Theresa Pinkney - Me Against the World

Theresa Pinkney
Me Against the World
Gifts of the Spirit Music (2011)
http://www.theresapinkney.com/

When I hear "Pinkney," the first person that comes to mind is the late Bill Pinkney of the famous R&B vocal group the Drifters.

But aha, there's another musical Pinkney: Theresa Pinkney.

Although I don't know if the two are related, Theresa just released her debut solo CD last month. Its title, Me Against the World, expresses the soprano's "press on against all odds" attitude. Musically, the project showcases Pinkney’s smooth, easy and breathy soprano, which she wraps around soul-soothing selections such as “Silent Praise.”

Pinkney grew up in Northeast Washington, DC and attended the prestigious Duke Ellington School for the Arts, where she was exposed to a multiplicity of musical styles. She also took vocal lessons from gospel artist and Broadway star Yolanda Wyns, and later became a member of the contemporary gospel group Just Breathe.

The first portion of Me Against the World is a collection of pleasant, pop-infused worship songs, with crisp piano work and R&B electronica bolstering melodies and lyrics. The bright spot early on is the brisk “Promise,” which posits that promises go both ways: God’s to us and ours to God. The song has special meaning for Pinkney, as it was a favorite of her close friend and mentor who recently succumbed to breast cancer. As a result, Pinkney is donating a portion of the proceeds of the CD to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

The playful “Follow Him” marks – at least as far as I know – the first time the social networking site Twitter is the focus of a gospel song. Pinkney cops hip hop swagger as she sings, “If Jesus was on Twitter, would you follow him, man?”  Might this be a modernistic version of “Jesus on the Main Line?”

The final third of the CD is its strongest, when the bright songs become even brighter and more musically inventive. From the complex “Deep” and the fizzy “Count it All Joy” to the encouraging “Trouble Don’t Last Always” and the compellingly R&B “Pressing On,” everything comes together just right.

The bonus track “Incredible” is Christian night club-ready, as Pinkney duets with Jocelyn (aka iNDIGO), spelling out words rhythmically like Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas.

Me Against the World is a pleasant listen, anchored by Theresa Pinkney’s skillful singing and solid production by iNDIGO, Dewayne “DJ Bam the Gospel DJ” Staten and Eliot Jefferson.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “Promise,” “Trouble Don’t Last Always.”

"Trust Him" - BATAYAH

“Trust Him”
BATAYAH
From the CD Simply BATAYAH
http://www.batayah.com/

Contemporary gospel singer BATAYAH brings the laidback swagger and confidence of neo-soul to her performance of “Trust Him.”

Like a good friend offering practical advice, BATAYAH tells you to keep the faith, no matter what your trial may be, whether a death in the family, personal health issues, economic woes, or unemployment. “Don’t give up,” she sings. “It’s just a test.”

The singer, whose name means “Daughter of Yahweh,” was born in North Carolina, has earned bachelors and MBA degrees, and served in the U.S. Armed Forces. She was recently nominated in two categories by the South Florida Gospel Music Awards (SFGMA): Best Female Contemporary Artist and for Best Gospel Album (Simply BATAYAH).

Sunday Best's Le’Andria Johnson has a Testimony

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Whenever you think you can’t do something, read Le’Andria Johnson’s story and reconsider.

The season three winner of BET’s Sunday Best has weathered enough of life's challenges to give Job a run for his money. And like Job, she is now reaping her reward.  Her CD, The Awakening of Le'Andria Johnson, is due September 6 on Music World Gospel.

Johnson was born in Orlando, Florida.  One could say she was born to sing, because she began her career (unofficially) at age two by delivering a public performance of the Williams Brothers’ “I’m Just a Nobody.”

As she got older, her musical influences included the late Rev. James Moore, Dorinda Clark Cole, Fred Hammond, John P. Kee, the Winans, and Commissioned. Still, it wasn’t until she was a teenager that she realized that she might be able to sing for a living.

While she served as praise and worship leader for her father's church, her big break came at age seventeen, when she sang in front of an audience of 8,000 at Pastor Shirley Caesar’s annual conference. “That was my first big platform, and I was shocked at the positive response by the people,” Johnson recalled.

But the road ahead wasn’t easy. Twice divorced with three children (two boys and a girl), and a succession of family tragedies and setbacks, Johnson found it difficult to ignite her dream.  For example, she saved money to enter the studio and record, but in the end had little show for it but more frustration.

She had been a fan of BET’s American Idol-style Sunday Best competition since its inception, but it never entered her mind to audition. It was her best friend, Barbara Fields, who ultimately persuaded her to participate.

“Barbara was with me when I lost my house to foreclosure,” Johnson reflected, “and she encouraged me to try out. She was persistent, like a gnat around food! She kept saying, ‘You gotta go, you gotta try out!’ I finally got up the nerve, but it wasn’t easy preparing for it. I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have a car, I didn’t have any way to get to [New Orleans], but by God’s grace I got there. It was wonderful and it turned out to be something great.”

As Johnson got closer to the finals, she thought it would end up a tie between Elder Goldwire [McClendon of the Savettes] and her. “He is such a phenomenal singer, and he was pressing really hard. He memorized songs and he kept up with us young folk. Here I am, in my twenties, and he’s like 80! I have so much respect for him. So in the end, I was very shocked and surprised when I won, but I am very grateful at the same time.”

A special treat for Johnson was when her children saw her on television and got to be part of the live audience. “I didn’t think that they would remember it, or be into it as much, but when we finally got some alone time together, my daughter started singing one of the songs I did on the show. They were calling me the ‘Sunday Best Queen!’ Now I can start a song and my three-year-old son can finish it. I thought, ‘They’re listening, they’re paying attention. That’s good!’”

Today, life is different. She picked up 15,000 followers on Twitter in three weeks' time.  She is recognized in public and receives encouragement and suggestions from her musical inspirations, such as Dorinda Clark Cole and John P. Kee. She said that Mary Mary, Kirk Franklin, Kim Burrell and Fred Hammond have given her “pep talks: they tell me to keep my head up.”

The singer explained that the theme behind The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson is simple. “Live and not die. I tell myself that: you shall live and not die. Always remember that the ‘yes’ inside of you is the ‘yes’ for somebody else.”

