May 31st, 2010 by Black Gospel Choir
The Harlem Gospel Singers began 8 years ago touring Europe and have become Europe’s number 1 Gospel singing group. They have performed for over 5 million fans, have sold over a million CDs, and have toured major cities, including Paris, Vienna, Milan, Rome, Berlin, London, Montreal, Barcelona, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. The group was started by Queen Esther Marrow who was discovered by Duke Ellington, and went on to sing with Bob Dylan, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Chick Correa, Harry Belafonte, Thelonious Monk, and Mahalia Jackson.
source:www.amazon.com/Harlem-Gospel-Singers-Band
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May 31st, 2010 by Black Gospel Choir
Years active 1934 – 1998
photo:Hippie09
Founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet in Norfolk, Virginia in 1934 by Robert Ford, A.C. Griffin, Willie Johnson, William Langford, Henry Owens and Orlandus Wilson. They began as a traditional jubilee quartet, combining the clever arrangements associated with barbershop quartets with rhythms borrowed from the blues and jazz like scat singing.
The makeup of the group changed over the years, as some members were drafted during the war and new members were brought in to replace those who had retired or left to join other groups (one notable member was bass singer Cliff Givens, who was to leave The Gates in 1944 to join The Ink Spots upon the death of original bass Orville “Hoppy” Jones, and later joined Billy Ward and His Dominoes). William Langford joined the group when Griffin left in 1935 and Orlandus Wilson replaced Ford the same year. Clyde Riddick replaced Langford in 1938, Johnson left in 1948 to join “The Jubilaires” and Owens left the group later to become a preacher and solo artist. Riddick remained with the group until his retirement in 1995 and Wilson until his death in 1998.
The Gates had a broad repertoire of styles—from Owens’ mournful, understated approach in songs such as Anyhow or Hush, Somebody’s Calling My Name, to the group’s highly syncopated arrangements in Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Like The Mills Brothers of popular music, they would often include vocal special effects in their songs, imitating train sounds in songs such as Golden Gate Gospel Train. Langford often sang lead, using his ability to range from baritone to falsetto, while Johnson narrated in a hip syncopated style that became the hallmark for the group. Wilson’s bass served as the anchor for the group and Owens harmonized with Langford and Johnson. The Golden Gate Quartet was inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
source:wikipedia.org
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May 29th, 2010 by Black Gospel Choir
The First Black Astronaut
October 2, 1935 – December 8, 1967
He was senior USAF pilot, accumulating well over 2,500 flight hours—2,000 of which were in jets. Lawrence flew many tests in the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter to investigate the gliding flight of various unpowered spacecraft returning to Earth from orbit, such as the North American X-15 rocket-plane. NASA cited Lawrence for accomplishments and flight maneuver data that “contributed greatly to the development of the Space Shuttle.”
In June 1967, Lawrence successfully completed the Air Force Flight Test Pilot Training School at Edwards AFB, California. That same month he was selected by the USAF as an astronaut in the Air Force’s Manned Orbital Laboratory Program, thus becoming the first African-American astronaut candidate.
At the age of 16, he graduated in the top 10 percent from Englewood High School in Chicago. At the age of 20, he graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry.
After entering the U.S. Air Force, the 21 year old he was designated as a pilot after completing flight training at Malden Air Force Base.
He married Barbara Cress, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Henry Cress of Chicago and at 25, he had completed an Air Force assignment as an instructor pilot in the T-33 training aircraft for the German Air Force.
Lawrence was killed on December 8, 1967, in the crash of an F-104 Starfighter at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
The First Black Astronaut to go up in space
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 22, 1942. He was one of the four kids born to Guion Sr., a mechanical engineer and Lolita,a special education teacher. He graduated from Overbrook Senior High School in Philadelphia, in 1960, and obtained a Bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1964. Later, the same year, he married Linda Tull. The couple has two sons; Guion III and James.
Bluford’s first mission was STS-8 aboard Space Shuttle Challenger. It was Challenger’s first mission with night launching and night landing. The shuttle was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on August 30, 1983. Challenger landed at the Edwards Air Base in California on September 5, 1983, after completing 98 orbits of the Earth in 145 hours. He participated as a mission specialist in four missions, commissioned by NASA between 1983 and 1993. By the end of his fourth mission, Guion had completed 688 hours in space.
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May 29th, 2010 by Black Gospel Choir
Choirs have until June 7 to be a part of the search for The Best Church Choir in America. You can visit www.HowSweetTheSound.com to fill out the quick and easy registration form and get more information.
Everyone must act quickly so that you can have plenty of time to practice your praising and have a chance to win $50,000 in cash and prizes!
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May 3rd, 2010 by Black Gospel Choir
Nicknamed “the mother of gospel music” for her efforts to popularize the songs of Thomas A. Dorsey and her influence on other artists. A gospel singer and arranger, Sallie Martin was born near Atlanta, Georgia. In her early twenties she began singing in a church choir in Cleveland, and, by 1929, had moved to Chicago and joined a chorus directed by Thomas Dorsey, later known as the Father of Gospel Music. With him, in 1933, Martin co-founded the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses. During the remainder of the 1930s, she served as Dorsey’s song demonstrator and bookkeeper, singing and selling his compositions at churches and conventions. In some churches Martin encountered resistance, “because, you see, they didn’t like the idea of you having rhythm…but I got saved patting my feet…it would be impossible for me to just absolutely stand still and sing.”
In 1940, she left Dorsey to help start the Martin and Morris Publishing Company, which published the famous Just a Closer Walk with Thee. This song made a name for the Sallie Martin Singers, one of the first all-female gospel groups, and helped usher in the golden age of gospel during the 1940s and 1950s. Her involvement with publishing lasted 30 years, and in a 1981 interview, Martin commented, “I think gospel music is a thing of the soul. People sing it if they’re burdened; then again, if they feel happy, they can give it out like that…People will get a message that there must be something behind this. There must be a God or something.”
photo & bio credit: blackpast.org
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