackGospelPromo is available at www.habakkukmusic.com and www.blackgospelpromo.com, respectively.

Video – “God Is Faithful” – Jennifer Holliday

Jennifer Holliday has released her first gospel music video for the single “God Is Faithful.”  The song was written by Keith A.Williams and is the featured song on her current digital-only EP, available at CD Baby.  
Holliday was presented to another generation of music enthusiasts recently, after her appearance on this season’s American Idol with finalist Jessica Sanchez.  The two brought down the house with the tune that made Holliday a household name, “And I Am Telling You,” from the Broadway musical, Dream Girls.

2012 BET Awards Nominees Announced

Kim Burrell

Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell, James Fortune & FIYA, Fred Hammond, and Trin-i-tee 5:7 are the Best Gospel Artist nominees for this year’s BET Awards.

The show will air live July 1, at 8 PM EST, on the BET network with Samuel L. Jackson as the host.

See the complete list of nominees here: BET Awards ’12 Nominees.

Pastor Marvin Winans robbed, carjacked

“This kind of nonsense just has to stop,” Pastor Marvin Winans told ABC7 Action News Wednesday afternoon after being assaulted, robbed, and carjacked while pumping gas at a Detroit Citgo.  He spoke further with ABC7 Wednesday night upon leaving the hospital with a fractured finger.

The pastor of Detroit’s Perfecting Church, Winans is also a Grammy-winning singer.  His current musical collaboration, “Let the Church Say Amen,” features him with Andraé Crouch on Crouch’s The Journey project and has become an instant classic.  Winans also appears in a recurring acting role on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, and he recently gained even more prominence as the eulogist for the homegoing of Whitney Houston.