The response to the album's first single, “Jesus,” has been positive. “Team Le’Andria has been going crazy, helping to promote the single,” she said.

Johnson also singled out the opening song, “Cast the First Stone,” as carrying an important message.  “It is about not judging others. We need to keep our brothers and sisters lifted up.  Work on yourself and keep your mind focused on what you need to do, not what others think you need to do."

The Sunday Best champ and her children are now in an apartment but her desire is to eventually get back into a house. “I don’t know when, but I know it will work out in its own time. God has a very unusual way of blessing you when the time is right. I’m grateful that I’m even in an apartment.”

What advice can she give aspiring gospel artists?  “Believe in yourself, no matter what,” she said. “Go humble before the people. Always remain humble. Give glory to God and He will bring you up. Allow God to use you."

She added: “If you know that you can do something, or if you have a dream, know that you can. But also know that there will trials and tribulations, and they will make you strong. You are going to have to go through to get to. I’m a witness.”

For more information, visit http://musicworldent.com/artists/leandriajohnson.

TBGB Pick of the Week: August 29, 2011

“Fly Again”

The Sounds of Blackness, feat. Jamecia Bennett

Malaco Records (2011)

http://www.malaco.com/

On its new single, “Fly Again,” the musically eclectic and lyrically poetic ensemble The Sounds of Blackness assures us that yes, things are going to get better.

Whether you are frustrated or confused, whether you have lost friends, family or money, just shake off your heavy burdens, Jamecia Bennett declares breathlessly like a singing evangelist. “Spread your wings and fly…you will rise again.”  The choir assents with alternately soaring, pizzicato and cascading harmonies.

The new single is as expansive, inspirational and uplifting as its title suggests.

Marvalinn - Thunder of Praise

Marvalinn
Thunder of Praise
Marvalous Music (2011)
http://www.marvalinn.com/

Marvalinn is marvelous.

For her sophomore project, Thunder of Praise, the native Detroiter draws on CCM, gospel, and pop to express her religious emotions.

Marvalinn's songs are uniformly friendly, simple and melodic. She is a superb songwriter and singer whose voice is pleasant and pop-influenced, a sound one can easily fall in love with.

“Press On,” with its appropriate marching tempo, finds Marvalinn battling evil, dodging flaming arrows with Jesus’ blood as her shield. This song garnered for its singer the number one spot on the American Idol Underground Big Push 2 Faith online competition.

Though its prelude, “By Your Great Mercy,” is balladic and orchestral, the title track is another spirited selection. At the other end of the musical spectrum, “Great I Am” (as in “Yahweh”) is a hypnotic P&W piece in the style of William McDowell’s smash “I Give Myself Away.”

“Completely Amazed” is the album’s finest selection and one of the loveliest songs I’ve heard this year in any category. Its melody and Marvalinn’s singing of it are jaw-droppingly beautiful, an expansive expression of worship rooted in CCM but with gospel techniques tossed in here and there. Also, one cannot listen to this song without thinking that Marvalinn finds some inspiration in the arias of modern Broadway musicals, which this song clearly resembles.

Ah, but it doesn’t stop there. Marvalinn is also a gifted flautist and performs on the album's three sacred-themed new age instrumentals, including the relaxing “God’s Glorious Light.”

In May of 2008, Marvalinn won fellow Detroiters LaShell and Lee Griffin’s “Dreams Are Possible” competition, and came in second place last year in the Pop/AC division of the “Write About Jesus” songwriting conference. Her Thunder of Praise is a treasure that needs to receive a greater hearing. It is a glimpse into a career that, if continued on its current trajectory, could be something truly wondrous.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “Completely Amazed,” “Press On.”

Judith Christie McAllister - Sound the Trumpet

Judith Christie McAllister
Sound the Trumpet
Shanachie Entertainment (2011)
http://www.shanachie.com/

by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Judith Christie McAllister’s Sound the Trumpet is her fourth CD but first in five years.

In the years since the release of In His Presence, the President of the Church of God in Christ International Music Department has undergone some very public and private travails. The new album was recorded in August 2008 at the Allen AME Church in New York, just before, as she commented, "all hell broke loose."

The meaty, high-energy title track is the album’s first single, with McAllister the confident professional P&W leader commanding a troop of worship warriors into holy war against society’s moral erosion. She follows this selection with an equally energetic reading of Chris Tomlin’s quintessential praise and worship anthem, “How Great is Our God.” The album’s first twenty minutes is akin to a praise rally.

But the finest moments are when the songstress turns down the temperature for a handful of worship ballads such as on “Just for Who You Are,” led by Markita Knight. McAllister's composition “Just for Who You Are,” a simple, hymn-like inspirational ballad sung with the mighty Nancey Jackson Johnson, is the one song on the album with the most potential for longevity.

A particularly interesting selection is “Fire,” featuring T.C. Bereal, Jr. Here, McAllister reconnects with her Jamaican-Barbados and COGIC roots to produce a fun, island-flavored song about the Pentecost that the singer wrote but sounds for all the world like an old folk song.

The background vocalists support McAllister with strength, and the brassy musicianship is apropos for an album with the word “trumpet” in the title. Talented producer Michael Bereal makes certain the details shine through the wall of sound.

On Sound the Trumpet, Judith Christie McAllister reconfirms why they call her the First Lady of Praise and Worship.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “Sound the Trumpet,” “Just for Who You Are,” “Fire.”

Kevin Terry and Predestined Live

Kevin Terry and Predestined

Kevin Terry and Predestined Live

Kingdom Music Group (2011)

http://www.kevinterryandpredestined.com/

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

In May, TBGB reviewed “Hold On,” the single by Kevin Terry and Predestined. The group’s full project, released by Kingdom Music Group, is now available.

On Kevin Terry and Predestined Live, Kevin “Music Pastor” Terry leads an emotionally-charged praise and worship team from Washington, DC that mixes complex musical backdrops popular with young P&W ensembles with traditional workouts.

Terry is the leader but allows group members to lead the selections. Predestined has a coterie of spirited singers, too, such as Katondra “Muff” Cherry, who shouts her praise on “Song Offering,” and Tia Pittman-Mintze on “Revealed,” though the latter fades out just as she is at an emotional apex. Listeners can hear Terry on the single, “Hold On,” where he assumes the James Fortune half-preaching/half-singing role.

