The Cherokee National Youth Choir was created in part by Chad "Corntassel" Smith, a former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. It consists of youth of Cherokee descent who sing gospel music in the Cherokee language. [1] The directors are Mary Kay Henderson and Kathy Sierra. The choir has sung at various venues around the United States, including for former President George W. Bush, at Ground Zero in New York City, and alongside Dolly Parton at her amusement park, Dollywood. They have won numerous awards, including a Nammy (the Native American Music Award), and they release a new gospel CD each year. [2]
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace. Gospel music is characterized by dominant vocals and strong use of harmony with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century.
Andraé Edward Crouch was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Referred to as "the father of modern gospel music" by contemporary Christian and gospel music professionals, Crouch was known for his compositions "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power", "My Tribute " and "Soon and Very Soon". He collaborated on some of his recordings with famous and popular artists such as Stevie Wonder, El DeBarge, Philip Bailey, Chaka Khan, and Sheila E., as well as the vocal group Take 6, and many popular artists covered his material, including Bob Dylan, Barbara Mandrell, Paul Simon, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was known as the "go-to" producer for superstars who sought a gospel choir sound in their recordings; he appeared on a number of recordings, including Michael Jackson's "Man In the Mirror", Madonna's "Like a Prayer", and "The Power", a duet between Elton John and Little Richard. Crouch was noted for his talent of incorporating contemporary secular music styles into the gospel music he grew up with. His efforts in this area helped pave the way for early American contemporary Christian music during the 1960s and 1970s.
Kirk Dewayne Franklin is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) among many others. He has won numerous awards, including 19 Grammy Awards. Variety dubbed Franklin as a "Reigning King of Urban Gospel", and is one of the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
James Edward Cleveland was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the King of Gospel, Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating traditional black gospel, soul, pop, and jazz in arrangements for mass choirs. Throughout his career, Cleveland appeared on hundreds of recordings and earned four Grammy Awards. He was the first gospel musician to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1984. For his trailblazing accomplishments, he is regarded by many as one of the greatest gospel singers who ever lived. His best known recordings include "Lord, Help Me to Hold Out", "Peace Be Still", "I Don't Feel No Ways Tired", “Where Is Your Faith", "The Love of God", "God Has Smiled on Me", and "Jesus Is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me."
The Boys Choir of Harlem was a choir located in Harlem, New York City, United States. Its final performance was in 2007 and the group folded shortly thereafter due to several controversies, including a large budget deficit, and the death of its founder.
The Cherokee Nation, also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It was established in the 20th century and includes people descended from members of the Old Cherokee Nation who relocated, due to increasing pressure, from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokee who were forced to relocate on the Trail of Tears. The tribe also includes descendants of Cherokee Freedmen, Absentee Shawnee, and Natchez Nation. As of 2023, over 450,000 people were enrolled in the Cherokee Nation.
Joe Byrd was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1995 to 1999. Byrd is bilingual, with an ability to communicate in both Cherokee and English. He ran for re-election in 1999, but lost to Chad "Corntassel" Smith. He ran again in 2003, but again lost to the incumbent Smith.
The London Community Gospel Choir is Britain's first renowned contemporary "performance touring, inspirational gospel choir band", fusing gospel with multi-genres of music, including pop, soul, jazz, R&B, and classical. It was founded in 1982 and has gone on to provide backing for performers such as Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Gorillaz, and Kylie Minogue.
Jacqueline Lenita Clark-Chisholm, known professionally as Jacky Clark-Chisholm, is an American Grammy Award-winning gospel singer, songwriter, and licensed practical nurse who is best known as the eldest member of the American gospel singing group The Clark Sisters.
Albertina Walker was an American gospel singer, songwriter, actress, and humanitarian.
God's Property was a gospel choir known for its collaborations with Kirk Franklin, and other recording artists.
Carmel Pak U Secondary School is a Protestant fundamentalist co-educational secondary school in Tai Po, Hong Kong established in 1979. The current principal is Wong Wai-keung.
Paul Sylvester Morton is an American Baptist pastor, Gospel singer and author. He is also a founder of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, International. He is the co-pastor of Changing a Generation Full Gospel Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and head of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Nehemiah Brown is an American gospel music singer, songwriter, arranger, professional musician, teacher, vocal coach and choral director.
Naftalie Shigwedha Amukwelele commonly known as D-Naff, is a Namibian multiple award-winning and top selling rapper /singer, actor and a former street gangster. D-Naff sings inspirational Gospel / religious music in the style of kwaito, hip hop, kizomba, dancehall and afro-pop. D-Naff is also a motivational and inspirational speaker and has visited more than 100 schools, Universities and colleges in Namibia including the Namibia University of Science and Technology formerly The Polytechnic of Namibia, Windhoek College of Education, Ongwediva College of Education and the University of Namibia.
Sound of Gospel Records was founded in Detroit, Michigan, United States in 1969 by Armen Boladian. It is a gospel subsidiary record label of Westbound Records, where Boladian was also its former president.
The McDonald's Gospelfest is an annual gospel music festival, talent competition, and fundraiser in Newark, New Jersey. The event, inaugurated in 1983, and sponsored by McDonald's, takes place in spring and has been held at the Prudential Center since 2008. The closing night contest and ceremony is produced, directed, and hosted by A. Curtis Farrow. The event, which can take several hours, has been recorded and broadcast variously on WABC-TV and WWOR-TV. Involving more than a thousand performers, it has been described as the "largest collection of gospel talent ever assembled" and the "most spectacular gospel celebration in the nation". The event is followed up by McDonald's Inspiration Celebration which makes a national tour.
Black gospel music, often called gospel music or gospel, is a genre of African-American Christian music. It is rooted in the conversion of enslaved Africans to Christianity, both during and after the trans-atlantic slave trade, starting with work songs sung in the fields and, later, with religious songs sung in various church settings, later classified as Negro Spirituals.
"Selah" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King (2019). The song contains additional vocals from Ant Clemons, BongoByTheWay, and the Sunday Service Choir. West co-wrote it with 11 others, while Jeffrey LaValley received songwriting credit due to the song sampling a rendition of the New Jerusalem Choir's work. A hip hop and gospel song, it instrumentally relies on military drums. The song includes samples of the Sunday Service Choir's rendition of "Revelations 19:1". Lyrically, it sees West asserting his Christian faith and referencing Bible verses. The song had originally been slated for release on Yandhi in November 2018 until the album was scrapped, though it later leaked the following year.
Durbin Feeling was a Cherokee Nation linguist who wrote the primary Cherokee–English dictionary in 1975. He is considered the greatest modern contributor to the preservation of the endangered Cherokee language.