Available Now Amber Bullock Thank You
Available Now J.J. Hairston & Youthful Praise After This
01.03.12 Gospel Gangstaz Street Disciples
01.10.12 Various Artists Joyful Noise Soundtrack
01.17.12 James Fortune & FIYA Identity
01.17.12 Juanita Bynum The Best Of Juanita Bynum
01.31.12 Fred Hammond God, Love & Romance
02.07.12 Brian Courtney Wilson So Proud
03.13.12 Marvin Sapp I Win
2012 Lisa Page Brooks TBD

RELATED POSTS:

Best Gospel Album Of 2011? [POLL]

Nicki Minaj’s Mother To Release A Gospel Album

New Gospel Songs

Stellar Awards Nominees Revealed

Top 10 Gospel Songs of 2011

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain can run a company, run for President and run for Jesus….  He recorded a gospel album in 1996.  Listen to snippets….

According to Cain’s campaign,the Cd has just been released by an independent group not affiliated with the campaign  

The 13-track gospel recording was posted about a month ago by Maurice Atkinson, the founder of DraftCain.org.

Listen to snippets of Cain singing:
My Soul Has Been Anchored
I Must Tell Jesus
This Is The Day
Hallelujah Square

So what do you think?  Can he sing?

Mitchell, slated to open the show, will join the duos to hit a series of major market US tour dates this April 2011.  Earning this coveted spot on the highly anticipated tour, Mitchell’s current success has been propelled by his Number 1 song, “Nobody Greater.”  “Nobody Greater” has topped the Gospel radio charts for over 5 weeks continuing to touch a chord with audiences and people around the world.   In 2011 Mitchell has garnered two Grammy nominations and recently two Dove Award nominations for his blockbuster CD, TRIUMPHANT.

Mitchell has performed on national TV specials including BET’s Celebration of Gospel, The Stellar Awards, TBN, Bobby Jones Gospel with an upcoming appearance on The Mo’Nique Show.  Mitchell recently performed several songs from TRIUMPHANT on TBN’s Praise The Lord show.

Earlier this weekend BeBe Winans said that this would be his last tour. Read:

BeBe Winans Says This Is Last Tour With His Sister

STILL SOMETHING BIG TOUR DATES:

April 1^st— Detroit, MI: Fox Theatre

April 2^nd— Chicago, IL: Chicago Theatre

April 3^rd—St. Louis, MO: Fox Theatre

April 6^th— Washington, DC: Lincoln Theatre

April 8^th—Upper Darby, PA: Tower Theatre

April 9^th—New York, NY: The Theatre at Madison Square Garden

Mitchell is the Minister of Music at Higher Living Church in Atlanta, GA, who has a passion for worship,the heart of an encourager and the story of an overcomer.

Related Stories:

• Donnie McClurkin Tours Country

• Gospel News: Jazz Enters and Tammi Brown Bows

• Exclusive Interview With Gospel Superstar LeCrae

As we aged we placed the value on the titles of best man and maid of honor. Sometimes we made our friends Godparents to our children. We chose these people based on what we held true about them.

It is only through true friendships  with long lasting relationships that become cemented. It is the recognition that someone, somewhere knows, loves, encourages and supports you that makes life’s disappointments bearable.

You have blessed us, O God,
with the gift of friendship,
the bonding of persons
in a circle of love.
We thank you for such a blessing:
for friends who love us,
who share our sorrows,
who laugh with us in celebration,
who bear our pain,
who need us as we need them,
who weep as we weep,
who hold us when words fail,
and who give us the freedom
to be ourselves.
Bless our friends with health,
wholeness, life, and love.
Amen.

The laughs, the smiles, the tears and the kind words of another human being are the things that make our lives full and joyful. It is the connections we build that create the chain link of life.

Related Stories:

• Feel Good Friday Vid of The Week: One Man And His Guitar

• Minute Meditation: Prayer for Honesty

• Are You Taking Your Partner For Granted?

“I feel on the inside that this is our last go-round,” Winans, who’s been recording with his sister since 1984, tells Billboard.com. “I don’t see me doing this outside of this year.” Winans sees the gospel duo’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star prevention on Oct. 19 as a convenient conclusion to their musical association. “I told [CeCe], ‘Sweetie, I think that’s the day we say, ‘Thank you. See ya. So long. Have a great life,’ ” he explains. “That’s not to say that we’ll never sing again, but it is to say that it’s not going to be a continuation of BeBe and CeCe.”

As he settles in to his position as music minster at The Christian Community Center in Brooklyn New York he must evaluate his path. Winans says he also feels that 2010′s “Still,” which was nominated for a pair of Grammy Awards and five Stellar Awards — with the single “Close To You” named BMI’s Most Performed Gospel Song of the Year — brought the sibling’s recording career to a natural end. “It had been 15 years since we did an album together,” he notes, “so to come back and do the album, I felt it was important for us to say goodbye in the manner of honestly saying goodbye. The album [got] a wonderful reception and an appreciation that caused us to look back and say, ‘Wow, it’s been a great journey.’ But every journey comes to an end, so I believe it’s going to be that for us.”