The project moves from musically complex P&W selections to more peaceful worship ballads, such as “Believe,” on which soloist Marsha Jackson interpolates “All Things Are Possible” before she waxes bluesy over the song’s rocking chair rhythm. Later, James Lanier interpolates “Holy, Holy, Holy” in “Revealed” while he hits some impossibly high notes.

Despite Predestined’s youthfulness, its best work can be heard on the several traditional pieces included on the album. Apostle Ivory Jenkins, Jr. leads a satisfyingly bouncy “Glory to His Name” as Predestined vamps like an old-school quartet. Juanita Contee-Johnson of Jonathan Nelson & Purpose shouts and squalls like a Caravan on fire during the aisle-running hand-clapper “Didn’t I Tell You.” Emerging soloist Brittney Wright handles “So Much,” a song of gratitude that endows a James Cleveland-style gospel blues with complex choral and musical arrangements.

The bonus track “Breakthrough” captures the group in frenetic holy dance as Terry, in a preacher’s rasp, interjects comments such as “He’s put clapping in my hands/He’s put running in my feet.” Usually producers fade these praise breaks out way too soon, but album producers Ryland “RC” Anderson and Geremy Wimbush keep it going for nearly nine minutes.

Seamless transitions between many of the tracks keep the program moving, and although the project was recorded live at the Freedom Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the audience cannot be heard except briefly and distantly during some of the quieter moments. Regardless, Kevin Terry and Predestined Live has a lot in its favor, most notably the quality of its soloists.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “Didn’t I Tell You,” “Glory to His Name,” “Hold On.”

Chuck and the Guiding Clouds - Change

Chuck and the Guiding Clouds
Change
J Fam Music, Inc.
http://www.chuckandtheguidingclouds.com/

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

During “God’s Love,” the final selection on their new album Change, Chuck and the Guiding Clouds offer a dose of reality about the gospel highway, and in the process deliver a mini-workshop for aspiring gospel artists.

The Texas quartet sings about performing on programs and not getting paid, but through all the “heartaches and pain…struggles and strife,” they “look to the hills from whence cometh our help.” They trust in God and remember that He is the reason why they sing.  Good counsel.

The Guiding Clouds quartet was organized in 1974 at the Little Bethel Baptist Church and today consists of leader Floyd “Chuck” Bryant, Kenneth Turner, Joe Bailey, Timothy McGee and R.C. Maxey. In 2005, after years of working with a number of other quartets, Bryant reorganized the group. Released last month, Change demonstrates that despite the title and the intervening years, the group remains faithful and true to the hard-singing lead vocals and bass and guitar-driven southern soul arrangement that has defined gospel quartet since the 1970s.

The group showcases its smooth, breezy harmonies on tracks such as “Higher,” “Wait on the Lord” and “Live So God Can Use You,” the latter a song from early in their performance history. “Running for Jesus” is set at an appropriately fast-paced tempo, while “He’ll Set You Free” features impressive falsetto work by Joe Bailey. “We Shall Be Free” is a fiery track with shouting, passionate vocals.

Lyrically, the songs tread common quartet themes of hope, encouragement and faith. 

Change is the musical equivalent of comfort food: conventional and familiar but nevertheless satisfying.

Three of Five Stars

Picks: “Live So God Can Use You,” “Running for Jesus.”

TBGB Pick of the Week: August 23, 2011

“I’ll Go”
Eddie Ruth Bradford
From the album Jesus is Coming Back
www.eddieruthbradfordmusic.com

Eddie Ruth Bradford moans a simple, old-fashioned gospel as piano, organ and female vocal group accompany in wordless, antiphonal assent.

When she sings, “I may be weary/I’ll go…send me,” you feel every ounce of exhaustion, every body-ache, in her tone. You also hear the evangelical conviction that regardless of how she feels, she must do what the Lord says do.

Another “straight outta church” track by the traditional singer from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Sing this song at a funeral, and there won’t be a dry eye in the building.

Rev. Dr. Charles Walker Dies in Philadelphia (HOMEGOING UPDATE)

Rev. Joe Williams informed TBGB that pastor, musician, composer, professor and author Rev. Dr. Charles Walker passed away Sunday, August 21 in Philadelphia.

A relative of Mahalia Jackson, Dr. Walker was among the early musician leaders of Rev. Dr. Clay Evans' Fellowship M.B. Church in Chicago.  He was a professor at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and served as pastor of Philadelphia's Nineteenth Street Baptist Church.  He wrote Miss Lucie, a biography of gospel songwriter Lucie Campbell.  

Among Dr. Walker's musical compositions is Requiem for Brother Martin, a work for chorus and orchestra written in memory of Rev. Dr. Luther King, Jr.  His knowledge of music history was boundless.

His sons Pierre and Jason are also noted musicians.

TBGB expresses its deepest sympathies to the Walker family on their dear loss. 

Homegoing services are below.  The repast will be at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church (Rev. Allyn Waller, Pastor). 



Services Location:
Triumph Baptist Church - Rev. James S. Hall, Jr., Pastor
1648 W. Hunting Park Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19140
215-228-8000-Church Telephone
215-228-8880-Church Fax

Sunday, August 28, 2011
Lie In State: 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Musical: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Monday, August 29, 2011
Viewing: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Funeral: 11:00 a.m. - Dr. Clay Evans, Officiating

Condolences:
The Walker Family
631 Lindley Avenue
Glenside, PA 19038
215-887-9277

Funeral Services:
Emmanuel Johnson Funeral Home
6653 Chew Ave.
Philadelphia, PA. 19119

Kim Burrell Wants to Share her "Love" with You! = WE HAVE OUR WINNERS!

The first three persons to email TBGB at bob@gospelmemories.com with the correct answer to the following question will win superstar Kim Burrell's The Love Album, courtesy of Shanachie Entertainment.

Q: What’s the name of the fellowship in Houston, Texas where Mrs. Burrell is pastor?

THE CONTEST IS OVER! CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR THREE WINNERS:
- Tammy Carpenter
- Keith W. Smith
- Katrina Samuels

Each had the correct answer to the question above: Love and Liberty Fellowship Church.

