Freeman Wilson, Co-Founder of Philadelphia Mass Choir, Dead at 66

A nicely written article from the Philadelphia Daily News.

By JOHN F. MORRISON
morrisj@phillynews.com

THEY CALLED Freeman Wilson Jr. the "Teddy Pendergrass of gospel music." They also called him a "miracle," because when he was born in 1941, he weighed just 2.5 pounds and there was considerable doubt that he'd survive.

But survive he did, and he became an important force in the world of gospel music in Philadelphia and around the country.

Freeman Wilson, an ordained elder in the Pentecostal faith, a former cosmetologist and supervisor for the old Philadelphia General Hospital and at a drug-treatment center, died Dec. 16. He was 66 and lived in Upper Darby but had lived for many years in West Philadelphia.

He was born in South Park, Pa., near Pittsburgh, to the late Bishop Freeman Wilson and Luvenia Wilson. Growing up, he was called "Buggy," but as an adult he was known to family and friends as "Freedy."

He was educated in the Snowden Township School District, now known as South Park Township. He was a popular student in high school and excelled in math.

He later earned an associate degree from Temple University.

Freeman was the first African-American caddy at the Windover Hills Golf Course near his home.

After high school, he moved to Harrisburg, where he lived with his maternal grandparents. He was employed by the Harrisburg State Hospital, and after a year, moved to Philadelphia, where he worked for PGH as a purchasing-department supervisor for 15 years until it closed in 1976.

While at PGH, Freeman took night courses at a cosmetology school. He started doing hair in his home and later for the former Orrie's Perm Palace, on Broad Street, in North Philadelphia.

He later was employed as an administrative supervisor for the John F. Kennedy Drug Treatment Center in Philadelphia, where he remained for 20 years.

Freeman found he had a voice for gospel as a member of the Church of the Living God, in Clarksville, Pa.

He sang with his cousin, Melvin Wilson; a sister, Wilberta Wilson Griffin, and aunt, Norma Allen. They traveled up and down the Monongahela Valley singing the praises of the Lord.

He began preaching at Faith Temple Church of the Living God in South Park. He became an ordained elder on Sept. 28, 2003, at the Greater Community Bible Tabernacle Church, 5220 Wynnefield Ave. He also served as assistant pastor.

From 1961 to 1976, he sang with the Victory Choral Union, which was part of the Thomas A. Dorsey Convention of Choirs and Choruses.

He later sang with the Gabriel Hardeman Delegation gospel group from 1975 to 1979. In 1967, he and James Ford founded Philadelphia Mass Choir, part of the national Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA).

It was the first chapter of the GMWA and was hailed in a review in 1999 as a "renowned voice in gospel music."

"The Philadelphia Mass Choir has become pioneers for mass choirs all over the country," wrote a reviewer.

It made a number of award-winning recordings. Its album "Everything Has Worked Out All Right" won a Gospel Stellar Award as best album of the year in 1987, and its "Never Gonna Give Up" received best gospel recording by the Philadelphia Music Foundation in 1989.

Je'Juan Ford, daughter of James Ford and Freeman's goddaughter, said Freeman "was one of Philadelphia's true gospel treasures."

In 1975, Freeman became a GMWA chapter representative for Philadelphia and was later appointed to the executive committee of chapter representatives.

Freeman is survived by a son, Bryan Edney; his mother, Luvenia M. Wilson, and two sisters, Flossie Juan Wright and Wanda Jean Wilson Jackson.

Services: Were Saturday. Burial will be in Pittsburgh.

TBGB Pick of the Week: December 31, 2007

“Family (There’s a Healing)”
Donald Lawrence Introduces The Murrills
Quiet Water Entertainment 2007

Supported by Stellar Award-winning gospel artist Donald Lawrence (left), the Murrills deliver a slow, contemplative call-and-response paean to the imperative of family strength and personal forgiveness. The delicate melody tugs at the heartstrings while the lyrics remind us that “Life is too short/Make a choice to be happy.” Sound advice for the New Year.

The full project is due out in 2008.

In the meantime, Happy New Year! TBGB is always glad when you stop by!

CD Single Review: Major Choirboy

“I Found a Friend”
Major Choirboy
Gospel Management Group 2007
www.choirboyonline.com

Trained at the world-class Berklee School of Music, Major Choirboy asserts that he wants to establish “a new brand of sophisticated gospel music.” If so, “I Found a Friend” is an excellent start, because it's anchored in cool combo jazz, not generic-sounding smooth jazz.

