Category: Passings

R.I.P. Phyllis Brown of the Brown Sisters [Arrangements]

From Facebook

GMF is sorry to learn of the passing of Phyllis Brown (far left) of the Brown Sisters from Chicago.  


Latrea Morrow of examiner.com reports more here: Chicago gospel community mourns the loss of The Brown Sisters’ beloved Phyllis

Arrangements are as follows, according to the The Brown Sisters’ Facebook page (8/5/14):

Friday, August 8, 2014
Wake
4 – 8 PM
Gatling’s Funeral Home
10130 S. Halsted
Chicago, IL 60628

Saturday, August 9, 2014
Wake/Musical
10 -11AM
Funeral 
11 – 1 PM
Rock of Ages Missionary Baptist Church
1309 Madison St.
Maywood, IL

Please send condolences to Pastor Ben and Alberta Brown, 32 N. Kostner Avenue, Chicago, IL 60624.

Bishop Harold I. Williams, Patriarch of MCHCA, husband of Shirley Caesar, dies at 93

 
From the MCHCA site

Bishop Harold Ivory Williams, Sr., former Presiding Prelate and Senior Bishop Emeritus of the Mount Calvary Holy Church of America (MCHCA), Inc., passed today (July 4).  He was 93 years old. 

According to the MCHCA site, Bishop Williams led MCHCA for more than 37 years as Senior Bishop, succeeding the organization’s founder Bishop Brumfield Johnson, before choosing to take emeritus status in 2008. Simultaneous to his leadership of the parent organization, he pastored Winston-Salem’s Mount Calvary Holy Church, Washington, DC’s Mount Calvary Holy Church, and founded a church in Baltimore, according to his bio.  At the time of his demise, he and his wife of 31 years, Pastor Shirley Caesar-Williams, were co-pastors of Raleigh’s Mount Calvary Word of Faith.

Along with pastoring, Bishop Williams was an accomplished pianist and songwriter, guesting on his wife’s projects Sailin’ (vocals on “Time to Come Back Home”), Stand Still (spoken word on “Step Out”) and Shirley Caesar Live …He Will Come (piano on his composition “Our Father”).

In addition to Pastor Caesar, Bishop Williams is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Elder Hope and Prophet Marc Mason, grandchildren, and a host of additional relatives, friends, and spiritual sons and daughters.  His son, acclaimed jazz pianist Harold I. Williams, Jr. preceded him in death. 

With bittersweetness, GMF bids Bishop Williams adieu and extends heartfelt condolences to Pastor Caesar-Williams and family.

Update (7/6/14 at 2:07 am) – Elder Hope Mason has shared homegoing information for her father, Bishop Williams. She notes via Facebook that “the Friday night service is a musical memorial and his remains will be available for viewing from 12:00-6:00 pm Friday afternoon, but not at the service.” 

Update (7/9/14 at 7:30 am) – Elder Hope Mason has provided updated homegoing information for Bishop Williams. The latest information includes lodging accommodations (click image below to enlarge).

Bobby Womack succumbs

Soul singer Bobby Womack died Friday, June 27, at age 70.  Womack had roots in gospel music and cited R.H. Harris of the Soul Stirrers as one of his influences.  

Womack and his brothers performed gospel music before gaining the attention of Sam Cooke who eventually signed them to his label (SAR Records) as The Valentinos, where they made the transition to R&B.

Read more about Womack’s life and music in the LA Times.

B.T. Green of the Christian Harmonettes (1938-2014)

It’s hard to imagine that any quartet gospel music lover in North Carolina–or anywhere along the East Coast–would not recognize the name or homespun traditional music of B.T. Green and Christian Harmonettes.  June 1st marked the 44th anniversary of the group, celebrated in Durham. It was a spiritually uplifting occasion, but one person was conspicuously absent: Mr. B.T. Green.  Just a few miles away, Green lay in the hospital, drawing strength from the prayer avalanche of beloved family, friends, and supporters.

Gospel singer and promoter Burmas T. Green completed this life’s journey (June 21), after recent months of health challenges.  He was 75 years old.

Some of his enduring numbers from the Christian Harmonettes’ recordings include “It Takes A Little Rain,” “Love Lifted Me,” “Reap What You Sow,” and “Old Rugged Cross.”

GMF continues to lift the Green family, the Christian Harmonettes, and Green’s host of friends in prayer. 


Update (6/24/14 at 8:59pm) – The following announcement has been shared via B.T. Green and the Christian Harmonettes’ Facebook page: 
Thank you all for your patience in waiting for the final arrangements of B.T.’s homegoing. The service will be held on Friday, June 27, 2014, at Union Baptist Church of Durham, NC. There will be a viewing from 12:00-1:00 pm. The service will begin promptly at 1:00 pm. The church address is 904 N. Roxboro St. Durham, NC 27701.
The service is scheduled to stream live at: http://new.livestream.com/MyUBCtv/events/2789071 

Melvin Crispell has died

Melvin Crispell died.

