With her new release, "Back to My Roots," Candi Staton fuses gospel, blues, soul, and country together, looking back at the songs that are a part of her foundation and looking forward with a half dozen new compositions from her own pen.
In this candid and revealing conversation, we discuss her memories of the gospel highway in the 1950s, the stigmas on transitioning from gospel to secular, her return to gospel in the 1980s, her experience on Christian television, the subsequent stigma of divorce within Christian culture and her return to mainstream music in the late 90s.
Read more about her new release at godsmusicismylife.com.
There's a lot to be said about Reba Rambo. From 1976-1982, she was one of contemporary Christian music's mavericks, the first to receive crossover buzz from mainstream publications like Billboard and Cash Box. She had the lyrical prowess of Laura Nyro, the vocal power akin to Streisand, and the glamour of Diana Ross. Her 1976 album Lady came from out of nowhere, establishing this member of southern gospel's Singing Rambos as a solo artist in her own right. Lady's lead single, "The Land of Oohs and Ahs," took The Wizard of Oz's concepts and likened them to the salvation experience, an unconventional approach to talking about one's faith that caught on with listeners world round. Fans called her "Reba Lady" and her whimsical and ethereal lyricism served as theological springboards from which listeners broadened their ideas of what being a contemporary Christian could mean. For years, Reba's important contributions to contemporary Christian music went unnoticed. But in 2019, Sony's Legacy Recordings and MNRK began reissuing her long out-of-print solo albums. Lady, Confessions and Lady Live were digitally reissued. Then, this past week, her 1980 album Dreamin' was reissued and quickly hit the #8 position on iTunes. I've been documenting the career of this important artist since 1993, and after many years and many conversations, I am still learning the whole story. We sat down last week to discuss her career, beginning with Lady, her time with Andrae Crouch & the Disciples, and the massive work that she did in 1980 which began with Dreamin', now available on all digital music outlets!
I was not at all prepared for the calls I got, back to back, late Sunday afternoon telling me that Sandra Crouch had died. I didn’t know her, but the people who called knew that I loved her and they wanted me to know before the news went all around the world. A world without Sandra (or Andraé) Crouch in it is hard to fathom. Her music has been present in my life since I was born. Her solo albums in the eighties and nineties were companions for me in incredibly hard and lonely times.
With her twin brother, Andraé, she innovated the contemporary gospel sound in his early group The COGICS, and simultaneously began a career as a session musician, playing percussion on everything from the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and “ABC” to Janis Joplin’s posthumous Pearl album.
When Andraé launched his group, The Disciples, in 1965, she was once again there providing vocal and instrumental support as the group became a driver in the development of contemporary gospel and (what would later become known as) contemporary Christian music. They broke color lines in the Jesus Movement, performing at the seminal Explo ‘72. Sandra co-wrote the Disciples’ anthem “Jesus Is The Answer” which, today, can be found in hymnals. By the end of the decade, she and the Disciples found themselves at the White House, performing for President Jimmy Carter.
She stepped into the spotlight as a recording artist in her own right with 1983’s We Sing Praises, which produced monster hits like the Jean Johnson-led “He’s Worthy” and “Magnify the Lord (We Sing Praises).” The album earned three Grammy nominations and took home the award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female.
Musician and social commentator Dara Tucker posted a tribute to Sandra Crouch on her TikTok (@darastarrtucker) that highlights her important contributions to the world of popular music and notes the lack of focus on the weight of her life’s work. Dara has joined me for this episode in which we unpack our thoughts about this amazing woman who will be deeply missed.
This past Tuesday (March 5, 2024), the world learned of the death of singer-actress-vocal coach, Debra Byrd.
Many first saw Debra Byrd in the seventies as part of Barry Manilow's backing group, Lady Flash, but she found herself in the living rooms of America when she was hired as the vocal coach for American Idol where she nurtured the talents of Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia Barrino, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood and so many more.
I was privileged to interview Debra in 2007 for my radio show, Out the Box with Tim Dillinger. I wanted to honor her life, work and legacy by re-editing our conversation for this week's podcast episode where we talk about her beginnings in gospel, training in opera, her career with Manilow, on Broadway and, finally, her life as a vocal coach.
You will be missed Ms. Byrd. Thank you for the incredible music and all that you invested into multiple generations of artists.
To read more about Debra's life, go to https://godsmusicismylife.substack.com/
In this episode, I talk with Charles Miller, Frankie Henry, Robin Johnson and Everett Drake of the Twenty-First Century Singers about their 1978 album "Sunday Night Fever" and their memories of their founder, the incredible male soprano, the late Johnny Whittaker and original group member, the late Lula Jordan.
Who were the Twenty-First Century Singers? A Nashville group founded in 1972 that would become the first Black group from Nashville to earn a Grammy nomination for their 1975 recording "The Storm Is Passing Over." When Johnny Whittaker, Charles Miller and Robin Johnson joined Bobby Jones' New Life in the early 80s, appearing weekly on Bobby Jones Gospel throughout the decade, they became a part of re-shaping the standard for gospel's presentation and sound.
To read my essay on the group and a deeper look at their history, join me at Substack: https://godsmusicismylife.substack.com/p/with-him-everybody-could-sing
Tori Taff is an under-celebrated talent whose pen played a major part in birthing a number of innovative songs that have been a companion and comfort to many of us over the last four decades via the Imperials, her husband Russ Taff's body of work, and First Call, among others.
