I interviewed Karen Clark-Sheard on Friday.  I’m telling you guys, but I’m partly reminding myself, because it was just a little incredible.

She had just shared advance music from her upcoming album (click here for that recap), so life was already feeling a little surreal.  But to realize that we now sat across from each other in a conference room, me with a BUNCH of questions and her with a willing heart to answer ‘em… FOR REAL?

I’ll admit that I kinda broke protocol and became the UBER-FAN for a minute before launching into the interview, telling her how I used to watch her when I was a kid and blah blah blah… whatever!  I have no regrets EXCEPT for the fact that I totally forgot to grab a photo with her.

So, what did we chat about?  LOTS.

The Clark Sisters were in Nashville on Thursday night for the taping of a TBN Christmas special.  It was actually historic for them because it was the first time that The Clark Sisters have ever had their own TBN program (she shared that they’ve always been invited by other hosts, but never had their own special).  The 30-minute musical program will PROBABLY air sometime next week– I’ll let you know details when I get ‘em.

We chatted briefly about her new album and its direction.  Karen went the studio route for her upcoming album, All In One, instead of doing a live album because, as she explained, “it was just time” to do it this way.  She’s been writing more and the studio afforded her the opportunity to really take her time and put her heart into her writing, a gift that she’s not always felt comfortable with.

Compared to Twinkie Clark, and more recently to Dorinda Clark-Cole, Karen shared that she often ”felt inadequate” as a songwriter.  She was encouraged, though, when God allowed her to win a GRAMMY for Gospel Song Of The Year in 2008 for her hit “Blessed And Highly Favored.”  “It was God’s way of saying ‘don’t question the gift’ that was placed inside of me,” she recounted.

In addition to her GRAMMY win, Karen has recently started her own label, Karew Records.  She’s incredibly proud of it because it’s truly a family affair– even her kids, J Drew II and Kierra, have positions in the company.  The first project on the label was the Clark Family Christmas album, which will be followed by her own project.  After that?  Expect to see a new album from The Clark Sisters.

Take note– despite all of the hard work and success, Karen really doesn’t see herself as a celebrity.  As hard as I tried to explain that she’s considered one of the greatest female vocalists alive, she kinda doesn’t get it.  LOL

Instead, she tries to remain as accessible as possible, especially because of her role as a pastor’s wife.  “The people of our church need to be able to reach me and have access to me,” she shares.  That attitude hasn’t been without its problems, though, as she has also had to change her mobile number in the past.  “People would call and just be breathing on the other end, or they’d call and play one of my songs and hang up,” she shared.

I asked Karen why she doesn’t have a Twitter account yet and she said she wasn’t sure about using technology much because she’s seen how negative it can be.  “I saw how some people had hurtful things to say about Kierra for doing the track ["God In Me"] with Mary Mary.”  Apparently, Karen even reached out to encourage Mary Mary after fans came down on them for not featuring Kierra on the BET Awards.  “We weren’t even thinking about that stuff.  Kierra was just so happy to have been included in the song, she didn’t care about all of that.  She’s just happy for them.”  Karen shared that it’s sad to see how nasty things can get on the internet.

Still, I tried to convince her that the web has some merits and, no promises, but we may see a Karen Clark-Sheard Twitter account soon… y’all can thank me later.

Before we wrapped up her chat, we talked a bit about the new track that she recorded with Aretha Franklin.  It was actually completed a while ago, but the opportunity was unreal to Karen because Aretha is her favorite singer.  I got the impression that the song, which will be on Aretha’s upcoming project, turned out very well.

Aaaaand that’s about it.  To say that I enjoyed interviewing Karen Clark-Sheard would be an understatement.  At its core, though, it was just a really great conversation.

Hopefully, you guys got some cool info out of it, too.  Whatd’ya think?

Word has it that a duet to rival ALL duets is in the making– it’s Karen Clark-Sheard and “the Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin.

In January 2010, Aretha Franklin will release her newest album, Aretha, A Woman Falling Out Of Love, produced by Aretha Franklin, BeBe Winans and Gordon Chambers.  One of the album’s 11 tracks will feature the duet with KCS.

The project will be available exclusively on the QVC network first, then released nationwide, exclusively at Wal-Mart.

