Gospel music gets a home in Fort Lauderdale
Gospel music gets a home in Fort Lauderdale and the BV Buzz talks to BET's Dr. Bobby Jones to get details. Plus, find out who is badmouthing the film 'Stomp the Yard' and guess what rapper may have a child he doesn't know about!
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Things are full steam ahead for the Dr. Bobby Jones Gospel Complex for Education and Preservation that will open in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The facility will serve as a museum for the gospel music and have an educational facility where conferences and classes can be taught. "Every genre of music has a home. It's about time that gospel music has one as well," Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones told attendees of his bi-annual International Gospel Industry Retreat at the Westin Diplomat Resort in Hollywood, Flori. last week. "Fort Lauderdale and its surrounding communities have been very supportive of the International Gospel Industry Retreat and have embraced us with open arms. We are thrilled to be here and I am truly amazed by the depth of support and love we have received from the corporate community as well."
The Dr. Bobby Jones Gospel Complex for Education and Preservation is being spearheaded by Albert Tucker, vice president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Others on the board of directors for the complex include "Queen of Gospel" Albertina Walker, attorney Richard Manson, Donna Richardson Joyner, Hall of Fame football star Jim Brown, Jolinda Wade (mother Miami Heat baller Dwyane Wade), Dr. Maya Angelou, BET founder Robert L. Johnson and Kirk Franklin.
"We expect to break ground for the complex as early as January," Tucker told those in attendance at a press conference held during International Gospel Industry Retreat. Mock-ups for the complex were on display through the retreat and if all goes as planned, construction on the complex could be underway by the end of 2007.
The announcement of the lineup for 2007's Super Bowl Gospel Celebration was also made during the International Gospel Industry Retreat. Marketing guru Melanie Few, the brains behind the production, announced during the press conference that Fred Hammond, Yolanda Adams, J. Moss, Hezekiah Walker & Love Fellowship, Jaci Velasquez and two soon-to-be announced acts will headline the annual show. "One of these people is a major star that we don't get to hear sing gospel too often," Few told the crowd. NFL executives are also in the final stages of negotiating a television and DVD component to the show as well.
In addition to talk of the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration and Dr. Bobby Jones Gospel Complex for Education and Preservation, the International Gospel Industry Retreat serves as a three-day informational forum for gospel artists, music executives and Christian media and industry professionals that combines classes, showcases and television tapings. The retreat is the most intimate of all of the gospel industry conferences and several major gospel recording artists have been discovered and secured record deals from performing during the bi-annual event.
Among the standout performers at this year’s retreat were The Anointed Pace Sisters, Paula Payden-Champion (keep your ears open for her!), VaShawn Mitchell, Christopher, Leon Timbo and Micah Stampley, who was accompanied on piano by the legendary Richard Smallwood during The Word Network showcase. Others in attendance for the retreat included actress BernNadette Stanis (‘Good Times’),Donald Lawrence, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Tye Tribbett, Kim Burrell, Kenny Lattimore & Chante Moore, Byron Cage, Shirley Murdock, Melvin Williams, Trina Jeffries, DeWayne Woods, Florence LaRue (of The 5th Dimension), Myron Butler, Chanita Morris, Ted Winn, Lemmie Battles, Trin-I-Tee 5:7, Dave Hollister, Shirley Caesar, V. Michael McKay, Candi Staton, Shawn McLemore, LeAnn Faine, Earl Bynum, Lexi, William Demps, The Virginia Gospel Mass Choir, Lance Williams, Antwaun Stanley, A7, Lonnie Hunter, Martha Munizzi, Irocc, K&K Mime Ministry, Patrick Lundy, The Craig Brothers, Earnest Pugh and entirely too many gospel movers and shakers to name.
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