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THE FLORIDA MASS CHOIR - Jesus Will Never Say No LP - The Clark Sisters Era.

The Florida Mass Choir arrived on the scene in the late 1970s, when mass choirs were beginning to dominate gospel radio and make the Billboard gospel/spiritual album charts. Amassing hit album after hit album in the 1980s and 1990s, the Florida Mass Choir took full advantage of this popularity and helped to inspire other cities to organize their own mass choirs.

A series of events led to the founding of the Florida Mass Choir, the first of which was the establishment of the Florida Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, Inc. (GMWA) in 1972. Attending the GMWA Board Meeting in New Orleans, Fred Mendelsohn of Savoy Records heard a tape of a Florida Chapter member, the New Redemptive Ensemble of Tampa, under the direction of Revs. Milton Biggham and Arthur T. Jones. Mendelsohn was so taken by the tape that he decided to record the group for Savoy. The Time Is Now was released in 1974.

Subsequently, the Tampa Mass Choir was assembled from members of the Tampa Chapter of the GMWA as well as from the New Redemptive Ensemble, Voices of Faith Community Choir, Tarpon Springs Community Choir, St. Petersburg Concert Chorale and the University of South Florida Gospel Choir. Tampa hosted the eighth GMWA Board Meeting, and Savoy recorded the Tampa Mass Choir’s debut LP, I Give My Life to Thee, in 1976.

At this point, Biggham was tagged to be Savoy’s promotion director, and Jones set out to strengthen the Florida Chapter of the GMWA by training and rehearsing groups in several cities. He assembled the Florida Mass Choir by combining the Tampa Mass Choir and mass choirs from Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Greater Miami, Jacksonville and Gainesville. Directors of the local choirs served as co-directors of the Florida Mass Choir. The new group performed at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, to a standing ovation.

The choir’s first release was also Biggham’s first production credit for Savoy: 1979’s Come, Let’s Reason Together. It was the first in a series of live double albums the choir released on Savoy. Following Come, Let’s Reason Together, which charted on Billboard in 1980, were Jesus Will Never Say No (1980), Be Encouraged (1981), Lord You Keep on Proving Yourself to Me (1982) and Storm Clouds Rising (1985). The City of Fort Lauderdale decreed November 21, 1981, Florida Mass Choir Day.

Biggham, who was then named executive director of Savoy Records, continued to work with the Florida Mass Choir not only as a co-director but also as a lead vocalist and accompanist. The choir benefited from the expertise of other top-shelf gospel musicians and songwriters such as V. Michael McKay and A. Jeffrey LaValley.

In 1987, the choir began recording for Malaco, starting with “Live” in Miami, Florida, which included the single Thank God for the Blood. Let the Holy Ghost Lead You also appeared in 1987, Higher Hope followed in 1990 and Now I Can See in 1992. The Florida Mass Choir maintained a steady presence on Billboard’s Top Spiritual/Gospel Albums chart during the 1980s and 1990s. By the mid-1990s, the choir was recording for Intersound and continued releasing chart-making albums. Meanwhile, the Florida Chapter of GMWA was divided into several individual chapters at the 1991 convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. There were six original cities with chapter appointments: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, Daytona and Jacksonville. Additional chapters were added later.

Released in 1999, Malaco’s Treasure: Greatest Hits is a collection of the best of the Florida Mass Choir. It includes Thank God for the Blood, Storm Clouds Rising, Look Where the Lord Has Brought Me From and Have You Been Tried in the Fire.

Similar in genre and era as the Clark Sisters

The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of four sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark-Terrell, Dorinda Clark-Cole, and Karen Clark Sheard. A fifth sister, Denise Clark Bradford, no longer performs with the group. The Clark Sisters are the daughters of legendary gospel musician and choral director Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. They are credited for helping to bring gospel music to the mainstream and are considered as pioneers of contemporary gospel. Their biggest crossover hits include: "Is My Living in Vain?" "Hallelujah," "He Gave Me Nothing to Lose," "Endow Me," their hit song "Jesus Is A Love Song," "Pure Gold," "Expect a Miracle," and their largest mainstream crossover gold certified, "You Brought the Sunshine." The Clark Sisters have won two[1] Grammy Awards. With 16 albums to their credit and millions in sales, the Clark Sisters are the highest-selling female gospel group in history.

