I sooooooo remember this special arrangement of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” being released about 20 years ago.  I remember hearing all of the different vocalists, trying to pick out who was singing on each part, and thinking “THIS SONG ROCKS!”

We’re talking Melba Moore, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Stephanie Mills, Karen Clark Sheard, Howard Hewitt, Jeffrey Osborne, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Anita Baker, Take 6, Bobby Brown, Gerald Albright… the vocals and music are well-produced.  Just great great great.

Anyway, I started humming it this week, randomly, and I thought “I wonder if people remember this?”

Do you???

I wanna take a quick moment to feature a cool new artist, Josiah “Jojo” Martin.  He’s actually been writing and doing background vocals behind the scenes for quite some time, but he’s just now stepping out on his own as a solo artist.

In addition to offering BGV’s for PJ Morton and Fred Hammond, Jojo is currently producing an album for Stephanie Mills, as well as writing and providing vocals for the long-awaited album from Dalon Collins (former member of Kirk Franklin & The Family).  You’ll also find his work on the latest releases from James Fortune & FIYA and, soon, on the newest album from VaShawn Mitchell.

At age 25, Jojo’s voice is incredibly reminiscent of the great crooners from the old skool.  He’s got a gritty tone that reminds me of someone like David Ruffin or Jason Nelson, but a vocal delivery that definitely has some modern, urban flavor to it.

He’s anticipating a full album release later this year.  In the meantime, I’ve just added his first single, “Always,” to the PunditPlayer.  I’m REALLY diggin’ it.

Click here to take a listen and lemme know what you think!!!

Only one friend of mine has ever been able to demonstrate that they know as much about this album as I do.  And it kinda shocks me cuz it had all the right ingredients for a hit record.

Released in 1994 on GospoCentric, Personal Inspirations is the debut gospel album from Stephanie Mills.  No novice to performance (she was the original “Dorothy” in The Wiz on Broadway and had a wildly successful R&B career), she recorded this project LIVE.  On production?  None other than Donald Lawrence, her long-time musical director.  On background vocals?  The Tri-City Singers.

I won’t say that I adore every track– some are simply nostalgic at this point.  But there’s no denying that she’s got some real gems on this project.  From the album’s opener, “I Had A Talk With God,” to her cover of The Caravans’ ”Sweepin’ Through The City,” Stephanie Mills demonstrates that she’s no outsider to the gospel genre.

My favorite track on the project is “He Cares,” written by John P. Kee (and, on which, he makes a guest appearance).  It’s classic.  As if it weren’t enough on its own, she does a reprise of it and grabs Arnetta Murrill-Crooms (remember her lead vocal on Tri-City’s “I Am God”?) from among the background vocalists… beautiful.

Other stand-outs for me is her remake of the Winans’ classic “Everything You Touch,” “Everybody Ought To Know,” “I’m Gonna Make You Proud,” and the gospel version of her own R&B hit, “Power Of Love,” re-titled “Power Of God.”

I’m not saying that it should’ve been #1 on Billboard for a year.  But I am saying that it was good initial effort, with great production, nice songs and arrangements…

I couldn’t find many clips online from the project, so bear with me on the YouTube video below (audio only). And also, click here to hear that reprise of “He Cares” (the person disabled embedding, so I couldn’t post that video).

Whatd’ya think???

I have this little rule: no Christmas music before Thanksgiving. So, when Turkey Day is over, I’m never too devastated– some of the greatest, most nostalgic music in my collection can finally be played for the next month.

I cannot possibly share it all with you, but over the next four weeks, I’m gonna try my absolute best. All of the folks won’t be gospel artists, but they’re singing about the birth of the King, so… yeah.

Up first is Kelly Price. She released her Christmas album One Family: A Christmas Album in 2001.  She’s got some great arrangements of classic songs, plus some good original ones.

She also enlists the help of Mary Mary, Kirk Whalum, Donnie McClurkin, BeBe Winans, Shirley Murdock, the Williams Brothers and Wynonna Judd, among others.  One of my favorite tracks is “Silent Night,” arranged by Donald Lawrence (which, incidentally, I first fell in love with back in 1991, when Stephanie Mills recorded the same version on her Christmas album).  Also worthy of mention is “In Love at Christmas,” the churchy “O Come All Ye Faithful” and her rock/gospel version of “Go Tell It,” especially the vamp.

For those of you who haven’t been impressed with the lackluster holiday offerings of most current artists, do yourself a favor and add a new favorite to your collection.  It’s an instant classic.

Listen to (and prolly fall in love with) “Silent Night”:

Well???