Tag: News

Earnest Pugh to receive Alumni Award for the Arts from Howard U. School of Divinity

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever
 
Congratulations to Earnest Pugh (“I Need Your Glory” and “Rain on Us”) who will be presented with the Alumni Award for the Arts this weekend by the alumni association of his alma mater, Howard University School of Divinity. Pugh earned the M.Div. degree there while balancing his successful recording career and serving in the music department at Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington, MD. (He is also the recipient of the honorary Doctorate of Divinity in Christian Counseling from The Institute for Teaching God’s Word in Rockdale, TX.)

In a press release, Pugh comments,

I view
this as one of the greatest accomplishments in my life to be honored by
my alma mater. My tenure at HUSD was instrumental in
shaping, molding, and developing me into the man, preacher and artist
that I am today.


The weekend begins with Howard University School of Divinity’s third annual Alumni Association Awards Banquet and concert, featuring Pugh, on Saturday, April 25.  On Sunday morning, April 26, he will perform at Ebenezer’s 7:45am worship service, before attending Howard University’s main campus to receive the alumni award.

Here’s the weekend at a glance:

Saturday, April 25, 2015
Concert featuring Earnest Pugh at 5:30 PM
Howard University School of Divinity’s 3rd Annual Alumni Association Awards Banquet
Armour J. Blackburn University Center
2397 Sixth Street NW
Washington, DC 20059
(Red carpet arrival and reception at 3 PM; dinner at 4 PM)
 
Concert featuring Earnest Pugh at 7 PM
In celebration of Howard Univ. School of Divinity Professor Robert G. Childs’ 30th pastoral anniversary

Berean Baptist Church
924 Madison St. NW
Washington, DC 20011
(Concert proceeds go to the alumni association’s scholarship fund)


Sunday, April 26, 2015
Special performance by Earnest Pugh at 7:45 AM worship
Ebenezer A.ME. Church
7707 Allentown Road
Fort Washington, MD 20744

Queens Caesar and Franklin, Mann, other industry greats to perform at the White House

Tamela Mann

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Gospel music returns to the White House this week.

Pastor Shirley Caesar, Bishop Rance Allen, Aretha Franklin, Tamela Mann, and others will perform as part of the “In Performance at the White House” series.  The ode to gospel music will take place Tuesday, April 14, and will stream live at whitehouse.gov/live at 7pm ET.

According to a press release from the Office of the First Lady, “The event will pay tribute to the fundamental role gospel music has
played in the American musical tradition and the important artists and
repertoire that have marked its vibrant history.”

If you miss Tuesday’s live stream, the concert, called “The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House,” will be aired June 26, at 9pm ET, on PBS and be simulcast on TV One.
You can read the press release in its entirety here.

Maurette Brown Clark signs exclusive recording deal with SRT Entertainment

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Just weeks following SRT Entertainment’s announcement that it has signed Luther Barnes to an exclusive recording agreement, the entertainment company now announces the signing of two-time Stellar winner, Maurette Brown Clark, affectionately known to many as the “Princess of Praise and Worship.”

Maurette is not a newcomer to the gospel music industry.  Whether she is performing with Richard Smallwood and Vision or on her own,
the singer, songwriter, musician, producer, wife, and mother is
committed to spreading a message of faith and uplift.

In a press release, Maurette commented, “I am very excited and
optimistic about this next move in my musical journey. To be working
with D.A. Johnson again is a joy and I look forward to what God has for
SRT Entertainment and my ministry. #forward”

Maurette’s hits include “Breaking of Day” and “Just Wanna Praise
You,” and in recent years, she has enjoyed chart success with her
singles “I Hear the Sound (of Victory),” “One God,” and “It Ain’t Over
(Until God Says It’s Over).”

Campbell, Dillard collect multiple Stellars during Gospel’s big weekend

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

It was a big weekend in Las Vegas at the 30th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards for Erica Campbell and Ricky Dillard. Campbell and her CD Help hauled a total of eight awards, including Artist of the Year, CD of the Year, Producer of the Year (Warryn Campbell), and Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year. Dillard took home four trophies, two of which for Song of the Year (“Amazing”) and Choir of the Year.


The Walls Group also left Gospel’s big night with a pair of Stellars; along with Deitrick Haddon’s League of Xtraordinary Worshippers; and Lisa Knowles and The Brown Singers, who captured wins for Traditional Group/Duo of the Year and Quartet of the Year.

Check out the full list of winners at uGospel.com. The awards show will be televised April 5, 2015, on TVOne.

Luther Barnes inks exclusive recording deal with SRT Entertainment

From D.A. Johnson


(Flowood, MS)  SRT Entertainment is proud to announce the signing of Grammy Award nominated, Stellar Award winning producer, artist, songwriter Luther Barnes to an exclusive recording agreement.

