Don’t Give Up Now

I find this song interesting because a.) the soloist/vocalist doesn’t really have a lovely voice and b.) the song isn’t all that special, but nonetheless I found myself really moved by it every time I listen to it. The choir doesn’t bill itself as a youth choir, and it’s not, but the high voices sue make it sound like one.  A diamond in the rough one might say.

 

  1. Don't Give Up Now Steven Daniels and The Shiloh Gospel Choir 4:19

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Happy a fun, safe New Year’s weekend, and I’ll be back with more next year.

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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Joyful Noise

Here’s a somewhat different contemporary gospel sound that I really like. I THINK this is the first full instrumental I’ve posted on this blog. The synthesizer sound may not be to everyone’s liking, but I find it works here. The cut is performed by Jeffrey LaValley on keyboards and band.

 

  1. Joyful Noise New Jersusalem Young Adult Choir 4:57

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I’ve given Jeffrey LaValley’s credentials before on other posts but I will briefly review them here. Jeffrey is a writer, musician, director, and producer and has appeared on over 270 projects including the New Jerusalem Baptist Church Choir, Wilmington-Chester Mass Choir, Florida Mass Choir, Charles Fold & The Charles Fold Singers, Myrna Summers, Rev. Donald Vails, Rev. James Cleveland, Keith Pringle and the Pentecostal Community Choir, The Jackson Southernaires, and The Full Gospel Baptist Church Mass Choir…to name a few! Quite the musician indeed.

Psalm 34

Here’s a real treat from Youth For Christ of Shannon, North Carolina. This 1999 recording from their album “Higher” really shows off what these young people can do. Their album was produced by The Georgia Mass Choir, so that’s one reason why these kids are so good and so well rehearsed.

 

  1. Psalm 34 Youth For Christ 5:03

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Say No

As I have said before, I’m a bit of a sucker for youth choirs, and one of the very best for the past 34 years is Walt Whitman’s Soul Children of Chicago

“Just Say No” was an advertising campaign, part of the U.S. “War on Drugs”, prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, to discourage children from engaging in illegal recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying no. The slogan was created and championed by First Lady Nancy Reagan during her husband’s presidency. The “Just Say No” slogan was the creation of Robert Cox and David Cantor, advertising executives at the New York office of Needham, Harper & Steers/USA in the early 1980s.

 

  1. Say No Walt Whitman & The Soul Children Of Chicago 4:52

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The phrase “Just Say No” first emerged when Nancy Reagan was visiting Longfellow Elementary School in Oakland, California,in 1982 and was asked by a schoolgirl what to do if she was offered drugs. The first lady responded by saying, “Just say no”.

This song, aimed directly at young urban listeners, was The Soul Children’s way to try and help support the “Just Say No” campaign.

The Highest Praise

As I’ve told you many times before, I’m a sucker for children’s choirs, and this is a great example why. This is an offering for the Church of God in Christ (GOGIC) International Children’s Choir, and, for those that don’t know by now, COGIC takes their gospel music very seriously. This might be a “childrens” choir, but they are perfectly rehearsed and all-pro in every way.

 

  1. The Highest Praise Church of God in Christ International Children's Choir 4:42

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How Long Til He Comes

The name of this group might say “Youth Choir”, but it’s impossible not to think this is a finely polished adult choir. I’m always so impressed with the magnificent job these young people do. Hurray for organizations like The Gospel Music Workshop of America for offering programs for young singers to develop their musical skills.

 

  1. How Long Til He Comes GMWA Youth Mass Choir 5:30

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Lord Be Magnified

I don’t know exactly why I love African children’s gospel choirs, but I do. The accent? The rythyms? Not sure.

  1. Lord Be Magnified African Children's Choir 3:57

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Jesus is a Rock in a Weary Land

The (sadly now defunct) Harlem Boys Choir executes this wonderful spiritual perfectly. All you JVOI folks who know it, sing along!!

  1. Jesus Is a Rock in a Weary Land Harlem Boy's Choir 4:53

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How Excellent (Perfect Praise)

As I may have said before, I’m a sucker for youth/children’s choirs. I can’t find any ANYTHING online about this version of this song or about the group that sings it, The Life Youth Choir, so it’s kind of a mystery as to where I even found this recording.

  1. How Excellent Life Youth Choir 4:54

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This song is often called “Perfect Praise”, but because of the lyrics, is also called “How Excellent”. Not having grown up reading the bible deeply, I found it pretty kewl when I learned the term “EXCELLENT” was used to describe God. Truly EX!!