Thank you for participating and watch for your copy of the CD in the mail!

Eddie Robinson - This is My Story, This is My Song

Eddie Robinson

This is My Story, This is My Song

The Sirens Records (2011)

www.thesirensrecords.com

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Eddie Robinson isn’t a household name in gospel music, but he should be.

For decades, his keyboard work has supported a chapel full of Chicago gospel singers, most notably the first Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson.  He traveled the world with Jackson as her accompanist and member of the singer's trusted inner circle.

But Robinson never commandeered his own project until now.  Thanks to Steven Dolins and The Sirens Records, This is My Story, This is My Song gives Eddie Robinson his propers and a chance for him to demonstrate to fans old and new that after all these years, he still has the touch.

That touch is the finesse an accompanist must have to support a gospel singer, whose timing and tempo are more often governed by the spirit than the metronome.  But that's the way it is: gospel, after all, is an improvisational style.  Since rarely are two performances alike, an unwitting accompanist can end up with fits of musical clumsiness trying to follow the chart.  To support a gospel singer with effortless grace and musicality is both gift and craft.  Eddie Robinson has a lifetime’s worth of both.

Robinson chose his own group of singers and musicians to assist him on his album.  Like a sacred Count Basie, he is content to play piano with verve while others sing.  One of his vocalists, Ms. Uletta Jackson, has old-school provenance, having worked with Isabel Joseph Johnson during the days of her television program, Rock of Ages.  Especially impressive are the vocal talents of Milas Armour III and Phinus Alexander, Jr.  Both men possess expressive and robust voices, giving forth the kind of power that Jimmy Rushing brought to jazz.  Alexander takes the simple hymn, “Jesus Loves Me,” and rounds it out with a Pentecostal “Yes Lord” chant.  Armour renders “His Eye is on the Sparrow” with a voice that reaches the back row.  Robinson is the constant, the musical resin that blends the pieces into a song performance.

This is My Story, This is My Song is also billed as a tribute to Mahalia Jackson on her forthcoming Centennial and to the Gay Family, for whom both Robinson and Dolins have special affection.  Songs such as “Elijah Rock” and “When the Saints Go Marching In” pay tribute, respectively.  The production quality of The Sirens releases is always top-notch and this release is no different: the players sound like they are in your living room.

Eddie Robinson and his combo on This is My Story, This is My Song take us back to church for real, with toe-tapping Zion songs that evoke church mothers in their finery, hats perched high on their ‘dos, fans waving in time to the music, shouting their troubles over on a Sunday morning.

Four of Five Stars

Picks:  “Down by the Riverside,” “Jesus Loves Me,” “I Won’t Complain.”

NOTE:  Eddie Robinson’s CD Release Party and tribute to Mahalia Jackson will take place at the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 North Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, on Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.  Robinson will perform and participate in a Q&A session with Pastor Donald Gay.

"The Storyteller is in the House!"

And she was: Dorothy Norwood appeared as part of the Malaco Records showcase during the 2011 GMWA Quartet Division celebration last night at the Tampa Convention Center.

Monica Lisa Stevenson and Gloretta McNeil prepare to join in as Dorothy Norwood sings a tribute to Albertina Walker.

Norwood sang a tribute to the late Albertina Walker as Monica Lisa ("the fifth Caravan") Stevenson and Gloretta McNeil took turns soloing.  Together the three brought attendees to their feet.

Other legends who took the stage during the quartet program included the Fantastic Violinaires, Thomas Spann and the Brooklyn All Stars, Luther Barnes and the Sunset Jubilaires, the McDonald Sisters, Victory Travelers, and Evelyn Turrentine-Agee.  The 86 year-old Spann duetted with his daughter Barbara on a sweat-drenched version of "Too Close to Heaven."

Quartets Honored at 2011 GMWA Banquet

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Quartets were there before gospel, they're here today, and will still be around tomorrow!

That was the sentiment Wednesday evening, August 17, as the Brooklyn All Stars, Five Singing Stars, Spencer Taylor & the Highway QCs, Sensational Nightingales, and Violinaires were honored at the Gospel Music Workshop of America Quartet Division Banquet.  The dinner was held at the Westin Hotel in Tampa, Florida.

The Violinaires sing for the banquet.

Thomas Spann of the Brooklyn All Stars

Quartet Division leader Tyrone Porter and Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson shared hosting duties that brought together a room full of quartets and their fans.  Luther Barnes of the Sunset Jubilaires and Kerry Douglas of Black Smoke Music World Wide were among the guests.  Brooklyn All Stars Founder Thomas Spann, 86, was in fine form as he received the award on behalf of his group, and the Violinaires hit the stage to lend their trademark high notes to a performance of their classic "Three Pictures of the Lord."

In addition, The Victory Travelers of Chicago and Zacardi Cortez sang tributes to the honorees, and a special historical video compiled by Rapture Records owner Gene Strawhun, Bob Sickles and TBGB's
Bob Marovich paid homage to the quartet honorees.

The group Provision won the 2011 Quartet Quest, a competition/workshop held annually by the GMWA Quartet Division to find and encourage emerging quartet talent.

In addition to the legends, Gospel Announcers Guild Second Vice President Lady Donna Creer and Tyrone Porter presented special honors to Dr. Andrew Cheairs and Bob Marovich for their service to the quartet community.  An "In Memoriam" program concluded the event, during which attendees held candles as the names of departed quartetters and gospel singers were displayed on screen.

Bob says: "Thank you and much love to Donna, Tyrone, Gene, Mama Curtis, and everyone who had a part in the surprise award presentation last night.  It truly was a pleasant surprise, and also an honor that I am humbled and privileged to receive, and shall remember for the rest of my life!  God is good!"

GI - The Next Dimension

GI
The Next Dimension
BGA Records (2011)
http://www.giforever.com/

The youthful harmonies of GI (God’s Image) call to mind the early work of Boyz II Men and a techno-fueled version of New Edition.

This Virginia-based group has been singing together for more than a decade, and although it was once a quartet (in number, not in style), it is now a trio, comprised of Branden Anderson, Lamonte Harris and Curtis Langley.

