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By J. MATTHEW COBB DETROIT, MICHIGAN is home to many of our most treasured gospel legends. And it has served as a major player in producing not just a sound, but also revealing musical trademarks and formulas that have literally transformed the face of music during the 20th century and abroad. From the timeless sounds that oozed out of Motown to the unsurpassable royalty of Lady Soul Aretha Franklin, Detroit is truly home to a great and highly treasured library of timeless music. Plus, it is no strange news to know that whenever one visits Detroit, there's always something to do. You are bound to run across a concert, a tour, a revival, a choir anniversary, a conference, a convention...no need of pouting when visiting Detroit when it comes to developing some kind of itinerary. While visiting the area on the third weekend of June, there was a load of events and activities to jump into. On Saturday, our first stop on the calendar was at Greater Emmanuel Institutional COGIC on Schaefer Highway for the last night of Aretha's Revival. The place was packed and everyone was fanning their sweat away as it was obvious that the air conditioners were turned off. There is a mythical rumor that floats around that the Queen of Soul prefers to sing with the air off. But the heat was not a factor at all for discomfort, for we were in the same room with Lady Soul. Gospel singer Ruby Terry warmed up the crowd with a few traditional flashbacks including "Take Me To The Water" and "Lord, Help Me To Hold Out" and pumped up the audience with a few of Rev. Timothy Wright's compositions ("For The Rest Of My Life", "Jesus Jesus Jesus"). GRAMMY-winning Smokie Norful, in a cool off-white blazer and brown slacks, also made it to the stage and blessed listeners with radio favorites, which included "Um Good" and "It's All About You". He closed his set of songs with the emotional crowd favorite "I Need You Now," which turned into a soulful worship experience with a few impromptu choruses including "God Is Able" and classic hymns such as "Revive Us Again." Dr. Joseph Lowery, civil rights leader and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, greeted the attendees and approached the platform with the night's message. Summoning the black community to a place of quality leadership and responsibility, he preached on I Corinthians 12 and calling us to a place where we "believe, hope and love while black." We weren't able to get a good shot of Aretha, but she was definitely in the house - enjoying herself. She even got on the piano to play a few bars for Ruby Terry. She was very calm, gracious and was blessed by the ministry and music.
Richard Smallwood was also staged to be in town on Sunday for a free concert at Greater Grace Temple - and we had to swing by to see the Maestro in concert. Arriving just in time, a video presentation was played explaining the vision behind Smallwood's latest double-disc project, "Journey: Live In New York." The video also featured special accolades from gospel luminaries such as Byron Cage, Dr. Bobby Jones and Marvin Sapp. After the video ended, Bishop David Ellis, pastor of Greater Grace, introduced the anxious audience to the special guest of the evening. And after a set that included new songs ("I'll Trust You", "All The Glory") from his new release, a dynamic praise break and a trip down memory-lane with the modern anthem "Total Praise," Smallwood's ministry was well received and definitely left an unforgettable impression upon the crowd. The Maestro even signed a number of autographs and greeted some of his fans outside the sanctuary.
First impressions are lasting impressions. The pictures taken are just a glimpse of the expressed joy and admiration one witnessed during these powerful celebrations of gospel music. Detroit's got it going on. PHOTOGRAPHY: OTHER VALUABLE RESOURCES TO LOOK INTO:
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