Major Choirboy’s pleasant, resonant voice is supported by a female vocal trio called the Angels and a warm but complex acoustic piano-led jazz combo, which brings Vince Guaraldi to mind. As the vocals build with gospel intensity, the accompaniment (especially piano and drums) delivers a fireworks display of free form jazz riffs.

Choirboy is in good stead, having shared the stage with the likes of John P. Kee, Israel Houghton, Aretha Franklin, and Chaka Khan, and having tapped the expert services of Benita Bellamy for promotion. He could become the Donny Hathaway of gospel.

TBGB Reviews...Sister Elizabeth Eustis

Walk With Me
Sister Elizabeth Eustis
Delmark 2000
www.delmark.com

New Orleans may be known for giving birth to jazz, but Crescent City musicians and vocalists also made important contributions to gospel music. Mahalia Jackson, Helen Robinson, the Jackson Gospel Singers, Zion Harmonizers, the Greater St. Stevens Choir, and many more from New Orleans praised the Lord in song.

So did Sister Elizabeth Eustis.

Sister Eustis can be heard on Walk With Me, a release of her May 2, 1962 recording session at 2nd Mount Olive Baptist Church in New Orleans. At the time, Paul Affeldt released just four tracks from the session on an EP for his Euphonic label. Thanks to Delmark Records, which mined the Euphonic vault for the goodies that lie within, the entire May 1962 recording date is now available, and on CD, no less.

The date brought the 63 year-old Eustis – by then a prolific recording artist with small, local labels – together with pianist Richard Peterson, organist Ruby Mae Summers, John Joseph on bass, and Alberta Mills on second vocals, along with a small, mixed group of background singers. Peterson pounds out bright, lively jazz runs reminiscent of the 1930s. Most gratifying is the steady beat: Joseph’s bass, along with the ensemble’s tapping feet, lend a clumping stomp rhythm to many of the songs. Eustis’ alto is direct and matter-of-fact, combining Gertrude Ward’s smoky timbre with Sallie Martin’s knack for the preacher’s timing.

Affeldt selected the four best performances for the EP, namely “The Last Mile of the Way,” “Just A Little While to Stay Here,” “He Knows My Heart,” and “Lord, Lord, Lord.” Sister Eustis’ take on the spiritual “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho” and the title track are just as enjoyable, however, even though they were not released at the time.

Lynn Abbott’s liner notes on Walk With Me are superb, providing a brief bio on Eustis, a licensed evangelist who made her first recording in 1947 – at the age of 48 – for the Harlem label.

The only element missing from the project is an appreciative audience. Since the session was recorded when the church was empty, there is no applause, no grateful shouts of “Amen,” “Hallelujah,” or “Sing, Sister!” from a satisfied congregation. Live audiences can electrify a gospel performance in ways rarely accomplished by other styles of music.

Nevertheless, Walk With Me is a fine example of how gospel, New Orleans-style, could infuse music of the heart with the rhythm of the streets.

Three of Four Stars

Chicago Choir Director's Death a Mystery

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

SOUTH SIDE Deacon at Trinity United Church of Christ found shot multiple times in his home on Sunday

December 26, 2007
SUN-TIMES STAFF REPORTS

Chicago Police were searching for answers Tuesday about who shot and killed a beloved choir director and teacher in his South Side home.

Meanwhile, funeral arrangements were set for Donald Young, who for two decades directed the choir at Trinity United Church of Christ, a high-profile African-American church.

Donald Young, Choir Director of Trinity United Church, was found murdered.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama attends the church, at 400 W. 95th St. in the Brainerd community.

Young, 47, also a deacon at Trinity, was found -- shot in the head -- by his roommate Sunday morning, Chicago Police said.

He suffered several gunshot wounds, according to authorities.

When Young's roommate came home about 7:30 a.m., he found the door to the apartment in the 2300 block of East 69th unlocked but closed, police said.

Christmas presents and some jewelry were missing from the apartment, but police have not yet settled on robbery as the motive.

The roommate is cooperating with investigators.

The popular Young also taught fourth grade at the Guggenheim Elementary School, 7141 S. Morgan.

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., longtime pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, said Young "lived and breathed music."

A viewing of Young's body will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the church.

