It is with heavy hearts and treasured memories that Malaco Music Group announces the passing of beloved Minister and Gospel Recording Artist – Rev. Benjamin Cone Jr. He died peacefully at his home in Jackson, MS on Sunday, September 16, 2012 after an extended illness.

Born in Waycross, GA on September 28, 1937, Rev. Cone moved to Mississippi in 1973. As fate would have it, he would meet and develop a friendship with Frank Williams – legendary Gospel singer, songwriter, producer and Malaco Gospel Division Director. Frank would share his vision for a statewide Gospel choir and invite Rev. Cone to become one of its founding members, in 1988. He agreed to become the choir Spiritual Director with one stipulation – the choir would not just sing about the Lord, but extend an invitation of discipleship on every recording and at every the concert. Frank also agreed, and the rest is history. He faithfully served the choir for 25 years. www.mississippimass.com), www.facebook.com/tmmc1. 

Rev. Cone was an artist in his own rights, having released 6 CD’s with Malaco Records. His uniqueness was to simply translate God’s Good News into a thunder-voiced language that impacted the hearts and minds of those blessed to hear him. www.malaco.com

According to Malaco’s President – Tommy Couch Jr. – “He was a deeply religious man who always found God’s blessings in every situation. Upon hearing of the tornado destroying Malaco, Rev. Cone commented, “No one was hurt and you had good insurance….the Lord wanted Malaco to have a new building.” Rev. Cone was present to bless the new offices at Malaco before re-opening. He told us, “Every disappointment is an appointment with the Lord.” We will truly miss Rev. Cone and his wisdom and love for our Lord.”

He leaves to cherish his memory a dedicated wife of 53 years – Louise Dixon Cone; five children – Marjorie Cone, Brenda Raiford, Danny James Cone, Benjamin Cone III, Audrey Cone Thompson; and one grandchild – Christian Cone.

Homegoing Service will take place on Saturday, September 22, 2012, at 11:00AM at New Jerusalem Baptist Church, 5708 Old Canton Road, Jackson, MS 39211. Final arrangements have been entrusted to Lakeover Memorial Funeral Home, 1525 Beasley Road, Jackson, MS 39206, 601 362 0162. Viewing will take place on Friday, September 21, 2012, 1:00PM – 7:00PM

Gospel singer and Pastor, Marvin Sapp has released a new concept music video for the song ‘I Win.’ 

The title track is the second single from his new album also titled I win.  Sapp’s previous hit single off the album was ‘My Testimony.’

Sapp is pretty busy these days.  The singer Pastors one church with two locations, and is currently touring with Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin and Israel Houghton on the King’s Men Tour.  

You can check out the music video below.

Photo L to R: Charles Van Dyke (Director of National Promotions), Tyson Paoletti (BEC Recordings’ General Manager), Lauren Heerlein (Manager of National Promotions), Jeremy Camp, Brandon Ebel (Tooth & Nail Records/BEC Recordings’ President), Conor Farley (Director of A&R) Photo Credit: Tina Cruz 

GRAMMY-nominated and BEC Recordings artist Jeremy Camp was recently honored for his 32 No.1 radio singles since his debut 10 years ago. Over the last decade, Camp has spent 175 weeks at No. 1 across the formats CHR, AC, Inspo, National Christian Audience and Rock. Last week at the CMB Momentum conference in Orlando, Camp was presented with a plaque commemorating his achievement from Tooth & Nail / BEC Recordings’ President Brandon Ebel.

“I’m so honored to see how the Lord has used the songs on radio to impact lives,” shared Camp of his career milestone. “I’m grateful for all of the radio programmers, on-air personalities and the BEC radio team for all that they have done to share these songs with the listeners. I don’t know what the future holds, but my prayer is that the Lord will use my life to further His Kingdom.”

Camp also performed the debut radio single “Reckless” from his upcoming 2013 studio album. The single was released last week in MPE to AC, CHR and Inspo radio, and it will be going for adds on October 5. This will mark his seventh studio album with BEC Recordings.

On September 25, Camp will be releasing his first full-length Christmas project titled Christmas: God With Us. The album is produced by Brown Bannister and Ben Shive along with Camp. Camp’s Christmas album is filled with holiday classics as well as the original title track “God With Us.” Fans will hear favorites such as “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Joy To The World,” and “Mary Did You Know.”

Camp will be touring this holiday season as a part of THE STORY tour featuring a full choir and orchestra along with Casting Crowns’ Mark Hall, Natalie Grant, Matthew West, Nichole Nordeman and Selah. This tour is a musical journey from Genesis to Revelation and is based off of the special project Camp was a part of that released in 2011. Camp sang “Paul (Move in Me) on THE STORY CD. THE STORY tour will begin in November and conclude in December.

About Jeremy Camp:
Over his stellar 10 year career, BEC Recordings’ artist Camp has established himself with these landmark accolades: over three million albums sold, Four RIAA Gold-selling studio albums including his debut album; One RIAA Multi-Platinum long-form video; 32 No. 1 Radio Hits across all formats; GRAMMY® nominated project for his album Speaking Louder Than Before; Billboard’s No. 3 Christian Artist of the Decade including five songs in the Top 50 Billboard Christian Songs of the Decade; Four ASCAP Songwriter of the Year awards; ASCAP Song of the Year award; Five Dove awards including two-time Male Vocalist of the Year. Jeremy is a Compassion International artist.

The news first broke in 2008 that singer Michael Winans Jr. was in deep trouble, accused of running a ponzi scheme that defrauded friends and church member out of millions.