GI’s new CD, The Next Dimension, contains a baker’s dozen of songs with spit-polished harmonies and passionate vocals atop friendly pop melodies and hard-hitting electronic arrangements. The music and lyrics are aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at a young church-going demographic. For example, “He Go So Hard,” featuring The Official Artist, declares God to be harder (e.g, more powerful) than any street tough. Later, on "Lead Us to Truth," the group shouts "Jesus is a keeper!"

The selections on The Next Dimension are predominantly praise and worship-oriented, though “Come Back to Me” and “Only You” focus on the importance of discipleship. “I Choose You” is a squeeky-clean love song, the latest in a line of love songs showing up on gospel and inspirational projects these days.

The two standout tracks are “All I Need,” with its litany of similes for how badly one needs the Lord; and “Forever we will Worship,” the current single that gives a conventional praise and worship melody a dose of the group’s signature electronic treatment. “For Tha’ King,” "You Should Already Know" and “Daydreamin’” are excellent examples of the group’s radio-friendly pop sensibility.

GI fans will appreciate this new project and those unfamiliar with the group will enjoy the easily accessible melodies and lyrics.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “All I Need,” “Forever We Will Worship.”

TBGB Pick of the Week: August 15, 2011

“If God Has a Face”

Zacardi Cortez feat. John Legend and Scarface

From the forthcoming Black Smoke Media CD

CoCo Brother Presents Gospel Mix Vol. V

(street date: September 27, 2011)

Zacardi Cortez, who sang the lid off of Andrae Crouch’s “The Blood” on James Fortune and FIYA's The Transformation, teams with pop star John Legend and rapper Scarface to articulate what a lot of people may not say but sometimes think: we have faith in God, sure, but we “don’t want to wait for my eyes to close” for Him to show His face. We want to see it today because “times get hard.”  Miracle, wherefore art thou?

Scarface raps assent, positing that if “he could play God for a day,” he would not only turn the hearts of the hard-hearted, but he would also make the world a safer and healthier place to live.  Excellent idea.

"If God Has a Face" is an in-your-face honest selection with a musical backbone that sounds like a blend of OutKast and Sting.

Syreeta: Gospel’s Gabriel(le)

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Syreeta Thompson is in a class by herself.

Literally.

The Chicago-born artist is the only female gospel singer who plays trumpet.

Even the trumpets she carries are distinctive: one is white, the other red.

Syreeta picked up the trumpet at age twelve, she told TBGB during a visit to Chicago last weekend. There was one caveat. “In order for me to play trumpet, my mother said I had to play it in church. So I sat in the corner with the other musicians at the True Church House of Prayer of All Nations. Organ, drums…and trumpet!”

When Syreeta’s mother, an auditor for the IRS, saw her daughter’s growing passion for the instrument, she enrolled her in classes at Chicago’s Sherwood Conservatory of Music. From there, it was a dizzying schedule of classes and performances: from school band to the Merit Music program, all-city band and Roosevelt University’s storied Chicago Musical College.

Over the years, Syreeta honed her skills at the feet of jazz greats such as Von Freeman, Orbert Davis and New Orleans’ legendary Alvin Battiste. She earned a masters degree in jazz composition and performance at New York University and also attended Rutgers University. At Rutgers, she studied with Bill Fields whose roster of pupils included trumpet superstars Wynton Marsalis and Terence Blanchard.

Although skilled in jazz, Syreeta was also church-bred. Thus, in the same breath with which she mentions jazz giants Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan, she also counts Bishop Hezekiah Walker, Dorinda Clark Cole and the Clark Sisters as influences. Syreeta’s first project, Gabriel’s Praise, was funded by a $7,000 gift from a family friend and introduced her distinctive jazz interpretation of gospel music to the industry. In 2007, the album received a Stellar Award nomination for Instrumental CD of the Year.

Being in a class by herself has its plusses and minuses. “My music is well received in churches,” Syreeta said, “but it has been difficult breaking into the mainstream of the gospel industry. The harsh reality is there is not a huge market for gospel jazz. Radio won’t embrace it because there’s not a big demand, and some churches are not used to hearing this type of gospel style.”

Another aspect of the problem, Syreeta added, is that the large supply of gospel artists outweighs the limited number of media opportunities to get heard. “Everybody is scrambling to get on the same radio stations and secure the same show dates.”

But at the same time, she said, “I’ve been very successful given where I’m at in my career because I put a different spin on things: I play trumpet and sing.”

Earlier this year, Syreeta released her sophomore CD, In His Presence. She noted that the project “has more momentum industry-wise” than its predecessor. The album’s first single, “Victory,” is garnering radio spins in West Palm Beach, Birmingham, Baton Rouge, Jacksonville (FL), Philadelphia, Louisville, Nashville, San Antonio, Baltimore and the Carolinas.

Asked to explain gospel jazz, Syreeta laughed. “I could talk for hours on this subject! From a musical perspective, one of the only differences between gospel and jazz is the lyrical content. After all, Middle C is middle C, no matter what kind of music you are playing. But,” she adds, “jazz uses swinging eighth notes, and major sevenths in a major seventh chord. You don’t hear that often in gospel. If you play these notes in a gospel context, people call it jazzy.”

The bottom line, Syreeta said, is that gospel jazz is not just instrumental music but incorporates the finer points of jazz as a rich and nuanced art form. She recommends that gospel artists who want to incorporate jazz into their style take the time to study jazz. “I love studying music, rhythms, and genres of rhythms,” she said. “I love what a human voice, with all its different textures, can do for a hymn.”

Syreeta has a common sense to-do list for the emerging gospel artist, jazz or otherwise. “Get a regular job. Don’t quit that job. Do a good job at your job, too, cultivate a solid work ethic. Learn the mechanics of music, including the business part of it. Know the role of the artist in the business. Understand where you are in your music and don’t let anyone take you farther than where you are at. Stay in your lane!”

These principles have worked for her. In addition to performing, recording and touring, Syreeta serves as department chair of instrumental music for the Cicely Tyson School of Fine and Performing Arts in East Orange, New Jersey. “No one becomes an overnight success,” she concluded. “It amounts to being successful where you are comfortable in your craft right now and, once successful, maintaining it. Above all, stay rooted and grounded in who you are and what you do.”