A private wake and funeral is scheduled following the viewing.

Contributing: STNG wire

TBGB: Our prayers and condolences go out to Donald Young's family, friends, and the congregation of Trinity United Church of Christ, a beloved institution that has played a very important role in Chicago gospel music.

TBGB Pick of the Week: December 24, 2007

“His Glory”
Calvin Suggs & Friends
From the CD Celebrate
MCG Records 2007
http://www.calvinsuggs.org/

North Carolina’s Calvin Suggs, former leader of the Carolina Spirituals, teams up with fellow quartet singer Luther Barnes of the Sunset Jubilaires on “His Glory,” a lovely, unpretentious gospel ballad.

While the title track is the touted single from Suggs’ CD Celebrate, “His Glory,” with solid song construction and excellent vocal contributions from the singers, sounds like a hit. In addition, it is sufficiently traditional to please quartet fans, but contemporary enough to satisfy the urban inspirational crowd.

TBGB Reviews...Fairest Hill

Unfinished Business
Fairest Hill
Vision Productions 2007
www.fairesthill.net

Son of legendary Detroit gospel vocalist Tessie Hill and original member of the Followers of Christ quartet, Dr. Fairest Hill is now a motivational speaker and gospel singer. On his new project, Unfinished Business, Hill shines the spotlight on these two passions as a mighty band of musicians cranks out the jams behind him.

The disc has a positive spin to it (pun intended), as Hill sings encouraging, uplifting messages between the beats. The best example is “Daddy Talk,” a rhythm-laced litany of phrases, one-liners, and couplets on how to live a happier and more fulfilling life.

The musicians gathered for the album are nothing short of outstanding, particularly in their ability to switch genres and moods. Two stand-out tracks on Unfinished Business are “Turn Up the Praise,” on which pulsing bass lines by Bernard Harris and contrapuntal percussion borrow liberally from Sly Stone and Prince; and “Remember What Your Mama Said,” which is a slow groove rendered by Hill in a wistful, lonesome falsetto reminiscent of Maxwell and (again) the Princely one. If my research is correct, “Remember What Your Mama Said,” a Ben Tankard-produced tune that remains in your mind long after the disc is over, may have been released by Hill before.

The gospel ballads “Something Better than Me” and “More Than Before” are formulaic and not nearly as interesting as the pulse-racing, hip hop and soul inspired tracks that make up the majority of the disc. Be sure to listen to the brief “Studio Talk,” during which Hill reminiscences with friends about his musical roots.

Unfinished Business motivates the mind to change, the body to move, and the spirit to be reborn.

Three of Four Stars

Black Gospel Music Restoration Project Featured on NPR's "Fresh Air"

Robert Darden, a Baylor University professor, former gospel editor for Billboard, and author of People Get Ready: A New History of Black Gospel Music, was a guest on NPR's "Fresh Air" today. He spoke to host Terry Gross about the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, housed at Baylor.

Many of the recordings heard during the segment are from the collection of TBGB's editor, Bob Marovich, who has been loaning 45 rpm discs to the project for digitization and storage since the middle of this year. More of Bob's collection of approximately 18,000 gospel tracks can be heard on WLUW's "Gospel Memories" radio show every month.

Check out the Fresh Air archives to hear the interview here.

Collectors who would like to loan discs for digitization should contact the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project here.

Congratulations to Bob Darden on the interview and thanks for all he and his audio engineer Tony Tadey are doing to keep black gospel alive for all time.

Father of Beverly Crawford Passes Away

JDI Records informed TBGB that Bishop Walter Camps, Presiding Bishop of the Holy Temple of God and father of JDI recording artist Beverly Crawford, passed away. Please keep Beverly and her family in your prayers, as Christmas is a particularly difficult time to lose a loved one.

More About Presiding Bishop Walter Camps

Here is what JDI sent TBGB on Bishop Camps:

Bishop Walter Camps Sr. was born July 2, 1933 in Jonesville, Florida. He is one of nine children born to the late Essie & Robbie L. Camps. At an early age, Bishop Camps was converted and baptized under the pastorate of Rev. Henry Kinsey at Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church.

In 1952, he felt there was much more for him, so he obeyed the Spirit of God and slipped away to the Church of God in Unity in Gainesville, Florida. There he received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. In 1952, Bishop Camps became a member of the Church of God by Faith, Gainesville, Florida, where he served faithfully for twenty years and acknowledged his call into God's ministry.

