Inside Gospel
By Lisa Collins, Senior Music Editor, GospelMusicChannel.com
Over the last decade, more blockbuster releases have been making their way into the gospel marketplace during the fourth and first quarters of the year, yet summertime is typically the most prolific season in the yearly cycle. Just as the weather heats up, so do the gospel airwaves. Here are just a few releases that stand to make 2008 a summer to remember.
Mary Mary tops the list of the summer’s most anticipated releases, and though the full CD entitled The Sound is not due until September, gospel's best-selling sister duo is set to impact radio with the release of their lead single, “Get Up,” in mid-July. The Sound will feature a who’s who of guest vocalists from the likes of Marvin Winans to Musiq Soulchild and a fusion of praise and worship, down-home church, hip hop, R&B and even rock. Mary Mary, along with Tye Tribbett, will be filming their episodes of Gospel Music Channel's Front Row Live series in Atlanta on Friday, July 25. The sisters will hit the road in September in support of the project, sporting an updated look.
Another key release is Deitrick Haddon’s Revealed, due out from Verity Records August 19. But Haddon could get his stiffest competition for a top slot on the charts from none other than his better half, wife Damita Haddon. The lead single from her July 22 CD No Looking Back was among the most added singles in gospel radio two weeks in a row.
Dave Hollister may find his footing in gospel if his sophomore release, Witness Protection (due August 5), lives up to the buzz around the lead single “Striving,” currently impacting radio in a big way. And if 21:03’s highly anticipated sophomore release Total Attention, due in stores July 22, performs anything like the first single “Cover Me” (featuring Fred Hammond, J. Moss and Smokie Norful) – making it the number-one downloaded Gospel song on Napster and Zune – the Detroit-based group could find itself at the top of the gospel charts.
One of those CDs sure to find its way to the top is WOW Gospel’s All-Time Favorite Songs, a 12-track single disc featuring some of the biggest gospel hits of the last decade, including the live version of Smokie Norful’s “I Need You Now,” CeCe Winans’ “Alabaster Box,” the Clark Sisters’ “You Brought The Sunshine” and the Tri City Singers’ “Encourage Yourself.” The CD, released by EMI Gospel, also features classic hits from Donnie McClurkin, Mary Mary, Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Shekinah Glory Ministry, Kurt Carr and Fred Hammond.
Other notable summer releases include Darwin Hobbs’ Free, (August 26), The VIP Mass Choir featuring John P. Kee (August 12) and the Christianaires’ lead vocalist Paul Porter, set to make his solo debut on Light Records this September.
And whether they make it to the top of the charts, a number of pastors are making their mark in gospel. Official debuts this summer include Nassau-based Bishop Neil Ellis whose Wave of Glory CD is set to drop June 24; Pastor Debra Morton (wife of Bishop Paul Morton) is showcased on My Better Half which bowed June 10; and Houston-based Pastor Gregg Patrick, whose Pastor Gregg Patrick & The Bridge Project, featuring the Bridge Mass Choir with Dr. Bobby Jones, Ted Winn, Shawn McLemore and Nikki Ross, among others, dropped June 17.
In other news, some of gospel’s top divas kicked off the summer together June 21 in Atlanta as part of a two-hour musical event, Songs of Soul and Inspiration, directed by Golden Globe, Emmy and Tony award-winning producer and choreographer Debbie Allen, to mark AARP’s 50th anniversary celebration. The star-studded event featured CeCe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Chaka Khan, Dionne Warwick, Queen Latifah, Patti Austin, Ann Nesby, and Paris Bennett of American Idol, among others. The gathering of some of the top pop, gospel, and R&B singers honors the musical’s legacy in the African American church and the extraordinary voices that flowed from it into the worlds of popular music and film.
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About the Writer
Lisa Collins is a syndicated columnist, writer, publisher and former Billboard Magazine columnist. Her career in gospel began in 1988, with her creation of “Inside Gospel”, a daily/weekly syndicated radio series that provided news, profiles and product updates relative to the gospel music community. For the next eight years, she would also serve as executive producer of the show that was broadcast in more than 100 markets nationwide.
In 1995, frustrated by a void in quality publications serving the African-American community and the church as well, Ms. Collins founded L.A. Focus. A community-based publication, L.A. Focus On The Word strives to acknowledge the role of the church – and its growing clout – in the progress, state and politics of L.A.'s African-American community, while spotlighting news and issues of interest to the Black community at large. In 1998, L.A. Focus established its first annual First Ladies High Tea, which draws upwards of 1,000 women and 50 churches together each year for an afternoon of inspiration and praise. In April 2005, the newspaper launched its first annual “Ultimate Guide To Churches In Los Angeles.”
Collins, a Los Angeles native and resident, has also served as a segment producer for BET and authored well over 300 articles on a variety of issues for a number of national publications from Essence to Upscale, including a 12-year stint at Billboard magazine. Her background in the field of entertainment reporting is extensive, featuring cover stories and interviews with the likes of Richard Pryor, Michael Jackson and Prince.
