Tag: Gospel

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2/22/15 O&A Gospel Sunday: The Canton Spirituals

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GOSPEL SUNDAY

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The Canton Spirituals are regarded as pioneers in the genre of traditional gospel music. Founded in Canton, Mississippi in 1943, the original Canton Spirituals were Reverend I.S. Watkins, Claude “Bubba” Nichols, Warren G. Ward, Isaac Bolton, Eddie Jackson, Theo Thompson, Roscoe Lucious and founder Harvey Watkins, Sr. (December 5, 1929 – November 16, 1994). The present group is fronted by Watkins’ son, Harvey Watkins Jr., and consists of Cornelius Dwayne Watkins, Billy Voss, David Curry, Merlin Lucious, Shannon Lee, and Rodrick Jones.

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2/15/15 O&A Gospel Sunday: BeBe and CeCe Winans

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GOSPEL SUNDAY

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BeBe (Benjamin) and CeCe (Priscilla) Winans are the seventh and eighth of “Mom” and “Pop” Winans’ ten children, most of whom have had gospel music careers. Together, they have received several awards, including three Grammys. While BeBe and CeCe were in high school, four of their elder brothers formed the successful Gospel music group The Winans. Continue reading

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(Repost) 2/25/16 O&A NYC DANCE: Mourner’s Bench- Talley Beatty Choreographer

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Talley Beatty choreographed and performed Mourner’s Bench in 1947. It represents the anguish and loss for former slaves, now free men, killed during the Reconstruction Era at the beginning of the rise of the Klu Klux Klan. Beatty explained to me, “People were murdered by the Klan and at daybreak their relatives would find their bodies in the fields still covered in the morning dew.”

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1/4/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: Donald Lawrence and The Tri-City Singers

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GOSPEL SUNDAY

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Donald Lawrence took on The Tri-City Singers after a friend vacated his position as musical director. They derived the name from the three cities that The Tri-City Singers come from are Spartanburg, SC, Gastonia, NC, and Charlotte, NC. In 1993 the group debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top Gospel Charts with A Songwriter’s Point Of View on a then-brand-new independent record label called GospoCentric Records. Continue reading

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12/28/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: Richard Smallwood

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GOSPEL SUNDAY

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Richard Smallwood is the Black Brahms of Gospel music. His lush orchestrations and choral arrangements are the hallmarks of his signature sound. An accomplished pianist, composer, arranger, vocalist and choral conductor Smallwood graduated cum laude from Howard University with degrees in both vocal performance and piano, and  graduate work in the field of ethnomusicology. He finished his Masters degree in Divinity from Howard University in 2004 and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2006. 
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12/14/14 O&A Gospel Sunday Holiday Series: Donnie McClurkin

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Gospel Sunday

2013 BET Experience - Sunday Best Gospel Stage

American gospel music singer and minister Donald Andrew “Donnie” McClurkin, Jr. has won three Grammy awards, ten Stellar awards, two BET awards, two Soul Train awards, one Dove award and one NAACP Image award for his work. He is one of the top-selling Gospel music artists, selling over 10 million albums worldwide. In 2001 McClurkin was ordained and sent out by Winans to establish Perfecting Faith Church in Freeport, New York, where he is now Senior Pastor.
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12/17/17 O&A Gospel Sunday Holiday Series: CeCe Winans

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Gospel Sundaybebeandcece-743-croppedCeCe Winans continues to bring in the holiday spirit with three Christmas songs  Because a Child is Born, Jesus Your Beautiful, and Oh, Holy Night (Live).
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11/16/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: Andrae Crouch

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GOSPEL SUNDAY

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Andraé Crouch is a gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, recording artist, record producer, and pastor. Crouch was a key figure in the Jesus Music movement of the 1960s and 1970s. His influence helped develop contemporary Christian music,  which began to bridge the gap between black and white Christian music. Continue reading

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10/9/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: Tasha Cobbs

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GOSPEL SUNDAY
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Tasha Cobbs began in her hometown, Jesup, Georgia. She was Worship Leader of Jesup New Life Ministries, founded by her late father, Bishop Fritz Cobbs. In 2012, Cobbs recorded her freshman project titled GRACE, produced by multi-award-winner and Motown Gospel label mate, VaShawn Mitchell. This project featured the lead single, Break Every Chain, which landed as Billboard’s #1 song for a total of 12 weeks. Continue reading