Shabach!

SHABACH – To commend or praise something or someone with a loud exuberant voice.  Song is based on 7 Hebrew words of praise.

Intro:
“Train up a child in the way that he should go
So that when he is old he won’t depart from it.
For out of the mouths of babes comes perfected praise”

Shabach, hallelujah.
Barak, praise the Lord.
Yadah, extend your hands.
Towdah, lift up your hands.
Taquah, means to clap your hands
Tehilah, means to sing.
Halal, means to celebrate.
Kara, means to dance

 

  1. Shabach! Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship Mass Choir 5:11

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Caribbean Gospel Christmas Party Music mix

A SPECIAL Christmas, trim the tree bonus post. A Caribbean Gospel Christmas music mix just to “stir it up” a bit this holiday season.

 

  1. Caribbean Gospel Christmas Party Music mix Various 1:38:33

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Amen

Adam McKnight is featured soloist for the finale of one of Atlanta’s favorite holiday classic events with The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra called “Gospel Christmas”. This particular performance was the 25th anniversary of the event and featured special guest The Pointer Sisters.

 

  1. Amen Adam McKnight, The Pointer Sisters and The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 4:04

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Jesus Is The Reason (For The Season)

Just a little hip-hop flava to get you in the holiday spirit. AND, an added, non-gospel bonus for fun…country star LeAnne Rime singing a cover of Gayla Peevy’s 1953 song 
“I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas”.

 

  1. Jesus Is The Reason For The Season Kirk Franklin & The Family 5:46
  2. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas LeAnne Rimes 4:16

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Go Tell It On The Mountain

‘Tis the season after all and time seems to be fleeting away, so it seems only right to throw a few holiday songs into the mix. This is a very nice, blues-ed up, old school arrangement of this spiritual from Kirk Franklin.

 

  1. Go Tell It On The Mountain Kirk Franklin & The Family 5:53

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Throw Out The Lifeline

A lovely song from the late O’Landa Draper who tragically died in 1998 of kidney failure. Olanda Draper was musical giant and died way too soon. Every review and piece written about him points out his boundless energy and wonderfully animated directing style. I just noticed that it was just about a year ago I posted his remarkable song “My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord”.

 

  1. Throw Out the Life Line O'Landa Draper and The Association Choir 6:16

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Below is link to “My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord” on YouTube so you can marvel at the power of the song and at O’landa’s directing style. You can tell that he requires nothing less than perfection from his singers which they joyful deliver.

Enjoy these songs.

https://youtu.be/bmWVmS0cp8E

Nothing Less

“Chrystal Rucker is one of the world’s most quietly kept secrets.” – Grammy Award nominated choir leader, Ricky Dillard .

 

  1. Nothing Less Chrystal Rucker 4:54

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Everybody has a story…Chrystal Rucker is no exception.  The youngest of six children, her father was the late Bishop C.N. Rucker of Greater Holy Temple COGIC and her mother, Yvonne Rucker, is an evangelist. She sang her first solo at a church banquet when she was two years old and has been singing ever since that time.

She planned to make teaching her career and enrolled at the University of Missouri at Kansas City with a double major in English and Music. However, at the age of twenty-one, she became pregnant and says, “that changed a lot of things for me.” She eventually left school and got a job as a clerk in the accounting department at an electronics store while continuing to sing on the weekends.

Chrystal Rucker KNOWS about the power of faith to heal. In spring 2007, Rucker suffered a series of strokes that almost killed her and could have ended her singing career. She had just picked up her niece and nephew from school and was driving them home. “My arm just went numb,” she recalls as she was driving. “I looked in the rear view mirror. I was talking but my mouth on the left side wasn’t moving.” She made it home and was planning to lie down when her mother insisted that she go to the hospital immediately.

For the next two long years Crystal had to re-learn how to walk and do things for herself. She had no other income but music so she pushed herself back out onto the concert circuit, often dragging her leg to get around and then she says that she was miraculously healed during the annual Rhema conference at Pastor David Martin’s Gospel Tabernacle Church in Dallas, TX. “A lady turned around and started to pray for me,” Rucker recalls. “She didn’t even know what I had been through nor that I was sick because I hid that from people. The Holy Ghost came in that night and it was amazing. The whole church was on its knees before night was over and that’s when my healing came.”

Worthy Is Your Name

A nice, simple Praise and Worship song for your Sunday morning. These songs are so simple, yet so effective and memorable. I love ’em.

 

  1. Worthy Is Your Name Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago

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Saved And Sent To Sing

One of the wonderful songs to come out of one of the Gospel Music Workshop of America’s annual conventions. This cut was recorded at the 1986 convention in St. Louis MO. The song was written and performed by Larry Dennis.  The intro grabs you and then the choir comes in full bore.

