Sunday Morning Music (5/16/21)
Hello friends!
First—thanks to all of the new subscribers! I’m excited that you’ve joined me here. The first ‘real’ entry will hit tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the conversations that are ahead.
This week’s playlist hits many of the gospel hotspots: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Jackson, St. Louis and Memphis. The list also runs the gamut from instrumentalists, soloists, ensembles, and choirs.
On a personal note, I found myself fully immersed in the catalog of Rev. James Moore all week. Like so many, it was his first collaboration with the Mississippi Mass Choir that brought him into my consciousness as a teenager. I first saw him live at one of the Bobby Jones Gospel Explosions in the early 1990s. He had just lost his vision and was grappling with health challenges. Despite the health challenges, he maintained the ability to go straight to the heart. I’ll never forget the force that he was that night at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. I last saw him perform in the year leading up to his death when he came to St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida. By June of the next year (2000), he would transition.
I included his “He’s All I Need” (from Live in Detroit) in this week’s playlist which was on heavy rotation for me as I navigated the week. I received news this week about a childhood friend that really knocked the wind out of my sails. Some things are out of our control, impossible for us to fix. James’ music has reminded me of the importance of surrender, acceptance of the things that we cannot change.
Gospel Groove—Billy Preston
Lord, I’ll Go—Harold Bailey Singers
What Shall I Render—Rev. Clay Evans
Feed My Sheep—Twinkie Clark with the Florida A&M University Gospel Choir
My Soul Says Yes Lord—Rev. Isaac Douglas and Donnell Hickman with the Gospel Music Workshop of America Mass Choir
It Is Jesus—B C & S
God Specializes—The Jackson Southernaires
Only a Look—The O’Neal Twins
He’s All I Need—Rev. James Moore
Hold On—Billy Rivers and the Angelic Voices of Faith featuring Angela Spivey