'Miracle' ends hiatus for gospel singer Armstrong
By Deborah Evans Price
Reuters
NASHVILLE (Billboard) - With the Feb. 20 release of "Walking Miracle," Vanessa Bell Armstrong, one of gospel music's most acclaimed voices, once again takes center stage.
Armstrong teams with noted producer Rodney Jerkins on the title track of her new EMI Gospel set and also enlists Smokie Norful and J. Moss' production expertise. The result is a collection that is contemporary and classic Armstrong.
"I'm where God wants me to be at the moment," she said. "I just wanted to regroup again -- to get back out here."
She made her bow in the gospel community with 1983's "Peace Be Still" and followed with another chart-topping album, 1984's "Chosen." Her career gained momentum with her 1991 appearance on Broadway in "Don't Get God Started" and in Oprah Winfrey's "The Women of Brewster Place." She also could be heard performing the theme song for the popular TV show "Amen."
But for the past five years, she has been out of the limelight, spending time with her family. "I have four girls and one boy. They are all grown. I have eight grandkids and two more on the way. My life is full," Armstrong said. "My son was stricken with (multiple sclerosis). There comes a time when you have to minister to your own family, and that's what I was doing. I have ministered to thousands of people in my lifetime. I've been out here for 35 years."
When she decided to record again, she found her recent life experiences informing her new music. "'It's Over Now' is a song that I wrote about my son and daughter," she says. "It's real special to me and my family, but everybody has something that they want to be over. I thank God for such a powerful song -- a real personal song that has ministered to my family and then grabbed other people."
Armstrong says working with Jerkins, Norful and such young talents as J. Moss eased the stress of returning to the studio.
"He has something that I haven't heard in a long time, which is kind of jazzy, but kind of hip-hop, and it's beautiful," she says of J. Moss. "And getting to work with Smokie was such a pleasure. I had such a wonderful team, and they all worked together. What I loved about it was the collaboration."
Armstrong teams with noted producer Rodney Jerkins on the title track of her new EMI Gospel set and also enlists Smokie Norful and J. Moss' production expertise. The result is a collection that is contemporary and classic Armstrong.
"I'm where God wants me to be at the moment," she said. "I just wanted to regroup again -- to get back out here."
She made her bow in the gospel community with 1983's "Peace Be Still" and followed with another chart-topping album, 1984's "Chosen." Her career gained momentum with her 1991 appearance on Broadway in "Don't Get God Started" and in Oprah Winfrey's "The Women of Brewster Place." She also could be heard performing the theme song for the popular TV show "Amen."
But for the past five years, she has been out of the limelight, spending time with her family. "I have four girls and one boy. They are all grown. I have eight grandkids and two more on the way. My life is full," Armstrong said. "My son was stricken with (multiple sclerosis). There comes a time when you have to minister to your own family, and that's what I was doing. I have ministered to thousands of people in my lifetime. I've been out here for 35 years."
When she decided to record again, she found her recent life experiences informing her new music. "'It's Over Now' is a song that I wrote about my son and daughter," she says. "It's real special to me and my family, but everybody has something that they want to be over. I thank God for such a powerful song -- a real personal song that has ministered to my family and then grabbed other people."
Armstrong says working with Jerkins, Norful and such young talents as J. Moss eased the stress of returning to the studio.
"He has something that I haven't heard in a long time, which is kind of jazzy, but kind of hip-hop, and it's beautiful," she says of J. Moss. "And getting to work with Smokie was such a pleasure. I had such a wonderful team, and they all worked together. What I loved about it was the collaboration."
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