For more information on Syreeta Thompson, visit http://www.trumpetlady.com/.

Deitrick Haddon - Anthology: The Writer and His Music

Deitrick Haddon
Anthology: The Writer and His Music
Tyscot Records (street date: August 23, 2011)
http://www.tyscot.com/

Deitrick Haddon is among a legion of fellow Detroit artists – starting with the Rance Allen Group in 1970 and including the Winans and Moss-Clark Families and wife Damita Haddon – who have ensured that gospel music remains in synch with the popular sounds of the day.

Showcasing his envelope-pushing sound, Anthology: The Writer and His Music is a hand-picked collection of Haddon's work for the Indianapolis-based Tyscot Records, a partnership that began in the mid-90s. It’s a two-disc deluxe edition (CD and DVD) that includes the stadium-sized antiphonal praise anthem, “I Gotta Praise (Holy One)” and the southern soul-tinged “Chain Breaker (Jiffy Cornbread Mix).” The latter includes cameos by Haddon’s parents, Prophetess Joyce and Bishop Clarence Haddon.  "The Potter" is a duet with Damita.

Deitrick Haddon’s urgent rhythms and R&B fusion produce praise and worship with attitude. For example, on “Anybody Here (Remix),” Haddon calls for the saints to get on the floor and dance – meaning a Holy Ghost party, not a club rave. “I Can’t Praise You Enough” is just as explicit in demonstrating the importance and perhaps the imperative of praising with dance.

The artist’s playful infusion of pop music can be heard on “The Walking Dead,” which in its use of a ghoulish narrator, rapid-fire lyrics and a dance beat bears close kinship with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” “I Gotta Praise (Holy One)” features music from the singalong “na na na na na” hook from “Land of 1,000 Dances.” “One Nation” pines for the old days, when the US was “one nation under God,” but uses a modern beat to express its message.

To further accentuate "the writer" component of the CD, it would have been interesting had the CD or DVD included a handful of songs written by Haddon but interpreted by other artists.

Nevertheless, for a concentrated package of Haddon classics, Anthology: The Artist and His Music satiates. The DVD features music videos from the Blessed & Cursed film soundtrack.

Speaking of films, word has it that Haddon and Tyscot are at work on a new picture, A Beautiful Soul, scheduled for theatrical release next year.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “I Gotta Praise (Holy One),” “Chain Breaker (Jiffy Cornbread Mix).”

"Jesus Said" - LaShell Griffin

“Jesus Said”

LaShell Griffin

Detroiter LaShell Griffin’s newest single, “Jesus Said,” is a catchy, shoulder-moving inspirational lesson sung from Jesus’s perspective. Regardless of one’s problems, the song says, He’ll be right there. As LaShell shouts in her open-throated gospel voice, “Bring it on to me and you’ll never have to worry…you’ll never find a friend like me.”

Lee Griffin writes that we may see as well as hear the songstress in the near future. She is currently in discussions over a possible commercial with General Mills and a role in the upcoming remake of the film Sparkle. Meanwhile, LaShell is visiting cities such as Atlanta, Indianapolis and Chicago in support of “Jesus Said.”

"Keep it 100" - F1 Diamond

“Keep it 100”

F1 Diamond

From the forthcoming CD LIFEMUSIC (2011)

gospelhousebooking@gmail.com

Employing his talent of rhyme and beat, the Pastor of the Traphouse encourages everyone to keep it real with God, because 99 ½ won’t do.

“Keep it 100,” produced by the Beat Brokers Network, is part autobiographical, part warning, and a natural follow-up to F1 Diamond's poignant “Mama Cry.” There, he was deep in the dark hole of a troubled life; here, he is fully engaged in the light, with a new walk and a new mission. Says he: “At eleven, I was trying to learn my gang lit/That’s why I’m trying to change the ones I feel the same with.”

Norman Thomas - Overture

Norman Thomas
Overture (EP)

From Hamden, Connecticut, Norman Thomas is in the category of earnest young male gospel singers (Jack Yates and Todd Dulaney also come to mind) whose genuine feelings for God are audible in the authenticity of their crystal-clear voices and lyric delivery.

On his EP Overture, released mid-June, Thomas teamed with co-producers Tye Brown and Cameron Fletcher to combine jazzy instrumentals with electronically-fueled jams.

For example, “I Surrender” is a hypnotic praise and worship selection with numbing supporting beats. “Blow Through Me“ riffs on the same theme – surrendering one’s spirit – and “My Heart“ benefits from old-school fusion work by the musicians. "My Heart" is the most musically interesting project on the EP.

Thomas is a six-time recipient of the Connecticut Gospel Music Award for Best Male Vocalist and has served as a featured soloist for the First Church of God National Convention. He is also a radio announcer, hosting Platinum Praise Radio Show every Sunday on RadioSeen.com.

Three of Five Stars

Picks: “I Surrender,” “My Heart.”

"God Be With You Until We Meet Again"



By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

So sang the three remaining Barrett Sisters -- Rhodessa Porter, Billie Greenbey and Tina Brown -- to their sister, friend and singing partner DeLois Barrett Campbell at her funeral yesterday evening.  

DeLois Barrett Campbell, a member of the Roberta Martin Singers and Barrett Sisters, died August 2 at the age of 85.

It was one of many poignant moments during DeLois Barrett Campbell's nearly four-hour service, held at the Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's south side.  Dozens of the city's most influential pastors, as well as a score of friends, gospel singers and family members delivered words or sang their tributes to the world-famous vocalist. 

Anthony Heilbut (The Gospel Sound) played DeLois' first and last solo recording.  George T. Nierenberg, director of the acclaimed 1982 film Say Amen, Somebody, which featured the Barrett Sisters and brought them international exposure, offered his personal recollections of working with DeLois and her sisters. 

A musical highlight was 80 year-old Roberta Martin Singer Romance Watson igniting the church with "He Looked Beyond My Faults," his voice as powerful as ever. 

The family received a special letter of condolence from President Barack Obama and played a recorded message from Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin.  DeLois's interment is today, where she will be carried to her resting place in a horse-drawn carriage.  An apt farewell to one of gospel's royal family.

