A group known as Gospel Music Capitol of the World Productions wants the City of Chicago to purchase and restore the Chicago Defender building and use it to house an International Gospel Museum. (We know this might be the pot calling the kettle black, but shouldn’t that be Gospel Music C-A-P-I-T-A-L Of The World Productions?) The release cites a recent Chicago Sun-Times article that quotes David Bahlman, president of the former Landmarks Preservation Council of... more ›

The voice that breathed velvet soul is now silent. Smooth voiced Grammy-winning singer and Chicago native Lou Rawls passed away this morning after being hospitalized in Los Angeles for treatment of lung and brain cancer. Mr. Rawls was introduced to music by his grandmother and the gospel strains of church. He started singing professionally in the mid-'50's with the L.A.-based gospel group the Pilgrim Travelers, whose contemporaries the Soul Stirrers featured at that time the... more ›