They are performing the revival of Hair at the Kennedy Center. The article in the Washington Post said that the orginal production was 45 years ago. The current crop of performers would not have been born, and neither would some of their parents.....

WOW Gospel 2010 - The WOW Gospel series usually comes with two CDs. One features old school gospel, e.g., Mighty Clouds of Joy. The other features contemporary gospel, e.g., Mary Mary, J. Moss, Deitrick Haddon. Some of the contemporary gospel features hotter beats than what you're hearing on urban radio. Few people know that Jamie Foxx's "Blame It On the Alchohol" totally rips off Mary Mary's "God In Me".

Gospel music has changed so much from what it used to be. There are some purists that don't like that it can sound like some of today's popular music. I've got no problem with that. I think it helps spread the message to a larger audience. Where is it written that Gospel music has to be stiff and boring? "Make a joyful noise" is clearly open to interpretation.

Personally, I don't care for gospel that sounds like hip-hop. A) Generally, I don't care for the sound of hip-hop, although there are exceptions. B) Something about the rage and blatantly sexual nature of hip-hop that gets airplay in my area makes it a tough sell to think that people who sing/rap like that actually mean what they say when the lyrics praise God.
Having said that, I am definitely in favor of spiritual music being free of traditional restraints. Those old, mourning songs where the congregation wails, "ohhhhh Loh-oh-oh-ord," are depressing.
On the flip side, I once went to a Pentecostal church that had an all-white congregation (race mentioned because when it comes to Sunday mornings, there is a considerable contrast in styles). The band had 2 blue-haired ladies. One played electric bass, and the other alto saxophone. That was the second liveliest in-house band I've ever seen in a church.

Paul McCartney - All the Best
Eagles - Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)
MCA Classics: Philharmonic Symphony of London - The Nutrcracker Ballet (the conclusion) / Utah Symphony - Swan Lake (excerpts)

Check out my Mandi Seekings Remix: Mandi Seekings Good Morning

John Denver. PBS has been using `A song`s best friend` doccumentary for pledge weeks. The guy just plain wrote good songs and was a good singer. Tragedy he died at 52 in that experimental airplane crash Rocky Mountain High is my favorite among all his excellent catalouge, And I DO Love singer songwriters! This perplexes people who learn I also love Spyro Gyra, PMG, ripps, JLP, etc.

I did a remix of Kelly Price's Tired. It's a gospel song for the clubs.

Kelly Price Tired (dance remix)

I played the acoustic piano with Alicia's Keys!

I went to see Aaron Neville at Harlow's Casino & Resort last night. It's easily the best concert I've seen in my area, and I'd put it in the conversation of some performances by my favorite jazz artists and a few rock concerts.
The band was tight. They played about an hour and 40 minutes. And it was non-stop.
The music was great, and Aaron's voice - whether normal or falsetto - is always a joy to hear. By my count, they did 22 songs and. The band opened with 2 instrumental tracks and later did a nice rendition of Harlem Nocturne. Among the vocals were the crossover pop hits, "I Don't Know Much," his cover of "Everybody Plays the Fool," 2 songs from his new CD - he and the band are still learning those because they had sheet music - and "Tell It Like It Is." The concert ended with a funk-driven piece that featured a long call and response between brother Charles Neville on tenor sax and the guitarist.
The styles covered pop, reggae, soul, blues and a little country.
I don't remember what the first encore song was, but he did "Amazing Grace," and then a medley that started with "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" and ended with the Mickey Mouse Club theme song.

One thing that made a big difference is Aaron and the band kept the show moving.
I've attended concerts where artists hold the stage for an hour and a half but only play 8 or 9 songs. A lot of talking between songs and banter trying to pump up the audience fill a lot of minutes with no music.
At the beginning of the show, the drummer said hello, mispronounced Greenville as "Greensville," and that was it. Apart from brief introductions of the musicians, and explaining that this song was from the new CD or that song was from 1966, there was very little talking.
And even better, the band would end one song, and while the applause is still peaking, they'd go right into the next one - no delay.

various - Narada Equinox Artists sampler one
James Taylor - Greatest Hits vol. 2
Marvin Gaye - Greatest Hits
Faith Hill - Breathe
various - Time Life Super Hits 1970