Still obedient to the move of God, Bishop Camps founded the "Camps Crusade Mission" and traveled from city to city across the United States and the Bahamas bringing souls to Christ. His former wife, the late Mother Nellie Mae Camps, and his seven beautiful and talented children: Belinda, Walter Jr., Alfred, Terrilyn Janet, Marilyn, Beverly and Evelyn, all traveled with him and played a big part in the ministry.

On December 17, 1988, Bishop Camps was united in holy matrimony to Mother Wilma Bloneeze Reid, a dynamic woman of God, who is very instrumental in many aspects of the ministry. In 1975, the late Mother Coreatha Byrd recommended the name of the mission be changed to the "Holy Temple of God." Bishop Camps became Founder & Overseer of Holy Temple of God, Inc. with churches in Keystone Heights, East Palatka, Blitchton & Gainesville, FL. Today, the ministry has expanded to include churches in St. Augustine, FL, Rantoul, IL, and Sylvester and Kingsland, GA.

In this hour, God is leading Holy Temple of God to "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." As HTOG now celebrates its 30th Anniversary, we are looking up to God and looking out over the fields, and we are excited about what we see. We are laboring and preparing daily for the harvest! Send forth the harvest, Lord Jesus!

CD Single Review: Lonna Hardin

“Tender Mercy”
Lonna Hardin
From the Various Artists CD The New Soul
Redeemed Soul.com 2007
http://www.redeemedsoul.com/

Growing up in Texas and Michigan, Lonna Hardin sang. Sang in church, sang in the classroom, in high school hallways, at her commencement, everywhere. She soloed on a Charles Fold album, released an independent solo project in 1999, and is now a member of David V. Taylor’s Indianapolis-based Redeemed Soul.com label.

Her single, “Tender Mercy,” is a smooth-running neo-soul track that summons the comfort of the Lord to heal the emotional wounds inflicted by a lost relationship. Her vocals express a quiet dignity while the guitars evoke a ‘70s Philadelphia vibe. As such, the single could be programmed on secular radio as well as on inspirational stations.

Sounds, too, as if the pain Lonna sings about on “Tender Mercy” may come from personal experience.

"Lonna is real. Lonna is a person who has endured a lot, she knows how to struggle and Lonna knows how to be victorious over her struggles," David V. Taylor, founder of Redeemed Soul.com, said. "She has an 'overcoming' personality and demeanor that appeal to people who want to go beyond life's hurst and struggles."

“Glory, Glory to the New Born King”: Gospel at Christmastime

Today, nearly every popular gospel artist has a Christmas project in his or her catalog. The Mississippi Mass Choir, Luther Barnes, and Yolanda Adams are among those releasing Christmas albums this season. But when did the tradition of gospel artists recording Christmas carols begin? One is inclined to answer that Mahalia Jackson set the standard in 1950 with her Apollo recording of “Silent Night,” but the tradition goes back much further, more than two decades before the release of Mahalia’s disc. In truth, Christmas recordings by African American sacred artists predate gospel by several years.

The Elkins Mixed Quartette, also known as the Elkins-Payne Jubilee Singers, is the first known African American sacred group to record a Christmas carol. In 1926, the quartet, organized by William C. Elkins, sang “Silent Night, Holy Night” for Paramount Records. Two years later, the Lucy Smith Jubilee Singers of All Nations Pentecostal Church in Chicago released their only record, a Christmas-themed disc for Vocalion: “Pleading for Me” and “There Was No Room in the Hotel.” The lyrics of the latter no doubt resonated with African Americans living in Jim Crow America, as it described the Holy Family’s futile search for available lodging.[1]

More than a decade later, in 1941, the stalwart Heavenly Gospel Singers recorded the Yuletide spiritual “When Was Jesus Born” for Bluebird. The Middle Georgia Singers sang this same spiritual for the Fort Valley Music Festival in 1943. Captured on tape, the Middle Georgia Singers’ version can be heard for free on the Internet. [2]

