Join us as we celebrate 90 years of service with a weeklong celebration of fun, laughter, enriching workshops, dynamic teachings, and great music.
July 26, 2009 - Sunday Morning Prayer Breakfast $30.00
Tuesday, July 28th 2009 - Unity Luncheon $55.00
Christian Comedian and All Male fashion show
Friday July 31st 2009 - 90th Anniversary
Banquet and Installation
Malaco Recording Artist "Dorothy Norwood"
Deadline to purchase tickets are
July 17th and they're $65.00
We will be in the Philadelphia downtown area from July 27- 31st 2009
Philadelphia Marriot Downtown
1201 market St, Philadelphia PA, 19107
If you would like to learn more about the association or if you would like to join Click here
www.nationalchurchushers.org
Monday, July 27, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Star Jones - It Ain't Over Testimony
It was brought to my attention that on this past Sunday, Star Jones posted her testimony on her http://positivelystar.blogspot.com/ how she was blessed by Maurette Brown Clark’s It Ain’t Over (Until God Says It’s Over) at a time when she needed to hear a word of encouragement.
I know a lot of programmers have been playing this song for sometime now, but God is still using this song It Ain’t Over (Until God Says It’s Over) to bless his people whether you are a hollywood star like Ms. Star Jones or work a 9 to 5 like the rest of us.
God is still healing the hearts of His people.
I just wanted to share with you all what Star Jones has written…
Sometimes God speaks to us when we least expect it...but we most need it. I had that experience today and felt like I needed to share it...actually SHOUT IT! Why I don't know...but if my epiphany blesses someone, I'm willing to step out there...
The past few days have truly been amazing in my life. I've had some good business meetings, had the privilege of hosting a fundraiser for my friend David Paterson, the Governor of NY, helped raise $200,000 for Art for Life and hosted a lunch for the family of my guy at my home...making him proud. Sound like I had it "going on" right? WRONG...
I went out to pick up some crab for dinner tonight and I found myself experiencing a low moment. Nothing in particular happened...I just had a moment where I felt overwhelmed, inadequate and sad. Instead of celebrating my blessings; I started reviewing all the stuff in my life that I WASN'T happy with and got down on myself so intensely...that I started to cry...sitting in the car all alone.
Then God spoke to me...
A song came on the satellite radio just as the tears started to flow and I truly felt the presence of the holy spirit take over. Maurette Brown-Clark was singing "It ain't over...until God says it's over"...and I had to literally pull the car over and just PRAISE HIM!
Thank you Lord for reminding me that YOU are in control of ALL THINGS! The stuff that makes me feel good about myself is your gift to me...and the stuff that I have to struggle through is also a gift; because it makes me stronger.
I didn't have a crisis of faith...because my faith is stronger than that...but I did forget that I am HIS child... and he promised to give me the DESIRES OF MY HEART! He reminded me...so I stopped and praised HIM.
I know people in the public eye don't like to share that they have moments of fear, vulnerability and doubt...but I want you to know that we do...and those of us who believe in the omnipotence of God...go to our knees.
I don't know WHAT the future holds...but I state with complete certainty that I know WHO holds my future and FAITH in his word will see me through. I have been blessed with so much...and I want to thank HIM publicly and share it with others. My heart is full tonight with praise for my gifts.
We all go through tough times at one time or another...but remember this... God brought the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt...but before they reached the promised land they had to be washed in the blood (go through the red sea), and then languish in the wilderness for 40 years.
What that says to me is that we don't get the blessing without the struggle.
That is my testimony today...and I make a promise to God that it will be my daily testimony from now on.
The official video from Malaco Records:
Friday, July 17, 2009
New Orleans street performer 'Grandpa' Elliott Small winning new fans
Street singer and blues harmonica player "Grandpa" Elliott Small is a familiar sight to any New Orleanian who has strolled the Royal Street pedestrian mall. In his red T-shirt, blue overalls and bushy white beard, the blind musician has anchored the corner of Royal and Toulouse for more than a decade -- sometimes solo, sometimes with a friend on keyboard or guitar. In the Quarter, he's an institution.
And now, thanks to the documentary project "Playing for Change: Peace Through Music," he's taking it worldwide.