Luther Barnes brings his very successful solo career as well as his Sunset Jubilaires, Red Budd Gospel Choir and Barnes Family Reunion brands to the label.

Luther Barnes, son of “Mr. Rough Side Of The Mountain” the late great Bishop F. C. Barnes, has forged his own place and has made his own mark in the history of Gospel music. Cherished as one of the greatest balladeers of all time in any genre (urban, gospel, or blues), Luther Barnes has enjoyed airplay and sales  success with his many styles of gospel recorded albums from  quartet, choir, praise & worship to contemporary.


As a producer and songwriter, Luther Barnes has produced and penned timeless classics such as “I’m Still Holding On,” “So Satisfied,” and the Grammy nominated, Stellar winning “It’s Your Time,” Stellar nominated “Somehow Someway” and “You Keep On Blessing Me,” which was a Top 10 Billboard Gospel Song and experienced crossover success into the Urban mainstream, receiving airplay on Urban AC stations around the country. 


And just when you think he couldn’t get any better, continuing his family lineage, Luther Barnes has accepted the pastoral call on his life and is the senior pastor and founder of Restoration Worship Center in Rocky Mount, NC.

Virtue joins Pres. Obama and others in concert commemorating Selma March this Sunday

From Jason Hardy


Grammy-nominated sister trio Virtue joins President Obama, Tamar Braxton, Harry Belafonte, Kirk Franklin, Doug E. Fresh and more to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Selma with an All-Star Concert set to stream online live this Sunday, March 8, 2015 on BET.COM and CentricTV.com at 5pm ET, hosted by AJ Calloway.


Centric/BET Networks, in partnership with the Selma-to-Montgomery 50th Commemoration Foundation, will present a historical and all-star celebration concert that will honor those who stood up for freedom, equal rights, and the right to vote.


The concert will be held on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where the original march took place in 1965, and will feature performances by Aloe Blacc, Anthony Hamilton, Arrested Development, Bebe Winans, Fantasia, Bell Biv DeVoe, D-Nice, Donnie McClurkin, Eddie Levert, Eric Benet, Flavor Flav, Keith Sweat, Kelly Price, MC Lyte, Rick Ross,Tank, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Tyrese, and Vanilla Ice.


President Obama will deliver a civil rights speech and Harry Belafonte and Peter Yarrow (two original Selma marchers), Bill Withers, Cicely Tyson, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and Tom Joyner are slated to make appearances.

With Grammy, Dove, and Stellar Award nominations, over 500K in career sales, five recorded studio albums, and signature hits like “Get Ready,” “Put Your War Clothes On,” “Til’ You Believe,” “Lord, I Lift My Hands,” and “Follow Me,” Virtue is back on the music scene after a 10-year recording hiatus with their new rising radio single “You Are.”

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

Pastor and recording artist, Bishop John Heath, to be funeralized this weekend

Homegoing services have been set for Bishop John Heath, who transitioned Friday, January 23: Funeral for popular pastor and singer John Henry Heath set for Saturday


Bishop Heath was the founder and pastor of Greater Higher Ground Ministries in Winston-Salem, NC.  He was also a well-known vocalist and recording artist–featured with the Gospel Music Workshop of America, David Allen and the Ambassadors for Christ Church Choir, and in theatrical roles as a member of the North Carolina Black Repertory Theater.

Andraé Crouch (1942-2015) was part of my church family [Arrangements Added]

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Andraé Crouch passed today (January 8) in Los Angeles. He was 72.  (Read the related story at USA Today.) My prayers are with his twin sister Sandra and the Crouch family as well as the New Christ Memorial Church of God in Christ, friends, and fans.

Though I knew the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and pastor had been hospitalized since Saturday, reportedly in critical condition from a heart attack, his passing hits me as though he was part of my church family. In a way, he was. As a minister of music, I felt my repertoire of choir selections was incomplete without a Crouch gem. “Maybe God’s Trying to Tell You Something” (from The Color Purple), “Let the Church Say Amen,” “Soon and Very Soon,” “Jesus is the Answer,” “Through It All,” and the classic he penned at age 14, “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power” have permanent pages in my music catalog, and he, through his powerful, meaningful, and relatable songs, will have an abiding presence in the Sunday worship services I conduct as music director.

Andraé Crouch was very likely part of your church family too. His contributions to American music are too numerous to mention. The artists he has influenced are copious. The masses he has led to Christ are countless. 

Crouch was a pioneer and a legend–and other legends and contemporaries embraced opportunities to work with him. In 2012, “Queen of Gospel” Pastor Shirley Caesar told me that her dream collaboration would be a duet with the man whom some have called “the father of modern gospel music.”

His music is timeless. His legacy is lasting.   

Arrangements have been announced, and both services will stream live.

What is your favorite Andraé Crouch song? Please share in the comment section below. 

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.