Love Lifted Me

“Picked me up and turned me around, then He placed my feet on higher ground.”

“When nothing else could help….LOVE lifted me.”

A wonderful song from the great Hezekiah Walker and his Love Fellowship Tabernacle Choir. Modulation after modulation after modulation until the choir’s voices are just soaring.  Pure Hezekiah.

 

  1. Love Lifted me 5:47

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.

Rest For the Weary

“Living in this world with much pain, grief and strife, but they tell me of a home of a much better life. No more heartache, tears I cry no more; only joy everlasting when I reach the other shore”.  There is rest for the weary on the other side.

A great song from Chicago’s Milton Brunson and the fabulous Thompson Community Choir recorded in 1986.

 

  1. Rest For The Weary Rev. Milton Brunson & The Thompson Community Choir 4:39

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.

Think of His Goodness to You

Yikes, I was so busy yesterday morning that I forgot to make my daily post. I hope I didn’t let anyone down or ruin your morning without a gospel song to send you on your way. You get TWO today.

First up, a simple traditional song. One of the things that always strikes me about gospel music is how positive the songs can be. Think about living in our world of systemic racism day in and day out with all the hardships, trials and barriers that entails and honestly singing “Think of all His GOODNESS To You”. This is exactly why gospel music is Afro American music. It comes from deep within the the heart and soul of those of those who write it and sing it to encourage the souls of others so they may continue to “journey on”. Amen.

 

  1. Think of His Goodness to You Providence Baptist Church Gospel Choir 3:36

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.

It’s Rainin’

A topical (not tropical, but I guess it could be that too…any moisture seems tropical these days) song this morning, we have a very contemporary, hip hop song from Kirk Franklin and his group “God’s Property”.

 

  1. It's Rainin' Kirk Franklin and God's Property 3:47

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.

Starting off with a super funky clavinet, a crazy good drummer and a sassy B3 kick in until the song breaks into the chorus, “Send it on down, send it on down, send your rain down”!! Then an amazing vamp starts up at 2:15 with a few Franklin-esque gimmicks thrown in including a false stop where he cries out “Wait a minute, it ain’t over; I just gotta turn the tape over, excuse me….d’ere yago, whoooo!!!” I love this guy!  Enjoy!!

I’ve Been Born Again

Some great traditional gospel from one of my most favorite gospel legends, Rev. Clay Evans. This is an “old song of the church” that Rev. Evans and his choir present in a wonderful style. I THINK this version of the song was written and first performed by James Cleveland in the ’60’s…but what do I know??

 

  1. I've Been Born Again Clay Evans and the Clark Road Baptist Church Combined Choirs - 2:48

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.

Forever & Ever, Let’s Magnify His Name

This song goes from 0 to 110 in the course of it’s almost 7 minutes. It’s not the highest fidelity cut, but it is pure gospel. The first two minutes are a slow, pretty amazing, tenor solo that then transitions to the entry of the entire choir with a great female lead on the continuing vamped verse “Every knee shall bow; every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord… forever and ever, let’s magnify His name.”

Great song! I’m exhausted by the end!

 

  1. Forever & Ever, Let's Magnify His Name The Gospel Music Workshop of America Mass Choir 6:48

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.

(I’ve Learned to Respect) The Power of God

This morning we’re going to “ease on down the road” a bit and present a gospel remake of Stephanie Mills’ 1986 R&B hit “(I’ve Learned to Respect) The Power of LOVE” (#1 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, although it didn’t make the Billboard Hot 100 songs…no crossover. And I’m sure this gospel version got even less exposure on the R&B, Gospel and secular playlists. ). Stephanie Mills, as some of you may know, sang the lead role of Dorothy in the musical “The Wiz” when it opened on Broadway in 1995. Her remarkable voice and ability to sing notes out of the range of mere mortals places her in the ranks with singers like Minnie Ripperton.

 

  1. Power Of God Stephanie Mills 7:31

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.

When I first heard the “long”, R&B version of this song I was blown away. The vocals towards the end are remarkable and so powerful with the backup singers emulating an echo as they sing “Learn to respect…spect…spect…spect,”   I was sooo excited when I discovered this gospel remake version that is just as good as the original.

Enjoy this song, and have a great Saturday.

I’ve Got To Praise Him

Some nice, uptempo traditional gospel to get your motor running for what looks to a be a beautiful fall weekend in New England. The instrumentation is contemporary, the song being recorded in 1999, but it sure has that good old hand clapping, foot stomping beat to it. More upbeat than Fontella Bass’s “You Don’t Know What The Lord Told Me To Do“, the theme and lyrics are very similar.

Happy Friday.

 

  1. I've Got To Praise Him Delegation Mass Choir 3:19

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.

I’ve Got Jesus (That’s Enough)

Back to some more traditional gospel today, this offering from 1985. I know nothing about this choir, and found even less on the internet. I stumbled across this song in a YouTube video and downloaded the audio track. I’m not totally crazy about the electronic horn instrumentation used on the song, but I like the vocals and organ toward to end is fun…I like it, I hope you do too.

 

  1. I've Got Jesus Pilgrim Tabernacle Choir 2:43

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.

Suddenly

I distinctly remember the first time I heard this song in 2004. I had randomly bought a CD, “Spirit and Truth”, by a group I’d never heard of, Bishop Eddie Long and The New Birth Total Praise Choir, just because that’s what I sometimes do in hopes of discovering some new music I like. 

I took the CD home and fired it up. The first song, “Suddenly”, instantly grabbed me (as did the entire CD really). Not at all traditional gospel, this song was a southern style of contemporary gospel with real heavy groove to it and a big, strong band behind it. Reading the liner notes I learned that the female lead singer is the famous Vanessa Bell Armstrong. I hope you all enjoy this song as much as I do.

 

  1. Suddenly Bishop Eddie Long and The New Birth Total Praise Choir 4:41

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.