“There is no one cause,” Glenn says. “Everything you could possibly think of has played a role. Some artists saw the success of more urban driven music like Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary and even Yolanda Adams in her hay day.”

In turn, some of them wanted that same success. But then Glenn references other artists, like Donnie McClurkin Marvin Sapp, who have had major success singing what is considered more traditional. For them, they stayed true to who they were as artists, therefore solidifying more success.

There are a lot of variables, according to Glenn. Some artists want to try new sounds; new stuff, but the label does not agree. As a result, all parties are in disagreement.

“We all have heard the story of the artist being frustrated with the label, but what we do not hear about labels’ frustration with the artist,” Glenn said. “In these instances, no one knows what to do so everyone is trying to out-do the other.”

Jonathan Landrum, a newsman for the Associated Press in Atlanta, believes the reason is reach.

“While the music has changed, the message has stayed the same; it has just become broader,” he said. “Artists like Kirk Franklin and Mary Mary are simply attempting to appeal to more people. That is why you see the type of production where you might have a more secular sound, more of a Hip -Hop sound, or more melodic. They are trying to touch the souls of people who would not normally be touched by more traditional music.”

Landrum covers mostly entertainment reporting for the Associated Press. In his talks with numerous gospel artists, what they have told him is their concern has been more about touching a whole new crowd that did not consider themselves believers.

“It was a bigger thing than them. They wanted to touch people who listened to hip hop, R&B, etc.”

In reality, this change from traditional to contemporary is nothing new. Ironically, what we call traditional gospel today was at one time blues. When Thomas Dorsey, a blues musician and considered by most to be the founder of gospel, began to infuse his jazz and blues sound with Christian music in the 1920s, there was this same pushback.

People were not ready for what Dorsey was trying to do then, and the same can be said for today. When artists like Fred Hammond and Donald Lawrence hit the scene, many were not ready for what they were doing, said Glenn.

“But, no one would question it now. Music has a habit of being ahead of its time. Although it may not be authentic now, someone will consider it to be,” he said. “In the same way many questioned gospel and blues, now they are considered standards. Now, when we hear certain bluesy sounds and consider it gospel.”

As society changes, music changes, said Robert Darden, associate professor of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media at Baylor University.

Darden, a gospel music historian, said you also see a change in the late 60s.

“It was a slow change,” said the former gospel-music editor for Billboard magazine. “Soul music and R&B started transitioning into funk, and rock started to transition from pop to harder sound. Gospel artists started to feel as though they had to change to keep up.”

Artists like James Cleveland started incorporating more instrumentation. Andrae Crouch substituted soloists but also used distinctive traditional styles like the call and response format. Darden does not believe what was taking place was a repudiation of traditional music. Audiences wanted more. Artists began to appease them, he said.

But is the change good? And are the changes diminishing gospel music?

READ FULL STORY ON GRIO.com

The Ambassador today released two new singles from his highly anticipated forthcoming project STOP THE FUNERAL for posting and airplay ONLY.

The boom bap throbbing bass-built track “A-M,”—showcases The Ambassador proclaiming that he’s alive and still “reppin’ the “I AM” while on the infections “Up Down ft. Charmaine” he encourages us to savor our savior no matter the season. Both are going for immediate adds.

His fourth solo project titled STOP THE FUNERAL will mark the first CD release with new joint venture Xist Music/220 Entertainment on July 12, 2011.  Hit the play button to take a listen to the two tracks in the music player below. 

Bishop Eddie Long announced to his congregation Sunday that he would be expanding the New Birth brand to Birmingham, Alabama.  He is not starting the church from scratch, but he is acquiring an already flourishing ministry called the “Refiners House.”

According to an article in The Birmingham News, the 2,300-member Refiner’s House in Huffman has announced that it will change its name and be affiliated with the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga.

“We’ll no longer be the Refiner’s House; we’ll be New Birth Birmingham,” said Elder Kesia Webb Dailey, a spokesperson for the church. “We’ll receive benefits of mentorship, resources, relationships.”