Dunno the title of the duet yet, but it’s gonna HAVE to be quite the performance!

I have to admit that I was never a big Rance Allen fan growing up.  He’s absolutely a legendary male vocalist in gospel (and beyond) who shaped the way many fellas sing these days.  It’s really just that I was ignorant to most of the stuff he recorded in his prime.  Kinda like how my appreciation of Aretha Franklin was limited until I actually listened for myself to what she was doing, vocally, on each track.  Now that I’ve started to do that with him, I wanna share these Goodies with the masses.

Now, I reeeaaaally wanted to post a link of Rance Allen singing “Lying On the Truth” at the WattStax music festival in the 70s, but it was removed from YouTube since I last saw it.  I suffer, you suffer.

No worries, though, cuz he STILL delivers on any occasion.  Here, he’s singing his tail off in “That Will Be Good Enough For Me”:

As September comes to a speeding end, I didn’t wanna let Gospel Music Heritage Month end without making sure I talked about the incomparable Mahalia Jackson.  Many people hear the name her name and think to themselves, “yeah, gospel pioneer… I get it.”

But few of us, if we’re honest with ourselves, will acknowledge that we actually know very little about her.  So, here goes…

Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972) was born in New Orleans, LA.  At the age of 16, she moved to Chicago, where she worked as a domestic, then as a beautician.  At age 18, she met Thomas A. Dorsey and, shortly thereafter, began touring with him as his primary vocalist and collaborator.

At age 24, she landed her first recording contract (Decca Records) after being heard singing at a funeral.  From that record deal, she later went to sign with Apollo Records, then Columbia Records (you thought Mary Mary was Columbia’s first gospel artist??? ).

She married Isaac Lanes Grey Hockenhull in 1936, but divorced him in 1941 (allegedly because of his racehorse gambling addiction and persistent pressure from him that she sing secular music, which would be more profitable).

Meanwhile, her success in gospel music began bringing her international acclaim as she toured throughout Europe.  In 1958, Mahalia’s version of “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” peaked at #68 on Billboard’s singles chart, which was unprecedented at the time.

Toward the latter portion of her life on Earth, Mahalia was very involved with the Civil Rights Movement.  She is known to have joined Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at many events, the most famous of which was probably the 1963 March On Washington, where Dr. King gave his “I Have A Dream” speech.

Mahalia Jackson passed from heart failure in January of 1972, in Evergreen Park, IL.  Two services were held–one in Chicago and one in New Orleans.  Aretha Franklin closed the Chicago service with “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” the now classic song made famous by Jackson.  The majority of her estate, with an estimated value of over a million dollars, was left to her family back in New Orleans.

Following her death, she was honored with a GRAMMY Lifetime Acheivement Award and, since then, has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Hame and has her face on a U.S. postal stamp.

I remember seeing some great videos of Mahalia on YouTube a while back… just HAD to post one of ‘em.  In this one, “Just A Closer Walk With Thee,” watch how Mahalia WORKS this song so tough that, by the end, she’s in another DIMENSION! LOL

Here’s a little Gospel Music Heritage Month Tidbit for ya…

Clara Ward (1924-1973) was well-known as the leader of The Famous Ward Singers.  She was a pioneer in the movement of small gospel ensembles– they even used choreography, which was criticized by some as “clowning.”

In addition to penning the popular gospel song “How I Got Over,” Clara Ward recorded background vocals on several secular albums and sang pop songs for various compilation albums in the 60’s.  She is cited by Aretha Franklin as a strong musical influence.  She passed away at the young age of 48 after suffering two strokes.

Here’s two videos (both with great vocals and great performances)– first is “We’ll Soon Be Done” and the second is “Didn’t It Rain”:

Whatd’ya think???

Is it just me, or could you go for a new gospel album from Aretha Franklin?  If done right, with some great production (maybe Kevin Bond) and awesome songwriting (ummm… Richard Smallwood), some guest spots and a killin’ choir to back her… it could be incredible.

Who would YOU tap for production, songwriting, guest spots?

Holla at me!

THIS woman of God… y’all heard of Tommye Young-West?

She sings like nobody’s business.  Her approach and attack are kinda reminscent of Aretha Franklin to me. I can’t stop listening to it!!!

