Going on With the Spirit

The July edition of the God's Music Is My Life Radio Show along with a deeper look at a handful of the songs and the artists who recorded them.

This past Sunday, the July edition of the God’s Music Is My Life Radio Show premiered on Clarksville’s 101.9 (which also streams on DAF Gospel Radio) every Saturday and Sunday evening from 6 to 8 PM CST.

The monthly act of curating this show is a joy—looking back at, sometimes, seventy years of music. I normally share the show for paid subscribers only, but wanted to share it with everyone this month. I hope you enjoy! Hour 1 and 2 are below.

This month’s playlist features some of my all-time favorites and I wanted to highlight a few of them.

Bless That Wonderful Name of Jesus—Dorothy Norwood—from Answer Me Dear Jesus (1982)

By 1982, Dorothy Norwood had been recording for over twenty-five years. She’d recorded classics with The Caravans, The Gospel Chimes and her own Dorothy Norwood Singers, always keeping her finger on the pulse of the times. Answer Me Dear Jesus brings the evolving choir sound of the early 80s and traditional sound she was known for together with original compositions that touched on spiritual and social matters and a stroll down Old School Boulevard with the congregational song “Bless That Wonderful Name of Jesus.”

I interviewed Ms. Norwood in 2008 when she was releasing No Request, her collaboration with the Mississippi Mass Choir. You can hear that interview here.

Praise the Lord—the New York Community Choir—from A Little Higher (1972)

Many of you know I’ve been working on a book about the New York Community Choir for the last decade (There’s an update coming on that soon!). This Timothy Wright composition (who you can also hear on organ) from their epic 1972 Creed Records release, A Little Higher, features Rev. Isaac Douglas and Arthur Freeman on lead vocals in this example of how the New York Community Choir always managed to bring church to the studio.

He Touched Me—Twenty-First Century Singers—from Guilty for Loving God (1976)

The Twenty-First Century Singers are one of those groups that just doesn’t get the acclaim they are due. As the first of Nashville’s gospel groups to earn a Grammy nomination, this group, founded by the late, great Johnny Whittaker, broke ground in taking the gospel sound to mainstream spaces, following in the footsteps of their heroes, the Clara Ward Singers, and further polishing and enhancing gospel’s commercial possibilities without losing the spirit.

I interviewed the group’s surviving members in 2021 and wrote this piece. You can also hear our interview in the podcast link included in the article below!

How Great Thou Art--Sylvester—from Immortal (1989)

While Sylvester is today remembered as the groundbreaking LGBTQI+ icon that he was, his gospel roots were always pulsating in everything he recorded. This track, said to have been recorded for the unfinished follow-up to his final album, 1986’s Mutual Attraction, has him backed by Bay Area gospel legend Charlene Moore, rendering his version of this well-known hymn. I wrote more on his gospel connections in 2022.

Also on this month’s show:
Going On with the Spirit—Willie Mae Ford Smith
We Give Him the Praise—GMWA Women of Worship featuring Nuana Dunlap
Fall Fresh On Me—Lola Holoman & Company
Just For Me—Inez Andrews
In God’s Own Time—James Cleveland and the Triboro Mass Choir
Give Me Two Wings—King Louis Narcisse
Satisfied—Charles May and the Crusader Temple COGIC Choir
On The Right Road Now—The Davis Sisters
Jesus Whoop—Norman Hutchins featuring DeNetria Champ
He’s Done Enough—Beverly Crawford
He’ll Fight My Battles—The Sweet Inspirations featuring Estelle Brown
Oh Happy Day—Aretha Franklin and Mavis Staples
Why Should I Worry—Cora Martin
Bread of Heaven—Rev. James Moore
I’ve Been In The Storm Too Long—Mighty Clouds of Joy
Never Alone—Vanessa Bell Armstrong
God Will Take Care of You—Rev. Morgan Babb