The Rev. Stephen A. Davis, founding pastor, started The Refiner’s House in a former auto parts store in Center Point in 2001. The Refiner’s House bought the former Ridgecrest Baptist Church campus, 117 12th Court Northwest, and moved there in October 2007. Refiner’s House already had 1,000 members as it moved into the 2,200-seat sanctuary.

Davis said at the time that he had been mentored since 2006 by Bishop Eddie Long, pastor of New Birth in Lithonia.

Long, the controversial TV evangelist, recently settled lawsuits against him by several young men in the church who accused him of sexual improprieties.

Long’s legal problems didn’t affect the association between the two churches, Dailey said.

“That’s our bishop and we love him,” Dailey said. “We thank God what transpired is over. We’re moving ahead.”

Dailey said that Long will take part in a service with Davis on Friday at 7 p.m. at The Refiner’s House to officially change the name to New Birth Birmingham. 

The award winning Mississippi Mass Choir will once again “Go ye into all the world;” evangelizing in song; with a tour of South Africa. Hosted by the I Can Foundation, the tour will take place June 9-20th and included services in Johannesburg, New London, Hazyview, and Pretoria.

According to Dr. David Molapo, Chairman and Co-Founder of the I Can Foundation, “We are looking forward to hosting the world renowned Mississippi Mass Choir in the Motherland! Over the years their music has made an impact in the lives of many South Africans. We believe that this ministry tour will spread a message of hope and be life transforming for all involved.”

Fresh off of a fourteen city tour of Spain and the Canary islands, the choir has been blessed to grace international stages throughout the Bahamas, Japan, Italy, France, Portugal, and Greece; becoming the first Gospel group to perform at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, at the base of the iconic Acropolis in Athens, Greece. While attending the famed Umbria Jazz Gospel and Soul Easter Festival in Terni, Italy, the choir received an unexpected invite to sing for Pope John Paul II at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo.

Over their 23 year music ministry career, they have either won or received nominations for every industry award; including the Grammy, Stellar, Soul Train, Dove, National Association of Record Merchandisers, 3M Visionary, and Mississippi Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. On three occasions Billboard Magazine recognized them as Gospel Artist of the Year. The single “God Made Me” from their new release is currently in the “Top Ten” on the Billboard Gospel Song Chart. Arguably their crowning industry achievement came in 2010 at the 25th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards where they were awarded the “Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award.”

You would think that after such a long and distinguished career, they would be resting on their laurels and enjoying the fruits of their labors. “Not so,” says Executive Director, Jerry Mannery, “We are scouting out new fields to till and sow seeds for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Bishop Eddie Long defied critics who said his church is collapsing by announcing Sunday that the Lithonia, Ga.-based megachurch is starting a New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

The announcement of the start of New Birth Birmingham comes just weeks after news broke that New Birth plans to open a satellite location in Denver. New Birth, a predominantly black congregation, also has locations in Charlotte, N.C., and Oakland, Calif.

Besides the Birmingham church announcement, Long also revealed in his sermon that New Birth was audited in 2009 and 2010.

“We just got our audit back, certified audit back from 2010 and 2009; we already had 2010 totally clean audit from an independent auditing firm,” said Long. “All your money is being done right and calculated right.”

He asked members of his Atlanta megachurch to donate $500 to $1,000 as seed offerings.

The announcements of the start of New Birth locations in Denver and Birmingham came just weeks after Long arrived at a settlement with four young men who accused him of sexual misconduct. All four plaintiffs were former members of New Birth. They accused the megachurch pastor, who espouses the prosperity gospel, of lavishing them with gifts and abusing his spiritual authority to lure them into sexual relationships.

Since the case was settled outside of court, the details of the scandal will remain confidential.

But even if the exact details of the case remain unknown, the scandal itself has nonetheless adversely affected the church. The faith website Elev8 reported that a source said some members at Long’s church are ready to find another congregation because of the sex scandal and other problems.