Oh, and by the way, this post is a clue into who I interviewed most recently for the On BGVs background vocalist series!  Coming sooooon!  Any guesses???

Learn more about Tommye Young-West at http://www.oneluventertainment.net/.

It was a re-run.

But it was still as good as the first time I saw it!  It featured performances from Fantasia, Melonie Daniels and Isaiah D. Thomas.

I already posted a clip a coupla months ago of Melonie’s awesome performance, and Isaiah D. Thomas did his thing well.  But I wanna chat about Fantasia.  MAN, OH MAN.

She AND her mama sang “He’s Done Enough” like it was going out of style.  I mean, they brought it FOR REAL.  Then, she came back at the end of the show to sing “Total Praise”– phenomenal.

After the credits rolled, she continued in the same vein of worship, talking to the audience about her recent vocal surgery and how she has a voice to sing despite the doctors’ predictions.  She cried and sang some more, thanking God for who He is.  Great stuff!

I think Fantasia’s a bit of an anomaly in the music industry.  After Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, and maybe Whitney Houston, she’s probably the biggest-named artist who puts out “secular” albums, but can also be found doing tons of gospel stuff on the regular.  Not only is she accepted in both markets, she’s believable in both genres.

I’m aware that I could be startin’ something, but I wanna know what y’all think about her.  Holla!

I don’t know where to begin.

I don’t think anyone will ever dispute the fact that Thomas Whitfield was one of the most influential gospel artists to ever live.  Nicknamed “The Maestro,” the Detroit-based artist was instrumental (pun intended) in shaping the face of contemporary gospel music.  He was an amazing vocalist, a prolific songwriter, an innovative arranger, an incredible pianist, and an awesome producer.

In addition to serving as the musical director for Aretha Franklin’s gospel masterpiece, Amazing Grace, Thomas Whitfield produced Vanessa Bell Armstrong’s debut album, Peace Be Still, introduced the world to Yolanda Adams, and is credited as a mentor to Fred Hammond and Donald Lawrence, among countless others.  Along with his choir, The Whitfield Company, he left an incredibly rich legacy of music in the gospel industry.

But his sudden death in 1992, at the young age of 38, also left a deep void.  He suffered a heart attack while eating at a Detroit restaurant after choir rehearsal one night. The efforts of several choir members to resuscitate him were unsuccessful and he was declared dead by the time he arrived at the hospital.  At the time of his death, he was engaged to marry Gwen Morton (a lead vocalist in The Whitfield Company and sister of Bishop Paul Morton).  Several tribute albums and “greatest hits” projects have been released since his death, and he has been honored posthumously with the 1999 James Cleveland Award at the Stellar Awards.

I can’t possibly list all of his songs, but some of his most famous are “Hallelujah Anyhow,” “We Need a Word from the Lord,” and “Precious Jesus.”  My personal favorites are those, plus ”Walk In The Light,” “Wrapped Up, Tied Up, Tangled Up,” ”Hold Me,” “Soon As I Get Home,” “The Lord Is Blessing Me,” and “Lift Those Hands and Bless Him.”  And I guess I should stop there. LoL

I don’t believe I have the words to describe what I feel about Thomas Whitfield and his music ministry.  That annoys me, but it doesn’t surprise me.  His music kinda transcends the overwhelming majority of gospel music currently out there.  People don’t write like that, sing like that, arrange like that, MINISTER like that anymore… (”CHALLunge!”).  Every time I study him more, I’m even more amazed by his gift.  He was soooooo ahead of his time (chords and musical ideas like that weren’t “supposed” to be in the 80’s!), yet he managed to create ageless music that is JUST as phenomenal, relevant and refreshing today as it was when it was first released. I regret that I wasn’t grown enough to appreciate his music while he was alive.  One thing’s for sure, though, it’s not too late for ANY of us to appreciate him now.

I went back and forth on which song to put in here.  It was gonna be “Walk In The Light,” but you’ll have to Google that one on your own. I decided to stick with the one that sends SHIVERS down my spine from the very first piano note through the end of the hauntingly beautiful words “all I need”… and the rich lead vocal from Larry Edwards…. oh my goodness!!! “Wrapped Up, Tied Up, Tangled Up”:

What’s your favorite Thomas Whitfield song? Got any memories about him or his music? Talk to me.