 

  1. Saved And Sent to Sing GMWA Mass Choir 4:35

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Here is Larry Dennis’ bio he wrote for his posting on soundclick.com. I love these stories…like so make people of color, turning continual adversity into strength through faith and trust in God.  I also love the extensive list of people who influenced his music…like..EVERYONE! (I’ve bolded the names of those I’ve posted on this blog in the past.)

The oldest of five siblings, Larry Dennis was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He started his passion for music at the young age of five and  joined the junior choir at the Green Grove Baptist Church.  After his mother past away when he was eleven years of age, he was determined to make a name for himself and help provide for his siblings. At the age of thirteen he began playing the piano by ear and continued learning by taking lessons through a piano teacher at his church. As a member of the East High School Gospel choir, he had the opportunity to perform at several churches in the Cleveland area and was chosen to sing in the City Wide solo contest where he received top awards. Larry was also the musician/director for the Young Adult Choir at New Mount Zion Baptist Church.

Upon graduating from high school Larry was drafted into the U.S. Army and was stationed at Ft Lewis, Washington Army base. One Sunday Larry was singing off base at a church where an Army Chaplain heard him and asked him to help form a Gospel Choir for the Military Chapel Service. The Choir became popularly known as The Martin Luther King Singers and won several awards for best military Gospel Choir. He was later re-assigned to Germany where he auditioned and was accepted into the 7th Army Soldiers Chorus in Heidelberg, Germany. There he traveled throughout Europe and was often a featured soloist and became popular in the German Community as the lead singer of the song “Amen”. When not on the road with the Army Chorus Larry also worked with the Army Chaplain as musician/choir director throughout his tour of duty in Germany and the gospel choir traveled to various cities to perform and won several awards. Upon his return to the US Larry joined the Gospel Music Workshop of America founded by the late Reverend James Cleveland where two of his original songs were selected and performed and recorded by the Workshop Mass Choir and two other songs were selected and performed by that Workshop’s Youth Choir.

Larry later joined the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses founded by the late Thomas A Dorsey where two of his songs (one of them being “Saved and Sent To Sing”…RLS) were selected and performed by the Mass Choir. Larry’s original songs are a combination of mainly gospel contemporary and some traditional style and occasional you may hear some R&B flavor. Larry loves punchy rhythmic upbeat songs and slow soothing ballads with a powerful message of love, joy and encouragement as you will hear as you listen to some of his songs. Larry loves to sing songs that give God praise for all of the many blessings. One of his favorite hymns is “Great is thy Faithfulness”, for God has truly been faithful! Larry has always had a humble spirit when it comes to his musical gifts, and realizes that it is God that deserves the Glory!

Larry presently lives in the Washington, DC area and has had the opportunity to perform with established artist such as the late Reverend James Cleveland, Vicky Winans, Keith Pringle, The Winans, Ben Vereen, Edwin Hawkins, Dorothy Norwood, Richard Smallwood, Shirley Caesar, Walter Hawkins, Donald Lawrence, Kirk Franklin, and Kirt Carr.

Who has influenced your music?
Freddie Fuller, (Stubby) Howard Smith, Larry Adams, Alvin Killibrew, Minister Ricky Fowler, Alvin Nesbitt, Rev. Conrad Brooks, Roland Roach, Elder Jeremiah Murphy, Jeffrey A. LaValley, Andrew Rowe, Pastor Mary Tilghman, Bernard Maveritte, Harrold Sutton, Wesley Watkins, Lenny Williams (From Tower of Power?? RLS), John & Esther Watson, Forrest McCain, Tangee Rowe, Pastor Kenny Spears, Ricky Payton, Judd Williams, William Hubbard, Harvey Lewis Jr., Danny McCrimmon, Tim Linzy, Milt Matthews, Steve Lawrence (like Steve and Edie??? RLS), Dottie Jones, Debbie Steele, Angie Steele, Marvin McCoy, Veda McCoy, Terrance Richburg, Terron Whitehead, Billy Preston (“Will It Go ‘Round In Circles” RLS), Richard Smallwood, Henry McKenzie Davis, Shirley K. Berkley, Pastor Roland Kenner Jr, Steven Ford, Butch McGhee, Professor Theodore King, Milton Bigham, Andrae Crouch, Edwin Hawkins, Walter Hawkins, Rev. Charles Nicks, Rev. Andrae Woods, Evangelist Rosie Wallace Brown, Rev. Lawrence Roberts, Rev. Robert Hubbard (Cleveland Ohio) Wintley Phipps, Thomas Dorsey, Pastor Marvin Winans, Ernie Davis Jr. Mryna Sumners, Shirley Ceasar, Vanessa Williams, and Minister Thomas Whitfield.

All of these wonderful people impacted my life personally or by sharing their awesome gift of music; thank you !!

Restore

This is one of those songs that just leaves me emotionally drained by the end of it…it’s so big and full and…well, you take a listen and decide whether it does anything for you.

  1. Restore Chicago Mass Choir 6:15

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