Although the Soul Stirrers, featuring the classic tenor voice of R.H. Harris, recorded “Silent Night” for Aladdin in 1948, it was the guitar-toting, Pentecostal-bred Sister Rosetta Tharpe who demonstrated the lucrative sales potential of Christmas records by gospel artists. In 1949, Tharpe, accompanied by her new background group, the Rosettes (formerly the Angelic Queens), recorded “White Christmas” and “Silent Night” for Decca. The two-sider was a smash hit, hitting #8 on Billboard’s R&B Hit Singles chart and earning Tharpe and the Rosettes a coveted spot on CBS Television’s Supper Club with Perry Como on January 1, 1950.[3]

While Sister Tharpe’s record took the country by storm, it also took her gospel contemporaries and their record labels by surprise. Autumn 1950 witnessed a flood of Christmas singles by popular gospel singers and quartets. This is when Mahalia Jackson released her timeless arrangement of “Silent Night,” coupled with another Christmas chestnut, “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” on Apollo. These were the first of dozens of Christmas recordings Mahalia would make during her career. Not to be outdone, the Ward Singers released their version of “Silent Night” in 1950 (Savoy).

Also in 1950, Philadelphia’s Gotham Records released eight odes to the season by its top gospel sellers, namely Brother Rodney, the Davis Sisters, the Harmonizing Four, and the Angelic Gospel Singers. The Angelics’ “Glory, Glory to the New Born King” became an instant classic. Thereafter, no Christmas program in the African American community would be complete without a performance of “Glory, Glory to the New Born King.” A couple of years later, the Angelics released another Christmas single, “A Child is Born.” The song’s similarity to “Glory, Glory” in melody and arrangement was no coincidence: back then, record companies deliberately created sound-alike versions of hits, hoping that they could strike gold twice.

Eventually, Gotham had sufficient holiday product from its gospel lineup to produce a various artists LP, most likely the first gospel Christmas LP. The album, Gotham X-1, is impossibly rare. Constellation reissued it in the early 1960s as The Christmas Story (SS-106). The album is part of Constellation’s “The Scripture in Song Series,” a seven-album collection of gospel from Gotham’s vaults. Thankfully, the reissue is much easier to find.

Nineteen fifty-one witnessed new Christmas product from Savoy, including the Patterson Singers’ “Jesus, the Light of the World” and “Christmas Morn” by Charles Watkins. Watkins’ gentle crooning of “Christmas Morn” is not as well remembered today as it should be. Truth be told, had race relations been better back then, Watkins’ version would have climbed the pop charts, it’s just that good. Charles Watkins was that good. He later became a Bishop in the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

That same year, Sister Tharpe’s protégé Marie Knight delivered a double-sided Christmas single of her own for Decca (“Adeste Fideles”/”It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”). In 1953, the Pilgrim Travelers gave Bing Crosby’s “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” an uncharacteristically morose treatment. While Bing’s original articulated the wistful yearnings of World War II soldiers, the Travelers’ version suggested a darker and less optimistic mood surrounding the Korean Conflict. Marion Williams and the Stars of Faith heralded the coming of a new decade by releasing a beautiful Christmas LP on Savoy in 1959. Marion’s “O Holy Night” in particular enchanted many a music critic.

Christmas gospel-style reached its apex in 1962 when Vee Jay Records issued the original soundtrack album of Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity. The Christmas musical starring the Alex Bradford Singers, the aforementioned Stars of Faith, and Princess Stewart was a sensation: it toured Europe and continues to be presented the world over. Another full-length ode to Christmas released in 1962 came from a group that formerly recorded for Vee Jay. The Staple Singers’ marvelous The Twenty-Fifth Day of December was released on the group’s new label, Riverside, with Vee Jay-era accompanists Maceo Woods and Al Duncan on organ and drums, respectively. In Cincinnati, the Galatian Singers crafted a Yuletide LP of their own for King Records.

In 1963, Vee Jay released a various artists album called A Treasury of Golden Christmas Songs, featuring holiday fare by gospel artists under contract to the label, such as the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Swan Silvertones, Caravans, and Charles Taylor. One lone track by the Gospel Clefs, the frenetic “Mary’s Boy Child,” has long confused collectors, since the Clefs were not Vee Jay recording artists. A review of Vee Jay internal documents, however, suggests that the company considered signing the Savoy artists at the time the Christmas LP was compiled, but the deal was never consummated.

