The gospel of disco

[K-Bee]

Today, there's a fine line between contemporary gospel and
R&B with artists like Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp & The Winans family selling truckloads of Albums. Even House music artists like Kenny Bobien & Kerri Chandler are using gospel elements in their productions.

But back in the day?? How was it then?
I'm having a hard time thinking of artists that use to combine gospel & disco.
Is there such a thing as a Gospel Disco Anthem??

I was loosely thinking about the likes of Tata Vega but thats all.... Any Others? :-?

Notice: I'm not talking about artists who abandoned disco for gospel (like Candy Staton did, I believe)

[QUINNY]

KBee: there's only one example I know of and that is The Mighty Clouds of Joy - Mighty High. Doubtless there were others, just that I never came across them.

[Bernie]

Two that come to mind are The Clark Sisters' - "You Brought the Sunshine" and Alicia Meyers' - "I Want to Thank You."

[midas]

howard hewett, he has gone from shalamar
to "say amen"

"sounds of blackness" thats disco-gospel aint it?

[K-Bee]

Midas:
I think it might be stretching a bit too much to consider both Hewett & Sounds of Blackness disco gospel.

Granted, Howard Hewett was in Shalamar but his solo albums are a lot different from what he did there. He always include a gospel ballad at the end of his albums. he has done that since Say Amen on "I Commit To Love" in 86 (wonderful song, BTW - we really need new material from the guy. He has not made anything since '94)

Sounds of Blackness made two New Jack Swing / Gospel Anthems with "Optimistic" and "The Pressure" in 1991.
Some might consider New jack Swing the disco of the early 90's - I don't. The sound was influential in many ways and many a great song was released, but disco it ain't.

Nevertheless, they are both artists I rate highly and. R&B and gospel of the nineties and eighties is really my kinda thing (apart from all the other stuff) :)

[markydefad]

Don't forget "Gettin" The Spirit" by Roberta Kelly, co-produced by Giorgio Moroder & Bob Esty. It features the title song, "My Sweet Lord", "Oh Happy Day" and others all mixed into a danceable Gospel Disco treat. Trocadero played the hell out of "Gettin' The Spirit".

Also Jayne Edward's "I Got It" from the 1980's was a big dance tune.

Hot Tracks did a remix of "Tomorrow" by the Edwin Hawkins Singers that was a Hot Troc track in the early 1980's.

Funny, cause last night I listened to an old LP that I recently bought at Amoeba called "Hallelujah Disco" featuring different artists including Carl Bean (who did that gay anthem "I Was Born This Way") and others. It was actually pretty good, but I didn't recognize any of the tracks from back in the day.

[NickNack]

New York Community Choir did "Express Yourself" that I can remember.

The Rance Allen Group did an lp entitled I Feel Like Going On. The one 'disco/gospel' piece I remember from this is God Can Do the Impossible. It's cranked to 130 bpm or higher and, similar to Mighty Clouds of Joy, the ending is "all church".

And although these next two are not gospel pieces, both Denise LaSalle and Sylvester took us to 'revival meetings' with their respective endings to May the Funk Be with You and Living for the City.

[SandraDee]

Personally I always saw Sylvester's style as very gospel. Its a shame that most people were unable to see past his camp image 'cos his voice was huge (but not as huge as the 2 tons of fun!).

[Marcio**]

I just thought "Singing Hallelujah"/Queen Samantha, 1978, but I reconsiderer, it's a 100 % eletric-disco...


"Lovequake"/Lovequake, 1977, that's a good fusion, disco & gospel toghether !!!


.

[JussiK]

Casablanca realesed a 15 minute rocket in 1978 called "Hallelujah 2000" , by same Adcock&someone team who were behind the great Midnight Powers album. The surging flava of "Climb/Rushing To Meet You " and "Working and Slaving" is evident on this Hallelujah 12" too, plus a huge voice and a chorus preaching the gospel and generally raising the roof. Check it out.

[jazz_pilgrim]

Steve Arrington (ex-Slave) converted to Christianity in around 1986 and is now a Gospel minister.

I often wondered if some of his post-Slave disco hits like "Feel So Real" were inspired by the gospel? Anybody know?

[QUINNY]

Jazz: 'Feel So Real' was definitely inspired by his by then Christian leanings. Whether or not that, or any other tunes on the album were specifically referring to God or Christ, I don't know. Even if they were, would that mean it was Gospel? That's why I didn't include it.