It’s not just BeBe and CeCe that Winans plans to put on ice, either. Turning 50 in 2012, Winans says, is “a good enough reason to say ‘so long’ to the touring and the craziness that goes on with that.” In other words, he’s taking himself off the road entirely? “Yes sir,” Winans says, “with a capital Y-E-S and a capital S-I-R.”

Click here to read more

Related Stories:

• Gospel News: Jazz Enters and Tammi Brown Bows

• Exclusive Interview With Gospel Superstar LeCrae

The two-day workshop with guest speakers and panels is designed to expand the role of music and the arts in ministry to serve as a platform for the advancement of artists, musicians, and ministry leaders.

Industry veterans will head up sessions geared towards Evangelism, Music/Arts Dept., Church Administration, Praise and Worship and Liturgical Dance. While the business sessions will cover Radio Seminar, Marketing Branding, Record Deals, Recording 101, and Developing a Label. In addition to the PMC sessions, a Job/Career and Multicultural Health & Wellness Fair has been added to make this an event for the entire family. For details go to www.perfectingmusicconference.com

Related Stories:

• Donnie McClurkin Controversy Spreads

• Gospel News: Jazz Enters and Tammi Brown Bows

• Exclusive Interview With Gospel Superstar LeCrae

Here are the men of Gospel who have shaped the way.

Related Stories:

• Gospel News: Jazz Enters and Tammi Brown Bows

• Exclusive Interview With Gospel Superstar LeCrae

• Deitrick Haddon Great Moments on Film

The album charts are dominated by the collection everyone owns as soon as it comes out.  Wow does it again!

Top 5 Gospel Albums

#1- Wow Gospel 2011

#2- Church on The Moon- Deitrick Haddon

#3- Triumphant- Vashawn Mitchell

#4- As We Worship Love- William McDonnell

#5 – Rehab- LeCrae

Gospel Jazz

A Gospel Jazz event has kicked off the movement nicely. In places across the country “Gospel Jazz “nights are taking hold of night clubs. The Gospel Jazz night will be the perfect opportunity for jazz and gospel lovers to experience the best of both genres. The musicians on the night’s line-up are well-known in jazz circles and also to most Christians, but it is also a great experience for lovers of live music to come out and have a splendid time where God will be glorified,” says Tommy Cowan of Glory Music, organizer of the Fun In The Son festival. Member of the production team for the Gospel Jazz night, jazz aficionado Tony Munroe says the event represents a long-overdue marriage of the two genres. “Both gospel and jazz are two genres which find their origins in the American South and (at the time) jazz represented the anti-establishment of the day. So this is definitely a marriage well overdue.”

On the Road

When it’s your habit to take just about singing opportunity offered to you, you’re bound to have a few unusual gigs. But over the telephone to an audience of one? When Tammi Brown found herself in just that position, she invested into her performance every bit of the soul and passion of opening night at Carnegie Hall. On the other end of that phone call was Maya Angelou, perhaps America’s most popular living poet. The iconic writer was at home in North Carolina, feeling poorly. And Brown was offering a little bit comfort for the soul.

“She was not feeling well,” said the Santa Cruz-based singer and keyboardist. “And I got a call from a friend who was a friend of hers, saying, Get over here. I want you to sing for Maya Angelou.’”

Next week, Angelou comes to Santa Cruz, and part of the performance that precedes the great poet’s appearance before a local audience will be Tammi Brown, who may be approaching a defining moment in her still young career. The day after her March 18 opening for Angelou at the Santa Cruz Civic, Brown will be the headliner in a show at the Digital Media Factory in Santa Cruz. Both gigs come just as she is negotiating to record a career-launching album with the label Motema. Later this year, she’ll also perform at the Monterey Blues Festival.

Check out this video of the next superstar of Gospel.

The Next Gospel Star Could Be You.

Sundays Best Showed up with their best this morning. Per a tweet sent out by  Mary Mary this afternoon over  5000 people showed up to audition. Were you on line?

For more from Oretha Winston  follow her on twitter @elev8_Oretha

Related Stories:

• Sunday’s Best Winner Leandria Johnson Asks for Public’s Prayers

• Will Smith Takes New Role From Old Testament As Job

• Gospel News:Shirley Caesar Re-Signs with Light Records And Charts

Charles was a highly respected leader and pioneer among gospel artists in Kansas City’s African-American community. He also performed with nationally known artists such as the Rev. James Cleveland, the Mighty Clouds of Joy and Richard Smallwood.

“The Professor, as he was called, was the gospel music laureate of Kansas City,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, former senior pastor at St. James United Methodist Church, where Charles served as minister of music for 23 years. “Through his music, he could express emotions beyond speech.”

For decades, ending in 2003, Charles coordinated the music for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

Charles began his gospel career with the children’s choir at Friendship Baptist Church. When he was 9, Charles’ mother died and he began attending Mariah Walker AME, where he traveled and sang lead with the male chorus.

During his decades in music, Charles composed more than 200 songs, produced recordings and organized several singing groups, including the Michael Charles Singers and Daybreak.

• Mavis Staples Brings Gospel To Late Night TV [VIDEO]