Photo Credit: Bob Marovich

J. Fraze - Brighter Days

J. Fraze

Brighter Days

Beech Street Records (2010)

beechstrecords@yahoo.com

On his CD Brighter Days, Johnathan Frazier (aka J. Fraze – the Minister of Praise) provides the first gospel house version of “Amazing Grace” that TBGB has ever heard. But it's an appropriate selection, since the grace of God turning bad days into brighter days is a running theme on the album.

Born in West Virginia, J. Fraze brings a crisp urban R&B sound to his music. His lyrics are a combination of publicly-uttered prayers and effusive worship. And testimony.  But before we get to the testimony, the Minister of Praise primes the listener with “Dance in the Spirit.” It channels an old-fashioned Holy Ghost praise party through what J. Fraze calls “church crunk.” Lifting praises to a steady humming beat is J. Fraze’s sweet spot.

J. Fraze turns to autobiography as a warning and teaching moment. On “I Will Serve the Lord,” he relates how he was once an R&B singer, living the R&B lifestyle – drugs, sex – but God’s grace changed the “B” to a “P” and now he sings “rhythm and praise.” Phill Good Thoughts assents with a rap testimony. “If He Left It Up to Me” is a litany of circumstances J. Fraze would have found himself in had it not been for the Lord. Where he might be, he sings, is “on the block, not in school or in the penitentiary,” with no wife, no job, no song, no church home, “wasting my anointing.”

Other highlights of Brighter Days include the poppish “I Am Not Ashamed” and “Jehovah Jireh,” the latter backed by the Generation Yes Choir. A nice production quality throughout the album, courtesy of a roster of producers, including DJ Marley Marl on “Amazin’ Grace,” gives the album added heft.

Three of Five Stars

Picks: “Dance in the Spirit,” “I Am Not Ashamed.”

TBGB Pick of the Week: August 8, 2011

“He Didn’t Have to Do It”
Carla Tolbert Taylor
From the EP He Didn’t Have to Do It
Available at http://www.cduniverse.com/

Memphian Carla Tolbert Taylor and her background vocalists put on their shouting shoes and offer up some good old-fashioned church on “Didn’t Have to Do It.” It is, for all intents and purposes, an old-school medley anchored by “When I Think of the Goodness of Jesus” (aka “Thank God for Saving Me.”). Taylor sings, shouts and ends with a gospel-bluesy run evocative of Dottie Peoples and Evelyn Turrentine-Agee.

There’s so much Pentecost in Taylor’s delivery, it’s no surprise she was once a soloist for the late Presiding Bishop G.E. Patterson of the Church of God in Christ…and that she was the National Winner of the 2008 Allstate Gospel Superfest Opening Act Contest.

Gospel Explosion in Gary

You know a program is going to be anointed when even the opening performers are slain in the spirit.

That’s what happened Saturday, August 6, at “Gospel Explosion ’11” at New Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Gary, Indiana.  TBGB’s Bob Marovich had the honor of being a host presenter alongside Gary’s masterful and beloved M.C. Marvin Lyles of WGVE 88.7.

New Friendship's Anointed Voices Choir

The kick-off for the church’s 53^rd Anniversary, Gospel Explosion featured outstanding singing, starting with New Friendship’s passionate young “ATM” Mime Praise Dancers, who moved to the music and were in turn moved to tears by the Spirit.  Similarly, the church’s own Anointed Voices choir had choristers and attendees both shouting.

It didn’t stop there.

Special guests included the always-amazing Victory Travelers, Minister Tim White (a force of nature!), and the relatively new but nevertheless powerful music ministry of Johnell Nicholas & InSpirit Ministries.

The Victory Travelers' Harry Bullock (l) sings to
Min. Tim White (r) as Deacon Reuben Burton looks on.

Closing the program was the Greater First Church Chorale.  The gospel chorus from East Chicago, Indiana recently took first place in the Verizon How Sweet the Sound competition for the best church choir in Chicago.  Their performance of “Holy, Holy, Holy” demonstrated the vocal and performance prowess that earned them the accolade.

Congratulations to Pastor Royce F. Thompson, Sr., First Lady (Emeritus) Leatra Holmes, Music Minister Antoinette Gaines and choir President Gwendolyn Royster for a kick-off that truly was an explosion of gospel music!

"Still I Will Trust You" - Susan Quintyne

“Still I Will Trust You”
Susan Quintyne
From the Prazsung Records CD Worthy of Worship (2011)
http://www.prazsung.com/

One of the lead singers for the multi award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Susan Quintyne has a voice that contains notes of gospel, pop and Broadway that together produce a crystal-clear sound that could melt the polar ice cap.

Songs such as “Still I Will Trust You” and the first single from Quintyne's solo CD, Worthy of Worship, capture that same warm majesty that put Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir on the map. The mixed choir that backs her on the CD, though not BTC, possesses its enormous richness.

Like Heather Headley, Susan Quintyne could sing just about any style of music and captivate an audience.

J. Spence Ascends Higher with Ascension

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Ascension, J. Spence's third CD and first for the Arizona-based Diversity Music Group, is garnering attention, but he's not an overnight success.

Spence told TBGB last week that while his evolution as a Christian hip hop artist began casually, it has required years of preparation and study to get where he is today.

J. Spence grew up in the church in Buffalo, New York. As a preteen, he rapped “just for fun, at school, with friends.” His first taste of music as a career came when opening for Deitrick Haddon at a church musical program. “I was a kid, about ten or eleven,” he said, “and when I saw the response I received, I realized that this could be something I could do.”

Fortunately for Spence, his parents were astutely supportive. They recommended he do research to figure out what it takes to be great in Christian hip hop and apply those techniques to his own craft. “My parents encouraged me to do good music instead of sounding cheap,” Spence reflected. “They also told me to save my money and present a quality product.”

One singer Spence sought to emulate was Deitrick Haddon, the gospel artist he opened for at the church. Spence also absorbed the M.O. of Jay-Z, his favorite artist. Spence said, “You can tell [Jay-Z] has a love for music, more than just putting lyrics on top of a beat. His albums flow. He pays attention to the details.”

While refining his craft, Spence began making mixtapes. To his surprise, the mixtapes started catching on. “It was a real eye-opener to find kids in churches singing songs that were on the mixtapes!” he said.

