Umm… Did anyone watch the Soul Train Gospel Experience on gmc a couple of weeks ago?

I DVR’ed it and just watched it over the weekend… I feel a little duped!

I thought it was gonna be a 60-minute compilation of the greatest gospel moments on Soul Train.  Turned out to be a 1996 episode of Soul Train that featured Kirk Franklin, but not until you endured a bunch of scantily clad girls grinding to 90′s R&B artist Mona Lisa lip-synchin’ on stage.

I’m sure it was a licensing issue–couldn’t get the footage of just Kirk without buying the whole episode, or maybe Don Cornelius wouldn’t allow slicing and editing of the episodes (in copyright law, we’d call that a “derivative work”) without getting a bigger financial cut of the pie… WHATEVER the reason, I wish I had known that upfront.

With more installments of Soul Train Gospel Experience coming, I’m gonna have to more carefully consider whether I’ll subject myself to 40 minutes of Shemar Moore dancing in leather pants (it was the 90′s, remember?) just to see 5 minutes of Karen Clark Sheard demolishing the vocals.

Sidebar: It was good to see J Moss hosting the gmc set.  Whoo hoo!

Anyone else watch it?  What did you think???

Folks, if you don’t have cable, don’t get gmc, or just plain ol’ missed the Walter Hawkins Tribute Concert altogether, you can watch it at gmc’s official website by clicking RIGHT HERE.

Love it!

I’m actually REEEEEALLY excited for this– gmc is airing a special program called Soul Train Gospel Experience this Sunday, August 1st at 8pm ET.

The program will feature the best gospel performances from the hit show Soul Train, including performances by BeBe & CeCe Winans, Al Green, Take 6, Karen Clark Sheard, Mary Mary and more.

I can only imagine how classic some of the clips will be– kudos to gmc for the innovative throwback programming.

*glares at another network who perpetually drops the ball… and you know who you are!*

Okay, who’s tuning in???

A few weeks ago, I got several messages from people asking if BET’s Sunday Best was being cancelled. My reply was simple– BET has not announced anything to that effect.  And that’s still the case, so it’s still my answer.

But my mind got to wondering– what if?

Now, I’ve heard both praises and criticism as it relates to Sunday Best.

Some don’t like the concept of a Christian talent competition, period;

Some don’t like the way that BET produces the show;

Some don’t like the judging criteria;

Some don’t like the judges, themselves;

Some don’t like that the finale isn’t live.

But…

Some like that gospel music is given attention on national TV;

Some like the synergy between the judges;

Some like that the show gives platforms for singers to grow into artistry.

So, I’m curious– if Sunday Best happened to be cancelled, how would you– the gospel community– feel about it?

Would you want BET to reconsider?  Would you want another network (like gmc, for example) to take the reigns?  Or, would you be fine with the idea of the “gospel music talent competition” simply fading away?

Let’s discuss it.  What do you think???

The Walter Hawkins Tribute Concert airs THIS SUNDAY at 8pm ET on gmc, but someone from the balcony recorded Ledisi’s performance and posted it a tad EARLY!

Peep it here–

Who else is lookin’ forward to SUNDAY?! YESSSSSS!

The homegoing service for Bishop Walter Hawkins will be streamed LIVE today at 11am PT/2pm ET, from Oakland, CA, on www.ktvu.com.

KTVU is a local FOX affiliate in the San Francisco Bay area.  I sure hope they’ve got good bandwidth…

And don’t forget– you can catch the musical tribute to Bishop Hawkins, which was held last night at the Paramount Theatre, exclusively on gmc this Sunday, July 25th, at 8pm ET.

Unfortunately, there have been LOTS of erroneous reports about the musical tribute to Walter Hawkins, which will be taking place tonight at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre. I have heard from a COMPLETELY reliable source about how it’s all going down–

Sorry to tell ya, but word has it that THE TRIBUTE WILL NOT STREAM LIVE tonight.  The homegoing service, however, likely WILL stream tomorrow morning at 11am PT.  Details about that may be at Love Center’s site, but are not presently posted.

So, how will you see the tribute, you ask?!

Word has it that gmc will be airing it this Sunday, July 25th from 8pm to 10pm ET…

Tunin’ in???

Is it just me, or does anyone else reeeeeallly hope the powers-that-be at BMI will honor Walter Hawkins at their annual BMI Trailblazers Awards during Stellar Awards weekend in Nashville this January???

The only problem– BMI honored The Hawkins Family in 2006.  In that tribute, they included music from both Walter & Edwin… too much to do a repeat?

I dunno.  But oooh, it’s just such a PERFECT fit.  Then, broadcast that bad boy on gmc again?!  Whaaat?!

Come on, somebody… is it just me?!

This video has one of my favorite Mary Mary moments EVER.  It’s from their gmc Christmas special, and they’re singing “Call Him Jesus.”

Aside from the fact that the song is just KILLER, and their vocals are nothin’ to be messed with, they have a praise break at the end, replete with tambourines and a tight band, that’ll take you someplace if you’re not careful.  But it’s the WAY they beat on these tambourines that just tickles my wife and me…

Check it out– both for the music and the merriment:

Whatd’ya think???

Word has it that gospel artist Melinda Watts is deep into the planning stages of her first conference to empower teenage girls.  It’s called the Dream Girlz Gathering and it’s going down August 19-21, 2010 in Vineland, NJ before hitting the road and hitting several cities across the nation.

The schoolteacher-turned-gospel-artist (by way of gmc’s Gospel Dream talent competition) has always had a passion for educating and empowering young girls on their journey to becoming young women– this conference is an outpouring of that passion.

And to assist her, she’s locked in the support of other great women in gospel, including Crystal Aikin, Karima Kibble, Neechy and more.

Visit http://www.dreamgirlzgathering.com or call 866-806-GRLZ for more info.

Anyone gonna check it out?  Anyone planning to attend?  Lemme know!