Category: News

Bobby Jones, Dottie Rambo get stars on Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville

Congratulations to Dr. Bobby Jones, who is among seven new inductees into Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame.  The ceremony took place Sunday.  Jones is celebrated for his longstanding contributions to the advancement and preservation of gospel music.  He is perhaps most widely recognized as the host of BET’s Bobby Jones Gospel, which has been on TV for more than 30 years.
Fellow gospel singer and writer Dottie Rambo was also honored posthumously with a star.  Rambo is known for her 2,500-plus compositions including “We Shall Behold Him,” “He Looked Beyond My Fault,” and “I Go to the Rock.”
The stars laud persons who have made significant creative contributions in the city of Nashville.
Jones and Rambo join more than 50 past inductees, including Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix.

Salvation and Deliverance Church Choir wins Verizon's "How Sweet the Sound"

Salvation and Deliverance Church Choir took top honors this weekend at Verizon’s “How Sweet the Sound” national choir competition.

The finale was held Friday, October 28, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.  Nine regional choir winners competed and were critiqued by three of gospel’s heavyweights: Pastor Marvin Sapp, Pastor Shirley Caesar, and Israel Houghton.

Salvation and Deliverance Church Choir of Tarboro, NC performed its version of The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah and walked away with cash and prizes totaling $40,000 along with a chance to sing at the Stellar Awards and the 2012 Super Bowl Gospel Celebration.

The Gospel Music Channel will air the Road to Finale special on Thanksgiving weekend, highlighting the stories of the church choirs who advanced to the final round.

BET’s Black Girls Rock honors Shirley Caesar

There’s just no stopping Pastor Shirley Caesar.  On the heels of a series of events celebrating her birthday (which was October 13), the “First Lady of Gospel” is among this year’s honorees on BET’s Black Girls Rock.  The show’s first airing is Sunday, November 6.

BeBe and CeCe Winans get Hollywood Walk of Fame star

Congratulations to BeBe and CeCe Winans, who received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today.  They are now among the very short list of gospel artists (James Cleveland, Andrae Crouch, and Mahalia Jackson) who have been honored similarly.

BeBe and CeCe have consistently charted with their music, including hits “Addictive Love” and their cover of the Staples Singers’ “I’ll Take You There.”  They have enjoyed massive mainstream success–gold and platinum albums and a host of Grammy, Dove, Soul Train, Stellar, and NAACP Image Awards–throughout their decades-long career as a duo. 

Mahalia Jackson’s hometown commemorates her 100th birthday with several events

Keith Spera has written a nice piece remembering Mahalia Jackson, one whom former president Richard Nixon said was “an artist without peer.”  The article also details events that her hometown of New Orleans has set to commemorate her 100th birthday, which is October 26th.

You can read it here.

Note (updated 10/25/11):  It’s worth noting that Mahalia Jackson’s crypt gives her year of birth as 1912, rather than 1911.  According to gospel historian Robert Marovich, the discrepancy is the result of an error on her birth certificate.  Until Jackson applied for a passport for overseas travel, she was unaware that her birth certificate stated the incorrect birth year, 1911.

Maggie Ingram & the Ingramettes’ Final “Live” CD Recording – Nov. 5

 
 
 Click flyer to enlarge
 
An appreciation celebration and final “live” CD recording for Maggie Ingram and the Ingramettes is set for November 5th.  Evangelist Ingram is hailed as Virginia’s “Queen of Gospel.”  Earlier this month, she was awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Music degree from a Richmond theological seminary.
 
Admission to the live recording is free.

Editor’s Note:  According to a bio provided to us by Evangelist Ingram’s daughter Almeta in May 2014, the Honorary Doctorate of Musical Arts degree was conferred by Virginia Triumphant College & Seminary.

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The Sounds of Blackness releases 10th CD on 40th anniversary

Press Release from Malaco Records

Malaco Music Group recording artists The Sounds of Blackness featuring The Next Generation and Jamecia Bennett releases its CD, The Sounds of Blackness today, October 18. The Twin City natives will celebrate the CD release with a free 30 minute concert at the Mall of America’s Best Buy Rotunda, 365 North Garden, Bloomington, MN 55425 at 6:00 P.M. CST this evening.

The songs on this three-time Grammy-winning group’s latest set focus on the themes of reconciliation and healing.

“Music can be our primary method, mode and means of avoiding annihilation and achieving peace,” explains group’s founder, Gary Hines.  “Music is God’s perfect form of communication, because what comes from the heart reaches the heart, what comes from the soul reaches the soul and what comes from the spirit reaches the spirit.”

As Sounds of Blackness celebrates 40 years of music and inspiration, the group offers a superb self-titled fifteen-track CD that is a dazzling showcase for its all-encompassing musicality.

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The Nightingales celebrate 65th anniversary with musical on Nov. 6

 Click flyer to enlarge for ticket information

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AP Interview with Le’Andria Johnson

Jonathan Landrum, Jr. from the Associated Press conducted an insightful interview with gospel artist and Sunday Best 3 winner, Le’Andria Johnson, on her struggles and successes since winning the competition.  You can read the story here.

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GMF editor spotlights the Clark Sisters in Sister 2 Sister magazine

GMF founder and editor Libra Boyd is a contributing writer to the November 2011 installment of Sister 2 Sister magazine.  The issue features gospel’s dynamic Clark Sisters and the continuing legacy begun by their matriarch, phenomenal musician, writer, and choir director Dr. Mattie Moss Clark.
Sister 2 Sister is a black entertainment and lifestyle magazine covering today’s hottest stars, in addition to tips on home, health, beauty and self improvement.
A preview of the November issue is currently online at: http://www.s2smagazine.com/magazine.