[K-Bee]

Jazz P:
As I recall both "Dancin In The Key Of Life" and "Feels Do Real" had lyrics of a religious nature.

Is Steve A. releasing gospel albums nowadays or has he stopped recording alltogehter?


Thanks for all the info about disco gospel, Guys - keep 'em coming! 8)

[SandraDee]

& when u think of the filthy stuff he sang about on his 2 'Hall of Fame' LPs in 1982 & '83. Leopards do change their spots dont they? Bu then again Prince has always successfully mixed explicit sex & religion hasnt he?

[Nano]

Both Joe Tex and Al Green became preachers, but of course they're not really disco artists. I discovered recently Joe's "Loose Caboose" and that song has been one of my faves on the last year or so.
Another case could be Stevie Wonder, who has a very gospel-like singing style when singing ballads. And he wrote about religious themes ("Have a talk with God", "Higher ground"), but then those weren't disco-like tunes.

[NickNack]

First, let me thank NRGBEAT for remembering the name of the artist I was looking for --- Gloria Spencer. I just got the 45 in the mail today and lo and behold, "I Got It" is pure club/gospel from 1972. I never even realized it before. I mean, the flavor is there, naturally, but I never picked up on the words:

I got it, Lord, I got it! Thank the Lord, I got Jesus
I got it, I got it! All in my hands, in my walk, I got Jesus

(I strung lines together so you would get the gist.)

I guess I was too busy bouncing around the dancefloor to care. You ever think that maybe that's why people in church "get the spirit" because it's INAPPROPRIATE TO DANCE to gospel music :o ? All that pent up energy and nowhere to go? Doing anything more than clapping your hands and nodding your head would get you serious grief from my parents: "This ain't no Rock 'n Roll, boy. Sit your butt down and show some respect." :lol: Gotta love Mom and Pops. :D

[PierreConstantin]

On the thread:
http://www.discomusic.com/forums/dis...n-started.html

Okay, if we're going to delve outside of Disco then I'll say black gospel music. As a kid my dad would drive church groups throughout the northeast and that's all I would hear on the bus-clapping and singing. I'm pretty sure it was this exposure that led to my getting into Disco.

I agree. I always thought that disco was a kind of secular gospel. They have many things in common, the first one being that in both cases people get together during a special time and live an overtaking experience that gives meaning to their lives. Disco has its own liturgic elements like the church, the mass, the priest and the Holy Word. That's maybe the reason why few songs represent a gospel-disco fusion subgenre stricto sensu: all disco songs are in fact a special form of gospel.
And if I remember well, DC La Rue's "Ca-the-drals" is about this comparison between the religious and the secular (the buildings at least).

D.C. LaRue
D.C. LaRue
D.C. LaRue

[drlove]

Love inspirational lyrics set to a disco beat . . . .the massive disco hit "Mighty High" (Mighty Clouds of Joy) is one great tune, and Roberta Kelly's "Gettin' the Spirit" LP is a new favorite

[the disco kid]

here's another one that is very good...

The Gospelaires Of Dayton Ohio "God Helps Those Who Help Themselves" Savoy 12"

[K-Bee]

here's another one that is very good...

The Gospelaires Of Dayton Ohio "God Helps Those Who Help Themselves" Savoy 12"

Good call actually. I only know the house version done by Jasper St. Company a few years back. How old is this?

[Teddybear]

The Joubert Singers/The Celestial Choir made a beautiful Disco/Gospel song: Stand On The Word.

[remicks]

*****

Speaking of making CD's ...... a composite of the titles being mentioned here would make a great one !! :icon_biggrin:

How about:

PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER
The O'Jays

Then let it thunder
Let it lightning, let it rain
Let it rain, let it rain
'Cause we're gonna sing
Glory Hallelujah so the
Whole wide world can hear

Come on, y'all, now
Put your hands together
Put your hands together
Put your hands together
And let us praaaaay

We got to pray for all the people
Who are sleeping in the street
Pray for all the people
Who don't have enough to eat

Let us pray that tomorrow
There'll be a better day to come
Yeah, yeah, yeah




******

[the disco kid]

Good call actually. I only know the house version done by Jasper St. Company a few years back. How old is this?

K-Bee it's from 1978.

[JOL]

How about Two Tons O Fun's " Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven" . Even though it's not gospel per se the lyrics are.

[the disco kid]

How about Two Tons O Fun's " Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven" . Even though it's not gospel per se the lyrics are.

It takes me to "church" when I hear it!