Composer and musician Melvin Crispell passed today (May 29). This wave of heaviness is being felt throughout the gospel community as the news continues to circulate.

Melvin is noted for his work with Hezekiah Walker, James Hall and Worship & Praise, Tye Tribbett, and his own group, Testimony.  His popular compositions include “Jesus is My Help,” “Wonderful is Your Name,” “No Joy, No Strength,” and “Caught Up In The Rapture.”

Our prayers of comfort are with Melvin’s family and friends.

Update (6/4/14):  Over the last two days, there have been multiple updates issued regarding the time for the celebration of life services in South Carolina and New York.  GMF suggests confirming the information you have obtained by contacting Christopher King’s Funeral Home, to whom arrangements have been entrusted.

GMF, Bobby Jones remember Maya Angelou

By Libra Boyd, Founder & Editor
Gospel Music Fever

As a writer, educator, musician, and Black woman, I have been and will continue to be inspired by the life and work of Dr. Maya Angelou. Angelou passed this morning (May 28) in her Winston-Salem, NC home, at age 86.
Her breadth of artistic contributions (to dance, music, stage, film, TV, and literature) includes her collaboration with Dr. Bobby Jones and Vanessa Bell Armstrong on “Just A Closer Walk With Thee.”  The hymn is a highlight on Jones’ 1998 CD, Just Churchin’.
Dr. Jones’ comments on the passing of Dr. Angelou were shared today in his emotional Facebook post below.
May an American treasure and truly phenomenal woman rest on peacefully.

Click to enlarge

Clouds’ keyboardist Jason Britt and others die in car crash

GMF extends heartfelt sympathy to and prayers for the families and friends of Jason Britt, Dennis Battle, and Kyol Allen-Gailliard.  The trio was killed Friday (May 16) in an early morning car crash in Rocky Mount, NC.

Britt was a keyboardist with the Mighty Clouds of Joy and at Word Tabernacle Church.  Battle was also a musician, serving at Word Tabernacle.  Allen-Gailliard, whose father is the pastor of Word Tabernacle, was the audio engineer at the church, according to WTVD.

Arrangements are entrusted to H.D. Pope Funeral Home.  Online condolences may be posted there as well.

R.I.P. Edna Tatum

Joseph Middleton of The Golden Era Gospel Blog informed GMF of the passing of Edna Tatum.

Edna was a longtime commentator and broadcaster who was also recognized for her narrative collaborations with Rev. James Cleveland, Albertina Walker, and others.

I was introduced to Edna by Bro. Steve Harris in 2012, and I fondly remember her warmth and her encouraging words to me as a newcomer to the GMWA convention.

GMF extends sympathy to her family, friends, and industry colleagues.

Read about Edna’s ministry and homegoing arrangements in the Los Angeles Sentinel. 

Virginia Caesar Reed, sister of Shirley Caesar, passes

Please join GMF in sending prayers up on behalf of Pastor Shirley Caesar and family. Pastor Caesar’s last surviving sister Virginia Caesar Reed has gone to be with the Lord (March 10, according to Scarborough and Hargett Funeral Home, Inc.), after several years of declining health.  She was 89 years old.  GMF thanks Biddy Newborn for passing along the news.

In Pastor Caesar’s autobiography The Lady, The Melody, & The Word, Reed said of her younger sister, “By the time Shirley was born, I had already moved away from home, but I would often bring her over to spend the night with me. No one could have told me that my little sister would one day sing for presidents, governors, and heads of state. I am very proud of her.”

The homegoing celebration has been announced for Sunday, March 16, at 2:00 PM, at Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church.  The church is located at 3100 Sanderford Road in Raleigh, NC. 

Father Charles G. Hayes, founder & pastor of Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer, has died

Service information for Father Hayes

Jordan K. Phillips informed GMF that Dr. Charles G. Hayes, founder and pastor of Chicago’s Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer, has died (February 13).  He was 76 years old. 

Dr. Hayes and his famed choir, the Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer Choir, also known as The Mighty Warriors, recorded more than 30 albums over a 50-year period, including the perennial numbers “Jesus Can Work It Out” and “Step Back, Let God Do It.”

Our deepest condolences are extended to Dr. Hayes’ family, friends and fans, and the Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer.  GMF honors his rich legacy of ministry and music. The Black Gospel Blog’s Bob Marovich details it beautifully here. 

Homegoing arrangements are below.  Click the image to enlarge.  Services will be streamed live.