The project -- a 20-track CD, available now; and a documentary film, set to air nationally on PBS throughout August -- is the result of four years of field recording by Los Angeles recording engineer Mark Johnson. And, the resulting band Playing for Change continues to tour, making a stop on Saturday night (July 18) at Tipitina's.
Johnson got the idea for the project in 2005, when he happened upon singer Roger Ridley performing Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" for tips on the Santa Monica pier. He spent the next few years traveling the world, recording and filming more than 100 musicians. He recorded South African buskers. He took his digital equipment into the Himalayas. He taped an Irish children's choir that united Catholic and Protestant singers. He got tracks in India, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Israel.
He even recorded Bono.
And of course, he waxed "Grandpa" Elliott Small on his corner in the French Quarter.
Once the field work was done, Johnson created each track, by editing together, seamlessly, dozens of recordings from separate artists taped throughout the world. The album's final version of "Stand by Me," the song that inspired the project, is an astonishing pastiche, featuring 37 artists who had not yet met one another. The result is that the "Playing for Change" record is more than just a compilation; it's cross-cultural sonic unification.
The performers did finally meet. On June 27, the Playing for Change band, featuring more than two dozen musicians whose tracks became "Stand by Me," headlined the Jazz/World stage at the United Kingdom's monstrous Glastonbury Festival. It is one of the world's largest outdoor music festivals. ("I thought the Jazz Fest was big," Small said.)
A YouTube video of the band performing "Stand by Me" got more than 20 million views earlier this year, making it the No. 1 rated clip in the site's history, and turning the project into something of a global phenomenon. The two-disc CD/DVD set released by Hear Music debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard charts at the end of April, and has already sold more than 100,000 copies.
Not bad company for a French Quarter street musician from the 6th Ward.
Before he grew into the tag "Grandpa" (and before he grew his Santa Claus beard), Small already had a long career in New Orleans music. Growing up in the Lafitte housing development, music became his refuge from an unhappy home life, Small said.
"My stepfather was a man who did not love his child," he said. "But my uncle would come to the house, and play the harmonica to me."
Small's uncle played in a band with former Ink Spot Lloyd Washington, and often let his nephew come to the Dew Drop Inn to hear them play. Small did not completely lose his sight to glaucoma until 2005, and as a young man, he made the rounds as a soul singer in local clubs. He recorded singles with legendary arranger Wardell Quezergue, some of which are available on Malaco and Tuff City Records compilations of New Orleans funk. In the early '60's, he recorded "I'm a Devil" for Bang! Records of New York, and made a splash performing it while wearing what some fans remember as a red devil's suit complete with horns and pitchfork.
"Well, it wasn't called a devil suit," he said. "It was a pretty, silk red suit, that looked good. It was a nice show." At the time, Small remembers, he was billed as "The Harmonica King."
Small was featured on out-of-town bills promoted by the day's top New Orleans booker, Joe Jones.
"I went on tour with The Temptations and I helped the Dixie Cups go up to New York," he said. "I also had the honor to meet Lieber and Stoller (in New York), although I don't think they would remember me now. I was a young kid when I was up there."
By the '80s, however, Small had had enough of the grueling schedule. Bad decisions and unfair contracts, he said, had soured him on the industry. So he took his music to the streets, where it would belong only to him and to the passersby who heard it.
Small had debuted as an entertainer on the streets of the Quarter at age 6, tap-dancing for quarters to bring home to his mother.
"I learned from watching Fred Astaire movies on television," he said. And now, Small is on television. On June 30, he performed the national anthem at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium. He and other "Playing For Change" musicians appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Conan O'Brien on Thursday.
"I have so much fun playing in the French Quarter," Small said. "And I'm still having fun."
by Alison Fensterstock, Contributing writer, The Times-Picayune
Friday July 17, 2009, 5:00 AM
And now, thanks to the documentary project "Playing for Change: Peace Through Music," he's taking it worldwide.
The project -- a 20-track CD, available now; and a documentary film, set to air nationally on PBS throughout August -- is the result of four years of field recording by Los Angeles recording engineer Mark Johnson. And, the resulting band Playing for Change continues to tour, making a stop on Saturday night (July 18) at Tipitina's.
Johnson got the idea for the project in 2005, when he happened upon singer Roger Ridley performing Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" for tips on the Santa Monica pier. He spent the next few years traveling the world, recording and filming more than 100 musicians. He recorded South African buskers. He took his digital equipment into the Himalayas. He taped an Irish children's choir that united Catholic and Protestant singers. He got tracks in India, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Israel.