I centered our conversation around Russ' blockbuster 1985 release, "Medals," but we discuss her life as a songwriter and the unique period of time in CCM in which many of us first heard her work.
To read my own homage to 'Medals,' go to my Substack: https://godsmusicismylife.substack.com/p/not-gonna-bow-an-outsiders-take-on
Last night (2/12/24), I was part of a vigorous panel discussion at the National Museum of African-American Music for WPLN, Nashville's local news and NPR station, curated and moderated by WPLN's LaTonya Turner. Myself, Nashville music legend Odessa Settles, daughter of Walter J. Settles of the Fairfield Four, Patrick Daily, countertenor, director of the W. Crimm Singers and professor at Tennessee State University, and Dr. G. Preston Wilson, the new director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
We gathered to talk about the gospel sound, Nashville's connection to a vital history that was not included in Gates' documentary, and the current state of gospel music.
Many first became familiar with Donna McElroy when they saw and heard her on tour with Amy Grant between 1982 and 1992. But her career began before that as a student at Fisk University when she became a part of Nashville community of session singers on hits like Kenny Rogers' "You Decorated My Life," Barbara Mandrell's "If Loving You Is Wrong" and others.
In 1990, she was signed to what would become known as Warner Alliance Records, a CCM/gospel division of Warner Brothers Records. She made an album that colored outside of the lines musically and lyrically. Launching a solo career was a challenge and, despite a Grammy and Dove nomination, the album failed to launch Donna into the kind of solo career that had been predicted for her.
In this interview, we discuss that experience and much, much more.
To read more about Donna's career, don't miss my Substack feature about her: https://godsmusicismylife.substack.com/p/her-way-donna-mcelroys-vision-of
In this episode, I'm joined by Leah Payne, author of the brand new book, "God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music" and we discuss her book AND deep dive into Amy Grant's 1984 album, "Straight Ahead" which turns 40 this year.
To read more about 'Straight Ahead,' join me at https://godsmusicismylife.substack.com/ for a full length feature on the album!
Pam Mark Hall is one of the most important CCM artists of the 70s and 80s--but if you weren't listening to the music in that era, you might not have heard of her.
In addition to her own solo work, she wrote songs for many of the best-selling albums of the 80s, including Amy Grant's "Straight Ahead," Kathy Troccoli's "Heart & Soul," Russ Taff's "Medals," and the Imperials' "Let the Wind Blow."
In this interview, we discuss her last major label release, 1986's "Keeper," which came on the cusp of the end of her career in CCM as she once knew it. We discuss the culture at the time, and the effects of fundamentalism and misogyny on her life and career.
Read more about Pam at my Substack: https://godsmusicismylife.substack.com/p/unwilling-to-shut-up-and-sing
Author Elizabeth Cunningham discusses her latest book, "My Life as a Prayer" (Monkfish Book Publishing) and the impact that gospel music has had on her spiritual path.
To watch the longer interview, go to https://godsmusicismylife.substack.com/p/going-down-to-the-deep-places
To learn more about Elizabeth's work, visit elizabethcunninghamwrites.com
She was one of the primary influences for artists like Little Richard and Aretha Franklin, was given the McArthur Foundation Genius Grant, was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque in France, was inducted into the Philadelphia Walk of Fame and the only gospel artist to be a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. Who is she?
Marion Williams.
From her beginnings in the Clara Ward Singers in 1947, a collaboration which begat the blockbuster hits “Surely God Is Able” and “Packing Up,” until her last recording in 1993, Can’t Keep It To Myself, Williams set about making a distinct brand of vocal art that remained rooted in gospel music, but also fearlessly addressed the political (like Bob Dylan’s “Wicked Messenger” and “I Pity the Poor Immigrant” and Anthony Heilbut’s “Bad News, Bad Times”) and colored outside of conventional faith lines (“Hare Krishna”). Whether joyously scatting on songs like “Didn’t It Rain,” impersonating a guitar on “The New Gospel Train,” or moaning through one of the Dr. Watts hymns, Williams’ body of work covers a vast terrain of American music.
This summer, I was honored to talk with Robin Williams at length about the documentary and his memories of his mother. We discuss Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Marion’s performances in supper clubs and colleges, and the challenges and blessings of growing up as the son of a gospel legend. To read more and hear the music of Marion Williams, go to https://godsmusicismylife.substack.com/
In 2008, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bishop Carlton Pearson for a radio show I was hosting while he was promoting his book, The Gospel of Inclusion: Reaching Beyond Religious Fundamentalism to the True Love of God. I am thrilled to share it once again.
Bishop Pearson died in November 2023, but his words remain vital and essential for our collective (re)awakening.
Thank you Bishop Pearson for your visionary eye, courage and willingness to speak the truth that made and continues to make so many uncomfortable. As time continues to roll on, I know that these truths for which you've paid such a price will soon become commonplace.
In the first episode, host and gospel music historian Tim Dillinger shares the inspiration and overarching aim of the God's Music Is My Life project.
Learn more about God's Music Is My Life and subscribe for our weekly newsletter here: https://godsmusicismylife.substack.com/
