Thank God Joe Ligon Was Never Tempted By R&B
Joe Ligon, leader and founder of the Los Angeles based Mighty Clouds of Joy is sold out on Gospel music, and has never been tempted by the allure of singing R&B. Ligon has been singing Gospel for 50 years, and even though he has been asked to sing secular, he has always refused.
Most, however, believe that singing songs that often end up being the soundtrack for sin will undermine the message of the gospel music the performers sing, as well as the devout lives gospel artists strive to live. Many gospel artists even refuse to listen to secular music.
I applaud the Gospel artists that have such dedication to their faith and Gospel music.
When my husband and I had our music store we knew a young man that was promoting his Gospel CD. He had a track on the CD that he would flip around depending on what audience he was performing the song for. If he was singing at a church the song was "Whatever You Want God’s Got It" and if he was singing at a club or whatever, the song became "Whatever You Want I Got It". Sounds unbelievable, but true story.
What do you think? Should Gospel artists be given a pass to sing secular? Can the two mix?
The Mighty Clouds of Joy will be performing Sunday at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts.
Longtime Member of Legendary Gospel Group the Mighty Clouds of Joy Passes
NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 21 /PRNewswire/ — Michael Cook, a member of the
legendary Gospel group the Mighty Clouds of Joy for more than 20 years died
Friday morning July 18th as a result of a massive coronary. He was 46. He
is survived by his wife Valerie and 3 children, ages 8, 11 and 16.
The Mighty Clouds of Joy are three time Grammy award winners & Gospel
Music Hall of Fame members. Formed in 1960 in Los Angeles the Mighty Clouds
retain two original members, Joe Ligon & Richard Wallace. Michael had been
a member for over two decades.
Long time member Joe Ligon commented today, “Michael Cook was a
dedicated member of The Mighty Clouds of Joy for 24 years before his
untimely passing on July 18th. When Mike joined the group, he fit our vocal
style like a glove. Over the years, however, he took that style to a new
level. He was my vocal backbone in the group. He was a people person. He
loved everyone. He will be deeply missed by all of us.”
Funeral arrangements:
Thursday, July 24th - 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Michael Cook Tribute
Living Waters Worship Center
8262 Lokus Road
Odenton, MD 21113
(410) 672-4260
Friday, July 25th - 9:00 AM 11:00 AM viewing, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM service
Reid Temple AME Church
11400 Glenn Dale Boulevard
Glenn Dale, MD 20769
(301) 352-1758
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Michael Cook Trust
Fund at any Bank of America Branch. This will go to the welfare of his
children.
Please send all cards to Valerie Cook, PO Box 273, Jessup, MD 20794
http://www.MightyCloudsOfJoy.com
About EMI Gospel
Brentwood, Tennessee-based EMI Gospel is a division of EMI Christian
Music Group, the world’s largest Christian music organization that also
includes EMI CMG Label Group, EMI CMG Distribution and EMI CMG Publishing.
It is part of EMI Group, the world’s largest independent music company
who’s other U.S. labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol,
Capitol Nashville, EMI Latin, Narada and Virgin Records
SOURCE EMI Gospel
Gospel Music News-Mighty Clouds of Joy, Regina Belle
1. The award-winning Mighty Clouds of Joy has lost one of their members. Michael Cook (second from left in picture) passed away on Friday, July 18th. According to the groups website , funeral arrangements will be posted shortly.
2. Pre-sale tickets are now available for the Allstate Gospel Superfest event which will be held in the Jones Atlanta Civic Center on Saturday, November 1st.~Gospel Superfest
3. MegaFest International, one of the world’s largest Christian events, will provide free healthcare and educational opportunities to the people of South Africa and Swaziland, Oct.10-12 and Oct.17-19. Under the banner of MegaCARE, this new outreach of MegaFest is part of the event’s commission to meet people’s spiritual and physical needs.~MegaFest
4. Has your church choir recorded their version of Regina Belle’s, "God is Good", for the 2008 Choir Contest yet? The winning choir will win a three song live performance to track from from Regina Belle and the opportunity to perform "God is Good" with Regina Belle this winter. Cool prizes!~God is Good
5. The VIP Conference 2008 will be held July 27th-August 3rd in Charlotte, NC. Featured artists include gospel music artists Kiki Sheard & Bold Right Life, Monique Walker, Ernest Pugh, & Lowell Pye.