New Birth elder Rev. Bernice King, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s youngest daughter, announced her intention to depart from the church on May 30, which will likely cause other members to follow. Her departure has not been tied to the recent lawsuits. King has said she is leaving to start a new ministry.

The source also said there has been a significant decrease in the church’s revenue.

“Attendance is down, forcing the church to make dramatic cutbacks,” said the source to Elev8.

In March, New Birth announced that it will cut staff and reduce employee salaries by 10 percent because revenue was down. The church attributes the decrease in funds to the economic downturn.

And another reason why people are leaving, according to the source, is because Long lacks humility as seen in his lavish lifestyle that provoked the Senate to investigate the church several years ago.

“Now there are a whole bunch of people trying to figure out what their place is, what’s going to happen to the church and what’s going to happen to them,” said the church source to Elev8.

The new documentary Rejoice and Shout, which opens in select theaters this weekend, celebrates the history of gospel music in America as told through some of its most famous and influential icons.

Director Don McGlynn, a veteran of the music documentary genre, wanted to trace gospel from its earliest roots to its current incarnation in the music world. The film even plays the first known recording of gospel music, a record made in 1902 by the Dinwiddie Colored Quartet.

“I was so startled by that recording,” McGlynn tells All Things Considered host Rachel Martin, “because what you’re basically hearing is barber shop quartet approach, and that slowly evolved in the next few years into a whole ‘nother tradition.”

That evolution is chronicled in the documentary, told through the stories of and about some of its greatest singers. The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, The Ward family, The Staple Singers, Marie Knight and Mahalia Jackson are all featured prominently in the film.

Mahalia Jackson, know as “the Queen of Gospel,” is one of McGlynn’s favorites.

“There’s just something so fascinating, gripping, spiritual, about her singing,” McGlynn says.

Jackson was the first gospel singer to perform at Carnegie Hall and in Rejoice and Shout we see footage of one of her earliest television appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Several times throughout her successful career, she was offered opportunities to record and sing secular music but always turned them down, despite the fact that they could have made her an even bigger star.

“Early on she said I really can’t follow this track of Bessie Smith, you know, singing the blues…it’s the same old God and Devil argument,” McGlynn explains.

The gospel music of today is represented very differently from where it first began, but as we see in Rejoice and Shout, the feelings and emotions that the music evokes remains the same.

“They’re singing with body and soul, you know, this is very intense for them,” McGlynn says, “and I think that’s one of the reasons that the music just comes over so powerfully.”

Hello Fear, the latest release from Kirk Franklin, celebrates its tenth week atop the Billboard Top Gospel Charts. The album also sits at #7 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Charts and #36 on the Billboard Top 200 Charts. Tedashii‘s new release, Blacklight debuts at the #2 position this week. The album also sits atop the Top Christian Albums charts, #8 on the Independent Albums charts, #9 on the Top Rap Albums charts, #11 on the Digital Albums Charts and #63 on the Billboard Top 200 charts. Mary Mary‘s latest release Something Big moves to the #3 position this week, while the WOW Gospel 2011 compilation comes in at #4. Becoming, the brand new release from Yolanda Adams, rounds out the week’s top five albums. In other chart news, I’m Back, from Lonnie Hunter featuring Structure, moves twenty-three places to #14, while Marvin Sapp‘s latest Here I Am moves seven places to #16.

In the world of radio, “I Smile” from Kirk Franklin celebrates its eighth week at the top of the radio charts. Vashawn Mitchell‘s “Nobody Greater” holds to the #2 spot while “My Heart Says Yes” from Troy Sneed moves to the #3 position. “Well Done” from Deitrick Haddon moves to the #4 spot while “Walking” from Mary Mary rounds out the week’s top five songs.

Choir Master and Light Records recording artist Ricky Dilliard speaks to BET, and gives his Top 5 tips on how to have a successful choir.  If you have a choir that’s looking to record a national CD project, you definitely don’t want to miss these helpful tips.  Even if you don’t want to record professionally, there are some solid tips mentioned that will help your choir stand out on Sunday.  Watch the video below.