Rev. Cleophus Robinson released Christmas Carols and Good Gospels for Peacock in 1967, an album that included a chilling version of “Sweet Little Jesus Boy.” In 1968, Checker Records released singles and an album of classic and new Christmas songs from its stable of artists, including the Soul Stirrers, Meditation Singers, and Salem Travelers, the latter two neatly folding anti-war sentiments into their holiday lyrics. Meanwhile, Brother Joe May, James Cleveland and the Angelic Choir, and countless other artists contributed singles and LPs to the gospel Christmas catalog throughout the 1960s.[4]

The 1970s and 1980s witnessed a stream of Christmas releases by artists such as Singing Sammy Lewis, the Gospel Keynotes, and various artists collections from Peacock, Malaco, and New Jersey-based Glori Records. Even Chicago’s venerable First Church of Deliverance choir contributed an EP of Christmas cheer. Among the Clark Sisters’ early LPs for the Sound of Gospel label was a Christmas album, New Dimensions of Christmas Carols, although it does not represent their finest work. In 1985, Edwin Hawkins released The Edwin Hawkins Family Christmas for Birthright, a project that featured Richard Smallwood’s “Follow the Star.” This breathtaking piece presaged the majestic beauty of Smallwood’s later compositions, such as “I Love the Lord” and “Total Praise.”

Sadly, the Hawkins album, like so many others mentioned in this essay, remains out of print and was never reissued. Still, each Christmas recording extended the tradition begun by the Elkins Mixed Quartette 81 years ago.

Copyright 2007 by Robert M. Marovich

_____________________________________________

[1] Dixon, Robert M.W., Godrich, John, and Rye, Howard W. Blues and Gospel Records, 1890-1943. 1964, 1969, 1982, 4th ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997.
[2] Website for “Now What a Time:” http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ftvhtml/ftvhome.html
[3] Wald, Gayle F. Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-And-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Boston: Beacon Press, 2007.
[4] Hayes, Cedric J. and Laughton, Robert. The Gospel Discography, 1943-1970. Vancouver: Eyeball Productions, 2007.

TBGB Reviews...The Frierson Brothers

Over There
The Frierson Brothers
Joyland Records 2007
www.joylandrecords.com

The Frierson Brothers – Rev. Fredrick, Sr.; Rev. Franklin; and Joe, Jr. – hail from New Jersey, but on Over There, the quartet sounds as if it's headquartered in the Carolinas.

The song selection runs the gamut from the traditional (“Walk With Me,” a reorganizing of “In the Garden,” complete with standard quartet guitar chord intro and the bass singer intoning the familiar, “Well…”), to compositions by 1970s and 1980s stars Donnie Harper of the New Jersey Mass Choir (“These Are They”) and Harrison Johnson (his classic “I’ve Decided to Make Jesus My Choice”), to songs written by the Friersons.

Throughout Over There, the Frierson Brothers keep their sound rooted firmly in the traditional camp, receiving vocal support on the title track from the Pilgrim Jubilees’ Ben Chandler, while the Rev. Dr. Elton T. Byrd (the same person from the Holy Hour single (below)) renders spoken word wisdom during “Step By Step.”

On “He Saved Me,” Franklin and Fredrick channel the O’Neal Twins in their harmonies, offering evocative lyrical images such as tussling with the Devil and making Death behave. “I’ll Go With Jesus” and “Praise Is What I Do” are also good quartet rousers.

Two and a Half of Four Stars

The Sister Rosetta Tharpe Memorial Fund

Witness gospel music history -- correction, American music history -- being made as the Dixie Hummingbirds, Marie Knight, Odetta, the Huff Singers, and Willa Ward with the Johnny Thompson Singers perform for the Sister Rosetta Tharpe Memorial Fund. Music will be in the air and all around at this fundraiser, Friday, January 11, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA.

Proceeds will help purchase a long overdue memorial for Sister Rosetta Tharpe at Northwood Cemetery, and aid Community Music Scholarship Programs at Temple University and Settlement Music School.


Applause to Dixie Hummingbirds biographer Jerry Zolten and David April of "The Gospel Train" radio show for helping put together this historic celebration. For more information call 215/572-7650 or visit the Keswick Theatre website.

Percy Bady: It's a “Wonderful Life” in the Kingdom Biz

Gospel’s uber-producer Percy Bady is always busy Kingdom building with his songs and production. This time, however, the Kingdom he's building is here on earth. It's a brand new record company.

And while Bady spends each Sunday afternoon sending the praises up, his partner in the business spends his Sunday afternoons taking defenders down.

