| Encore: The Best of The Clark Sisters | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | February 12, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 1986-1994 | |||
| Genre | gospel music | |||
| Label | Dexterity Sounds/Rhino Entertainment/WEA | |||
| The Clark Sisters chronology | ||||
| ||||
Encore: The Best of The Clark Sisters is a greatest hits collection by seminal gospel singing group The Clark Sisters to be released on February 12, 2008 through Dexterity Sounds/Rhino Entertainment.
Gospel music is a genre of Christian music. 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 usually has dominant vocals with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century, with roots in the black oral tradition. Hymns and sacred songs were often repeated in a call and response fashion. Most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done a cappella. The first published use of the term "gospel song" probably appeared in 1874. The original gospel songs were written and composed by authors such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane, and Fanny Crosby. Gospel music publishing houses emerged. The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music. Following World War II, gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate.
The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm, Denise "Neicy" Clark Bradford, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark-Terrell, Dorinda Clark-Cole, and Karen Clark Sheard. The Clark Sisters are the daughters of gospel musician and choral director Mattie Moss Clark. They are credited for helping to bring gospel music to the mainstream and are considered as pioneers of contemporary gospel. Their biggest hits include: "Is My Living in Vain?", "Hallelujah", "He Gave Me Nothing to Lose", "Endow Me", their hit songs "Jesus Is A Love Song", "Ha Ya", "Pure Gold", "Expect a Miracle", and their largest mainstream crossover gold certified hit, "You Brought the Sunshine". The Clark Sisters have won three Grammy Awards. With 16 albums to their credit and millions in sales, the Clark Sisters are the highest-selling female gospel group in history.
Contents
The collection is the first of its kind, chronicling the group's mid- to late-80's recordings for Word/A&M. Though the Clark Sisters made their mark on the genre as independent artists, this collection spans the albums Bringing It Back Home, Conqueror, and the Grammy-nominated Heart & Soul from their first major label recording contract. [1]
Word Records is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records and is a part of Word Entertainment.
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distributing releases from Polydor Ltd. from the UK. Throughout its operations, A&M housed well-known acts such as Gin Blossoms, Dishwalla, Joe Cocker, Procol Harum, Captain & Tennille, Sting, Sergio Mendes, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Supertramp, Bryan Adams, Burt Bacharach, Liza Minnelli, The Carpenters, Paul Williams, Quincy Jones, Janet Jackson, Cat Stevens, Peter Frampton, Elkie Brooks, Carole King, Styx, Extreme, Amy Grant, Joan Baez, the Human League, The Police, CeCe Peniston, Blues Traveler, Soundgarden, Duffy and Sheryl Crow.
Apart from the Word recordings, this collection opens with a new recording of their hit song "You Brought The Sunshine" featuring American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle. Encore also includes The Clarks' "Follow The Star" (with Dorinda on lead) from the holiday compilation of the same name. The album includes commentary by sisters Jacky and Karen between songs. [1] [2]
American Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It initially aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to April 7, 2016, for 15 seasons. Since March 11, 2018, a revival of the series has aired on ABC.
Melinda Marie Doolittle is an American singer who finished as the third place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. Prior to her appearance on American Idol, Doolittle worked as a professional back-up singer for, among others, Michael McDonald, Kirk Franklin, Aaron Neville, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Alabama, Jonny Lang, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Carman, and Anointed.
