*In GOSPEL NEWS & NOTES: POP STAPLES Honored With Mississippi Blues Trail Marker; *SONYA ISAACS Is Having a Baby; *Crossing Over: THE CONSOLERS’ SULLIVAN PUGH, 85; *A Gospel Music Shrine Grows In Birmingham; *DAVID MANN Joins Statement of Faith; *Crossing Over: BILLY GRABLE, The Stamps, 82

 

*BOB MAROVICH’S GOSPEL PICKS
THE HURRICANE THAT HIT ATLANTA, Rev. Johnny L. Jones—Rev. Johnny L. Jones of Atlanta is not nicknamed "Hurricane" for nothing. This passionate preacher summons the force of a mighty wind when he gets to singing, shouting, or delivering a message. Thanks to Lance Ledbetter and his marvelous Dust-to-Digital enterprise, more than two and a half hours of selections from Rev. Jones' 1,000+ hours of archived tape ministry are available to the public for the first time. The Hurricane That Hit Atlanta is two CDs packed with gospel singing, preaching, moaning, bluesy musicianship, lined-out "Doc Watts" hymns, local radio advertising, members slain by the spirit and congregational singing, the earliest track dating back to 1957.

PULLING ME THROUGH, Todd Dulaney—As a background vocalist for Smokie Norful, former professional baseball player Todd Dulaney studied the Stellar Award-winning singer's melismatic runs and adopted some as his own, all the while maintaining a smooth, crooning style distinct from his mentor. Dulaney puts it to the test on his debut CD, Pulling Me Through, for the new Goldstreet Gospel label.

SERVE THE LORD, Leanne Faine & Favor— The album notes to Serve the Lord proclaim that Leanne Faine "is bringing church back to church music." That she does. On her third solo release, Faine—famed soloist for the Thompson Community Singers and the voice of the choir's popular "The Holy Ghost”—teams with her ensemble Favor to shake the rafters and shout down the glory. What's most striking is that the album is unabashedly traditional and singularly focused. Bucking the trend of offering several varieties of gospel music on one CD, like a Whitman sampler of styles, Serve the Lord starts traditional and stays traditional.