I am so honored that Sara Jordan Powell is a friend of mine and that she is being honored for her contributions to gospel music for so many years. Congrats Sara! International Music Department COGIC, Inc. Dr. Judith Christie McAllister International Minister of Music and President ---- ***GOSPEL HERITAGE MONTH*** THE IMD SALUTES SARA JORDAN POWELL Inline image 1 Sara Jordan Powell is unquestionably a giant of gospel music. She made some classic albums in the 70s, produced by gospel patriarch James Cleveland. She has sung gospel at the White House before two different Presidents, and among the stunning videos of her work one can view on YouTube is a duet with soul legend Ray Charles. Yet, given the fragmentary nature of gospel music research concerning Saras major contribution to gospel music history, only Bil Carpenters Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia correctly identifies that Sara Jordan Powells recognition within the COGIC denomination is iconic and that the singer is loved for her semi-operatic soprano and her ear-piercing gymnastics. Sara was born in Houston, Texas on the 6th of October in 1938. Her father was the pastor at Turner Memorial COGIC in Houston. Powell was two years old when she first sang I Need Thee, O I Need Thee in front of an audience. Bishop Charles Harrison Mason picked her up at the age of two and said a prayer of dedication over Powells life. I believe that anointing has followed me all of my life, she says. Her father took his wife and children on the road as a ministry calling itself the Jordan Family. In order to do this, he bought a long limousine. The programme for the family group included Powells father speaking, her mother playing piano and their children singing. Later, Powell attended Texas Southern University where she majored in English and minored in history and drama. After graduating, Sara spent the summer with her sister and brother-in-law, who was a pastor in Chicago. Eventually, Sara took a job at Inglewood High School. While living in Chicago, she sang in various churches. The word began to spread about the great soprano from Houston. Saras growing reputation eventually reached the ears of Sallie Martin, the legendary singer who in the 1940s had worked alongside the Father of Gospel Music, Thomas A Dorsey. Sara was asked to tour as one of the Sallie Martin Singers. They toured the East Coast in a station wagon during the 1964-65 season. After she left the Sallie Martin Singers, Sara joined the Chicago-based Voices Of Melody led by Dr. Charles Clency. Also in Chicago, she met and married her husband. When her father became ill and passed away, they moved back to Houston to help Powells mother, who wasnt able to handle the business issues of the church. Powell began to teach in Houston area schools. One of her students saw her sing at a church and asked the school principal if Powell could sing at their graduation ceremony. After she sang at the school, the word spread around Houston and Powell had so many singing engagements that she considered leaving her teaching job. Powell was performing at a function in Los Angeles where James Cleveland spotted her performance circa 1971. He asked her to meet with him the next morning. He had seen her sing before but never had the opportunity to speak to her. He asked her if she had ever considered recording. She had not. He said there may be who never meet you and may never see you in person, but your music may touch their lives because its anointed, she recalled him saying. Cleveland asked her to come up to Dallas one weekend, and she told him that she and her husband would pray about it. A few days later, Cleveland called and asked what they decided. She said they would come. My husband and I went there on a Thursday. Went up to his suite and he had a grand piano in there. His producer was there as well. Rev Cleveland started to play Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone and All the World Go Free. As I sang that song in his room, his producer said, Lets go in the studio right now. They went into a studio that afternoon and recorded the whole album within two hours. The debut LP James Cleveland Presents Sara Jordan Powell: Songs Of Faith And Inspiration included her first major hit, Prayer Will Move It. Over the course of her years with Savoy, Powell recorded mostly traditionally styled tunes, usually with contemporary piano accompaniment by Carl Preacher. Shirley Joiner and Brenda Waters from Preachers group, known as BCS (for Brenda, Carl and Shirley), backed Powell on her I Find No Fault LP. Preacher then became her accompanist for the next 13 years. During the last half of the 1970s, tracks by Sara that got gospel radio exposure were God Willed It So, Touch The Hem Of His Garment and I Must Tell Jesus. However, her biggest hit was her 1977 remake of the Banks Brothers 1963 song When Jesus Comes. It was during her successful period with Savoy Records that the singer was to come to the attention of a singer who, though not a gospel performer, had utilized the sound and vocal style of gospel music to become a million selling mainstream artist. Recounted Sara, When James Cleveland was producing my albums, we used Ray Charles studio one night to record. A tape of my singing was accidentally left there one night and Ray Charles came across it the next day and listened to it. He wanted to know who the singer on the tape was, and he was told that it was Sarah Jordan Powell. A few years later, Ray Charles was to play and sing at a Christmas Concert in Germany. Originally, Aretha Franklin was to accompany him, but she was not available. An agent overheard and suggested me, and Ray Charles agreed since hed heard me via that tape which was left in his office years ago. The much watched video of Sara singing Angels Keep Watching with Ray Charles filmed at Germanys Monastery Of Ettal in 1979 showed that Saras powerful, emotive soprano was a creative tour de force. Having left Savoy Records, Sara signed with New Orleans-based label Power House Records. With considerable presumption Sara asked Ray Charles to produce her Power House album. Amazingly, the soul superstar agreed. The resulting LP, Affectionately Sara, was a mix of traditional church numbers and soulful mid-tempo songs. Following that period, Sara attended Southwest Theological Seminary and earned a Master’s degree from the University of St Thomas. She continued to sing and she made two appearances at the White House, the first singing before Jimmy Carter. A few years later President Ronald Reagan called upon her as one of the few to serve on the committee for the Year of the Bible. Her leadership role was gratefully acknowledged by the President in one of their personal meetings. At her mission in Calcutta, India, Mother Teresa heard Sara sing and offered a personal prayer and these words, Gods blessings on you, Sara, as you continue to radiate Christ. Sara became an academic advisor at Oral Roberts University. She has also spent over a decade as the Executive Director of the Fine Arts Department for the Church of God In Christ. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall Of Fame in 2003, joining the ranks of bluesman Taj Mahal, crooner Patti Page and jazzman Dave Brubeck. In 2004 Malaco Records, whod bought the vast Savoy Records catalogue, finally issued a CD by Sara. The Best Of Sara Jordan Powell is an 18 track compilation of all her biggest songs. Whether she is ministering to a gathering of 500,000 or to a group of five, Sara’s inspirational message has raised the hopes, goals and aspirations of those striving for a better life. Throughout the world, her ministry in song and testimony has been a beacon of light to those in hospitals, convalescent homes, penal institutions, religious organizations, churches and schools. President Judith Christie McAllister and the International Music Department are pleased to celebrate and recognize a true American treasure, an unsung gospel heroine, and a legend in the Church Of God In Christ, and the world. We salute --- SARA JORDAN POWELL!
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 17:42:50 +0000
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