The legendary Thomas Dorsey founded of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses in 1933 – and it’s still hugely influential today. Now virtually every major gospel artist has their own convention: week-long festivals of gospel music workshops, training sessions and fellowship– culminating with the recording of a giant mass choir performance.
Also still around is the National Convention of the Gospel Evangelists, Musicians and Choral Association, created in 1976 by the Rev. Joseph Linton. GEMCA, as it is called, has released several mass choir recordings, including my favorite, a double LP set released for the organization’s 5th annual convention in 1981.
This one features singer/songwriter and arranger Jeffrey LaValley very early in his stellar career. The writer of hits like “Revelation 19,” “True Victory,” and “No Greater Love” has even had his song “Selah” sampled by Kanye West. This is LaValley’s arrangement of the standard “Just a Little Talk With Jesus” from that LP.
MUSIC: “Just a Little Talk with Jesus,” 5th National Convention of the Gospel Evangelists, Musicians and Choral Association
I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU, the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project at Baylor University Libraries and is funded by generous support from the Prichard Foundation.