Kingdom Biz Records, a gospel artist development, production, and recording enterprise based in Chicago, is a joint venture between Bady and Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris.

The company was formed as the result of a chance meeting of the two entrepreneurs. As musical director of the annual Super Bowl Gospel Celebration concert, Bady was at a Super Bowl-sponsored event in Jacksonville, Florida when he met Harris. “[Tommie] and I found out we were both PKs [pastor’s kids] and we had mutual interests,” Bady recalled. “We decided that we would try to see if we could make something happen.”

The mission of Kingdom Biz is to sign and develop the careers of a new generation of gospel artists who will work together and help each other meet their professional goals. At Kingdom Biz, “there’s no I, it’s we, it’s us,” Bady explained. “It’s the principle that Berry Gordy founded Motown on. He taught that if we learned how to lean on each other and depend on each other, that we could make things happen for each other that would be incredibly hard to make happen on our own.”

Bady says he plans to spend the time it takes to shape and mold each artist, “for the long haul, not just for one record.”

The new company’s first single is “Wonderful Life,” an inspirational song Bady composed after contemplating a sermon his pastor, Reverend John Hannah of New Life Covenant-Oakwood Church in Chicago’s Bronzeville community, delivered a couple of years ago.

Bady adds that the song was also “birthed out of some pain, because although my own life was okay, there were friends and some family around me, and things just weren’t so cool, so it was a real struggle writing the song.” But all great gospel songs are borne of personal struggle, and “Wonderful Life” is starting to get national spins. “We’re getting a pretty favorable response," Bady says.

Artists currently in development at Kingdom Biz include Harris, Percy’s brother Ray Bady, Niecy Robinson, Cynthia Jernigan, Ashley Washington (formerly of the Soul Children of Chicago), and Reggie Vanderbilt. All of the artists hail from Chicago, and all contribute vocals on "Wonderful Life."

In addition to “Wonderful Life,” Kingdom Biz Records will release a compilation CD, The Kingdom Revue, which will feature songs by every artist on the “Wonderful Life” single.

Why Chicago, instead of either coast, for Kingdom Biz? Bady doesn’t miss a beat. “I’ve been invited a lot of places, but I really feel compelled to do it here in Chicago, not only because my family and I were born and raised here, but because I feel there is so much talent here.”

So far Kingdom Biz is going well for the two entrepreneurs. “This is our first venture together,” Bady said. “Prayerfully and hopefully it will not be our last.”

To learn more about Kingdom Biz Records, go to: www.myspace.com/kingdombizzrecords (note that in the link, 'bizz' has two 'z's)

Special thanks to Debra "Snoopy" Hanna of Mighty Dominion Entertainment for arranging the interview.

Memphis’ WLOK – A Legend in its Own Time

While running in the St. Jude Memphis Marathon this past weekend, I passed the offices of WLOK 1340 AM, "A Family Tradition."

Headquartered in a diminutive building on a back street near Memphis’ bustling downtown, WLOK is just as important to the music history of Memphis as Elvis, Sun, Stax, Hi, the COGIC headquarters, Beale Street, W.C. Handy’s house, WDIA, and East Trigg Baptist Church. It has enough of a history, in fact, to merit its own historical marker.

Most importantly, the gospel music emanating out of this storied institution Saturday was traditional to the core, what WLOK calls “Solid Gold.” The announcer noted that people all over the country – including Albertina Walker of the Caravans – listen to WLOK on-line at http://www.wlok.com/. I'm not surprised. When I wasn't running, I was listening to WLOK, too.



You need to know about WLOK – one of gospel’s historic landmarks and, according to its history, "the second Memphis radio station to offer programming directed entirely to black audiences." Read more about the station at http://www.wlok.com/.

More Gospel in the Chicago Tribune

Another excellent article on the thriving gospel music industry in Chicago. This Chicago Tribune article comes from the pen of Kelley L. Carter.

Click here to see the article:
Kelley L. Carter - Chicago Tribune

Photo: Chicago's own Caravans.

Gospel in the Chicago Tribune

Check out Aaron Cohen's excellent article about gospel music in the Chicago Tribune. He makes the point that Chicago is not only the birthplace of gospel music, but it has taken up permanent residence here, too.

Special thanks to Aaron for listing "Gospel Memories" and The Black Gospel Blog in the article and reference guide!

Click here for the article:
Aaron Cohen - Chicago Tribune