Rance Allen, Lashun Pace, Angela Primm

Hello friends,

Let me begin by thanking you for the wonderful response to my interview with Margie Adam. Thank you for your comments, shares and messages! I’m always grateful to learn how the content connects with you!

I’ve been working feverishly on my book—hence the absence of the lengthier essays here. The book will be tracing the evolution of contemporary gospel and highlighting the contributions and work of the artists who helped push gospel beyond the four walls of the church and blurred the lines between the sacred and the secular—while keeping their art true to its roots.

There are a few exciting things I wanted to share with you.

This past week, I got to watch the recording of Angela Primm’s upcoming release, I Feel Like Singing, which included a reunion with Beverly Crawford, Nuana Dunlap, Francine Smith (with whom she sang in the New Life Singers) and Gale Mayes. It was spectacular! Angie’s album and DVD will be out soon. Stay tuned to Angie’s website for release details!

Two weeks ago, Rance Allen’s estate released his last singing sermon, When Jesus Comes For Me, on all digital music platforms. Rance was one of contemporary gospel’s greatest innovators. He colored outside of the lines with his recordings in the early 70’s on Stax Records’ Gospel Truth imprint, bringing funk and gospel together in ways no one had before. Don’t miss his final recording.

If you were a lover of the music of Lashun Pace, then the news of her passing certainly made last week a sad one. I remember hearing Lashun on one of Edwin Hawkins Music & Arts Recordings in the late 80s and being completely blown away. I was in high school when her debut album, He Lives, was released and I played it relentlessly. I still do. What a voice, what a spirit. She was one of gospel’s most original song stylists. That her debut album contained endorsements from Edwin & Walter Hawkins and Rev. James Cleveland is an indicator of the kind of work that she would do throughout her 30+ year career. You will never be forgotten, Ms. Pace!

We will be back in two weeks with my conversation with Teresa Trull about her 1980 album, Let It Be Known, an album that fused Soul, Gospel and Women’s Music into one contagious brew! I can’t wait to share it!