My Fox Detroit reports that the member of the legendary Winans family is being charged by the federal government with taking more than $8 million from over a thousand victims.

Winans allegedly spoke at local churches where people were impressed to be addressed by someone in the famous Winans family.

According to broad federal sentencing guidelines Winans could be facing serious jail time or only be required to pay restitution.  The law states that a mail and wire fraud are punishable by imprisonment for not more than 20 years and a fine of not more than $250,000 (not more than $500,000 for organizations).  Conviction may also result in probation, a term of supervised release, a special assessment, a restitution order, and/or a forfeiture order.

“When you think of the Winans, you think of prominent people,” one woman told My Fox Detroit.

Michael Winans, hooked people by promoting a Saudi Arabian oil bond that was paying huge dividends.

“He did get up and speak and basically he said that the crude oil bond is real,” one man said.

But the feds say his Saudi oil bond and his investments were all fake.

Watch the video below for more details and visit My Fox Detroit for the full report.

Fox 2 News Headlines

Music World Gospel recording artist, Le’Andria Johnson gave birth to her fourth child today. Johnson’s exuberant message to her fans is, “it’s a healthy baby boy! Thanks for your prayers and support!” Little Caelington Forrest Walker was 6lbs, 14 ozs. Johnson and longtime mate, Forrest Walker are elated at the arrival of their new son.

29 year-old Le’Andria Johnson has had a whirlwind year. Her debut album sold over 200,000 copies and she took home both the GRAMMY® for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Performance of her hit song “Jesus” and the Best Female Gospel Artist Award for the Digital Gospel Music Awards. Johnson worked throughout her pregnancy recording her live DVD and music video along with several concert performances. The singer plans to spend a few weeks with her newborn and will then gear up for active promotion and touring for her album due in stores September 18th – Le’Andria Johnson: The Experience.

Johnson has been under a significant degree of scrutiny during this pregnancy due to her marital status. However the twice divorced single mother continued to stick with her music and her calling while working through her personal difficulties. As a result, Johnson is back and ready to minister to all, having lived through her fair share of less than ideal circumstances – the singer is ready to encourage others who may have been in her shoes and spread a message of hope, love and reconciliation in Christ to all. Perhaps her current singles” Complicated,” “If Jesus Can’t Fix It” and “My Story Continues” best sum up Le’Andria Johnson’s outlook for the future.

Johnson is ready to get back in front of audiences to spread her gift of song. Her album Le’Andria Johnson: The Experience is available in a standard and deluxe edition. It is currently available for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon. Amidst the busyness of her career, Johnson will pause from it all for some well-deserved family time with her newborn.

Andrew Peterson‘s latest project, Light for the Lost Boy was one of the most eagerly anticipated albums of the year, and after releasing last week the project has been hailed as Peterson’s best album to date. The project, produced by longtime friend and producer Ben Shive (Jeremy Camp, Sara Groves, Matt Wertz), along with Cason Cooley (Katie Herzig, Mat Kearney, Audrey Assad), features ten new songs written by Peterson. The album will be available in three formats; CD, special edition CD with a 32-page booklet written by Peterson and seven acoustic extra songs, and on a vintage vinyl record. The special edition and vinyl projects will only be available online and at Peterson’s concerts.

“I can’t remember a record that made me this nervous,” Peterson says. “It sounds so different, and I was really hoping the songs would connect with people. As much as I wish I were cool enough to not care what my listeners thought, the day of the release I was glued to my computer-it was such a joy to be able to read peoples’ thoughts and to thank them in real-time for their comments. I was moved to tears several times. I can’t express how glad I am that God lets me do this.”

“Whenever we release a new album from one of our artists it is always with nervous anticipation,” says Steve Ford, Vice President of Marketing, Centricity Music. “However, Andrew’s Light for the Lost Boy deeply moved me so I really felt that the project would resonate the same way with anyone who heard it. I’m thrilled with the strong response Andrew is receiving from the fans and media and it’s so well deserved for this incredibly talented artist.”

 

Left To Right: Craig Edwards, FOX 17/TN Mornings; Kelly Sutton, FOX 17/TN Mornings; Andrew Peterson; 
Erin Como, FOX 17/TN Mornings; Nick Paranjape, FOX 17/TN Mornings

Press reviews for Light for the Lost Boy have been stellar with the project receiving 4 and 5 star reviews.

JesusFreakHideout.com (rare 5-star review) – Light for the Lost Boy is one of the year’s best and bravest records yet.
ChristianityToday.com (4-star review) – Lost Boy places the mantle of Rich Mullins squarely on Peterson’s shoulders.
NewReleaseTuesday.com (5-star review) – The songwriting is superb. Don’t be surprised if you find a treasured lyric not just in one song, but at least once in every song!
Sound Opinion – It’s the best album of the year so far….
Christian Manifesto – Andrew Peterson has once again delivered a pioneering album, a timeless project that redefines what music can do….
The Phantom Tollbooth – Light for the Lost Boy by Andrew Peterson is his boldest, most imaginative work.

Peterson performed “You’ll Find Your Way” from the new project recently on FOX 17 TN Mornings in Nashville, TN. Then on Sept. 21, Peterson will perform an album release during his 3rd Annual Hutchmoot event in Nashville with a full band that includes Ben Shive, Andy Gullahorn, and opening act, Caleb. This is the first date on the Light for the Lost Boy tour that runs through November. In October, Peterson will head to Chicago, IL for appearances on Moody’s national radio show, Midday Connection (11th), and WGN Midday News (12th).

For more information on Peterson and his upcoming tour dates please visit online at www.andrew-peterson.com.