Posted: 11/03/06
| Take 6, a sextet known for its tight harmonies and blend of jazz and gospel, has been inducted into the International Gospel Hall of Fame and Museum. (RNS photo courtesy of Courtney Barron of cbartworx.com) |
Kurt Carr, Take 6 inducted
in Gospel Music Hall of Fame
By Adelle Banks
Religion News Service
DETROIT (RNS)—Gospel musicians Kurt Carr and Take 6 are among the new inductees to the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Carr, who worked as an accompanist with the late James Cleveland and Andrae Crouch, formed the Kurt Carr Singers in the early 1990s. The winner of Grammy and Stellar Awards is known for writing such songs as "The Presence of the Lord is Here” and “In the Sanctuary.”
Take 6, a sextet known for 20 years for its tight harmonies and distinctive blend of jazz and gospel, has performed with a range of musicians—both Christian and secular—including Stevie Wonder, the Winans and Ray Charles.
The group has won 10 Grammy Awards and an equal number of Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association.
“For a decade, we have successfully achieved our goal—the furtherance of gospel music worldwide,” said David Gough, founder of the hall of fame.
Other 2006 inductees are:
• Joe Bagby, a gospel broadcaster on KHVN, a Christian radio station in Dallas.
• Phillip Brooks, founder of the Northeast Michigan State Choir and pastor of the New St. Paul Tabernacle Church of God in Christ in Detroit.
• The late David Sisters, a quintet based in Philadelphia who performed from the 1940s to the 1960s.
• Merdean Fielding Gales, co-host of Bobby Jones Gospel on Black Entertainment Television.
• Albert Jamison, chairman of the Gospel Music Workshop of America.
• Curtis Lewis, former gospel organist for Motown Records, and dean of instruction of the Church of God in Christ’s music department.
• Iris Stevenson, president of the international music department of the Church of God in Christ.
• Rodena Preston, minister of music of the Gospel Music Workshop of America.
Previous inductees include Aretha Franklin, Shirley Caesar, the Mighty Clouds of Joy, CeCe Winans and Della Reese.
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