He even recorded Bono.
And of course, he waxed "Grandpa" Elliott Small on his corner in the French Quarter.
Once the field work was done, Johnson created each track, by editing together, seamlessly, dozens of recordings from separate artists taped throughout the world. The album's final version of "Stand by Me," the song that inspired the project, is an astonishing pastiche, featuring 37 artists who had not yet met one another. The result is that the "Playing for Change" record is more than just a compilation; it's cross-cultural sonic unification.
The performers did finally meet. On June 27, the Playing for Change band, featuring more than two dozen musicians whose tracks became "Stand by Me," headlined the Jazz/World stage at the United Kingdom's monstrous Glastonbury Festival. It is one of the world's largest outdoor music festivals. ("I thought the Jazz Fest was big," Small said.)
A YouTube video of the band performing "Stand by Me" got more than 20 million views earlier this year, making it the No. 1 rated clip in the site's history, and turning the project into something of a global phenomenon. The two-disc CD/DVD set released by Hear Music debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard charts at the end of April, and has already sold more than 100,000 copies.
Not bad company for a French Quarter street musician from the 6th Ward.
Before he grew into the tag "Grandpa" (and before he grew his Santa Claus beard), Small already had a long career in New Orleans music. Growing up in the Lafitte housing development, music became his refuge from an unhappy home life, Small said.
"My stepfather was a man who did not love his child," he said. "But my uncle would come to the house, and play the harmonica to me."
Small's uncle played in a band with former Ink Spot Lloyd Washington, and often let his nephew come to the Dew Drop Inn to hear them play. Small did not completely lose his sight to glaucoma until 2005, and as a young man, he made the rounds as a soul singer in local clubs. He recorded singles with legendary arranger Wardell Quezergue, some of which are available on Malaco and Tuff City Records compilations of New Orleans funk. In the early '60's, he recorded "I'm a Devil" for Bang! Records of New York, and made a splash performing it while wearing what some fans remember as a red devil's suit complete with horns and pitchfork.
"Well, it wasn't called a devil suit," he said. "It was a pretty, silk red suit, that looked good. It was a nice show." At the time, Small remembers, he was billed as "The Harmonica King."
Small was featured on out-of-town bills promoted by the day's top New Orleans booker, Joe Jones.
"I went on tour with The Temptations and I helped the Dixie Cups go up to New York," he said. "I also had the honor to meet Lieber and Stoller (in New York), although I don't think they would remember me now. I was a young kid when I was up there."
By the '80s, however, Small had had enough of the grueling schedule. Bad decisions and unfair contracts, he said, had soured him on the industry. So he took his music to the streets, where it would belong only to him and to the passersby who heard it.
Small had debuted as an entertainer on the streets of the Quarter at age 6, tap-dancing for quarters to bring home to his mother.
"I learned from watching Fred Astaire movies on television," he said. And now, Small is on television. On June 30, he performed the national anthem at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium. He and other "Playing For Change" musicians appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Conan O'Brien on Thursday.
"I have so much fun playing in the French Quarter," Small said. "And I'm still having fun."
by Alison Fensterstock, Contributing writer, The Times-Picayune
Friday July 17, 2009, 5:00 AM
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The Messengers In The Studio At Malaco Records
On July 9, 2009, The Messengers were in the studio at Malaco working on their new album. We were lucky enough to get some footage.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
BeBe and CeCe Winans and Heavy D on ITunes
Check out the Reggae section of ITunes to find "Vibes" by Heavy D under the What's Hot section. Also, BeBe and CeCe Winans are under the What's Hot section of the RB/Soul section.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Flashback: Johnnie Taylor "Good Love" on Malaco Records
Taken from "Live In Dallas" on Malaco Records. To purchase Johnnie Taylor music, click here. Don't forget your ring tones. Get Johnnie Taylor ring tones by clicking here!!
Ludy's New Video Appearing On MTV
The video "She Can Get It" from Malaco Records is appearing on MTV. To purchase Ludy ring tones, click here.
BeBe And CeCe Winans' Ringtone Available Now!
The hit song "Close To You" is now available as a ring tone from Malaco Records. Don't be left out, get your ring tone now! Click here to listen and purchase.
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