Spence received additional confirmation of his decision to enter the world of Christian hip hop at the release party for his first solo project, The Great Commission (2007). “We were in a thousand-seat space,” he said, “and we still had to bring in more chairs.” A single from the album, “Do What It Do,” received some airplay in and around Buffalo and leaped across Lake Erie and onto Canadian radio.

Spence’s second independently-released CD was Pentecost (2008). Two years later, he signed with Diversity Music Group. “[Ascension] was already completed before I met Jerome [Ferrell - Diversity Music CEO] but Diversity pushed it much faster.”

After the release of Ascension, Spence was more than a regional artist; he was getting calls from fans as far away as Los Angeles and Singapore who liked his sound and dug the album’s message.

“The main concept of Ascension is love,” Spence explained. “It’s about building and maintaining a healthy relationship with God, and also building and maintaining healthy relationships with people.”

Some selections on Ascension have a whimsicality to them, such as “Friend Like Me” and “Price is Right,” which feature snippets from Aladdin and the theme song of “The Price is Right” television game show, respectively. “My saying is ‘live and laugh,’” Spence commented. “Laughter and joy should be part of our daily routine.”

To write songs, Spence typically produces the music first and allows it to seep in for a few days before developing the verses and chorus. “After the music sits with me for awhile, it normally takes only a few hours to finish the song.”

While Spence is working on a tour for the current album, he is already recording the next one. “There are seven or eight songs that I’m confident will make the next album,” he said, and anticipates it will be released next summer.

In the meantime, “I have the opportunity of a lifetime to live joyful and happy every day.”

For more information on J. Spence, go to http://www.diversitymusicgroup.com/.

"Lord I Thank You" - Eric Simmons

“Lord I Thank You”
Eric Simmons
From the Flow Music & Entertainment CD Freedom (2011)

Eric Simmons walked away from a secular music career to pursue a calling to the ministry.

Now serving as Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Paschall in Philadelphia, Simmons is also back in music – gospel music – and has a solo CD, Freedom, to show for it.

The CD includes the single, “Lord I Thank You.”

"Lord I Thank You" rides along on a brisk and breezy, well-produced contemporary R&B groove with a hook-laden chorus.   The youthful Simmons thanks the Lord “for everything you do,” for him and others. He promises to praise even during the rough times. The singer’s urgent tenor is convincing and compelling, and his message is simple: “The least that I can do is tell you ‘thank you.’”

Karen Washington & the New Singing Stars - Talk to Jesus

Karen Washington & the New Singing Stars

Talk to Jesus

Quartet City Records (2011)

http://www.quartetcityrecords.com/

Talk to Jesus is the latest release by Bainbridge, Georgia female quartet Karen Washington & the New Singing Stars, and it’s their best project to date.

Released on Rev. Moses Belton, Sr.’s Quartet City Records, Talk to Jesus is reminiscent of 1980s female quartet albums on indie labels such as J&B, GosPearl and Meltone. Eric L. Sharper serves once again as the group's producer, and he imbues the songs with a joyful step, even if the tempo slows sometimes and the lyrics hearken back to more troubled times, such as “Never Going Back Again,” where Washington forsakes the things she used to do to live a new life.

While some of the album's eleven selections are new compositions by Washington in association with Sharper and others, several are rearranged traditional pieces. Examples of the latter include “Come and Go,” an arrangement of “Come and Go to that Land;” and “Halleluia,” which is really “The Storm is Passing Over.” Meanwhile, “It’s Alright to Have a Good Time” is a remake of the Impressions’ 1963 hit, “It’s All Right.”

Washington’s singing is stronger on this album and the New Singing Stars blend well together. They even sound a bit like a ‘60s girl group on the title track, complete with a swaggering New Orleans-style beat and old-school vamp at the end. A bluesy duet between Washington and Paulette Thornton highlights “I’ve Been Changed,” one of several instances when members of the New Singing Stars step forward to sing a solo.

Some touches of brass to replace the heavy reliance on synthesized keyboard would have made the album even stronger, but kudos to Karen Washington for a pleasantly performed work.

Three of Five Stars

Picks: “Talk to Jesus,” “I’ve Been Changed.”

Sad News: DeLois Barrett Campbell Died Today

Ron Barrett told TBGB today that his cousin, the legendary DeLois Barrett Campbell, passed from labor to reward today at noon. 

Starting her career as part of the Barrett and Hudson Singers, Ms. Campbell was among the first female vocalists to join the ranks of the Roberta Martin Singers.  Her soprano lead on "Come Into My Heart, Lord Jesus" is one of the group's masterpieces.  

During the 1960s, Ms. Campbell and her sisters, Rhodessa and Billie, organized the Barrett Sisters, and went on to record many albums and travel all over the world as ambassadors of gospel music.

This Saturday's Gospel Memories program will feature an extended tribute to a sweet, sweet lady.  Our sympathies to the Barrett family on this sad occasion.

Homegoing services are as follows:

Musical Tribute:
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 - 7:00 p.m.,
Trinity United Church of Christ
400 West 95th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60628
(773) 962-5650

Visitation:
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - 6:00 p.m., Trinity United Church of Christ

Homegoing Celebration:
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - 7:00 p.m., Trinity United Church of Christ

Internment:
Thursday, August 11, 2011 - Oak Woods Cemetery.

Photo: DeLois Barrett Campbell in 1943.  Credit: Chicago Defender

TBGB Pick of the Week: August 1, 2011

“Through Merciful Eyes”
Keith Pringle
From the Platform Music Group CD
Nothing Too Hard for God (2010)

“Through Merciful Eyes” is a simple, slow-paced, antiphonal gospel from Keith Pringle. The lyrics praise the God of second chances and serve as Pringle’s own testimony.

During one portion of the performance, Pringle describes the glimmer of hope he encountered during the dark days that kept him out of the gospel spotlight. God told him, “Oh no, brother, you aren’t finished yet. I have some more work for you to do.” The singer adds, “He gave me favor when I didn’t think anybody loved me.”

The melody and arrangement are based on well-honed contemporary choral techniques. Unlike the “anybody” of the song, TBGB is grateful that Minister “Call Him Up” Pringle has returned to the active gospel music scene.