Discography

* 1973: Jesus Has a Lot to Give

* 1974: Dr. Mattie Moss Clark Presents the Clark Sisters

* 1975 Sound Of Gospel Presents

* 1976: Unworthy

* 1978: Count It All Joy #20 (US Gospel)

* 1978: New Dimensions of Christmas Carols

* 1979: He Gave Me Nothing to Lose (But All to Gain) #18 (US Gospel)

* 1980: Is My Living in Vain #18 (US Gospel)

* 1981: You Brought the Sunshine #9 (US Gospel)

* 1982: Sincerely #12 (US Gospel)

* 1982: Gospel

* 1984: Heart and Soul (First version Never released)

* 1986: Best

* 1986: Heart and Soul #5 (US Gospel)

* 1988: Conqueror #7 (US Gospel), #29 (US Contemporary Christian)

* 1989: Bringing It Back Home #13 (US Gospel)

* 1994: Miracle #8 (US Gospel)

* 2007: Live - One Last Time #1 (US Gospel), #56 (US Billboard 200)

* 2008: Encore: The Best of the Clark Sisters

* 2008: The Clark Sisters Definitive Gospel Collection

* 2009: A Clark Family Christmas #15 (US Gospel)

Other Appearances[edit]

* "Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates" - Commissioned & The Clark Sisters (from Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration) (Reprise, 1992)

* "Nothing to Lose" - Florida A&M University Gospel Choir featuring The Clark Sisters (Crystal Rose, 1996)

* "Jesus Is a Love Song" - Karen Clark-Sheard featuring The Clark Sisters (from Finally Karen) (Island, 1997)

* "Pure Gold" - Karen Clark-Sheard featuring The Clark Sisters (from Finally Karen... Live! - VHS Only) (Island/Polygram Video, 1997)

* "Show Me the Way" - Dorinda Clark-Cole featuring The Clark Sisters (from Dorinda Clark-Cole) (Gospocentric, 2002)

* "You Brought the Sunshine" - Kelly Price feat. The Clark Sisters (Def Soul, 2003)

* "I'm Not Perfect" - Missy Elliott feat. The Clark Sisters (from This Is Not a Test) (Elektra, 2003)

* "I Made It" - Twinkie Clark featuring The Clark Sisters (from Home Once Again) (Verity, 2004)

* "Blessing Me" - Jacky Clark-Chisholm featuring The Clark Sisters (from Expectancy) (Entheos, 2005)

* "Higher Ground" - Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters (from Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration) (EMI Gospel/Vector Recordings, 2009)[17]

* "I Wanna Thank You"- The Clark Sisters, Kierra Sheard, and J Moss(from "Silky Soul Music... an All-star Tribute to Maze feat. Frankie Beverly) (Brantera Music Group, 2009

Covers

* One of the Clarks' signature songs "Is My Living In Vain" was remade by R&B quartet Xscape, as well as Light Records gospel quartet Zie'l.

* An early Clark favorite "Endow Me" from their chart topping album You Brought The Sunshine was remade by Coko featuring Faith Evans, Fantasia Barrino, and Lil' Mo on her 2006 gospel debut.

* "You Brought The Sunshine" has been covered by artists such as Al Green, Kelly Price, Shirley Murdock, Out of Eden, Melinda Doolittle and LeJeune Thompson.

* The ending vamp of the song "I've Got An Angel" from the (1986) Heart & Soul album of the Clark Sisters was used by Aaliyah in the song "Never Givin' Up" off of her 1996 album "One In A Million".

* "Hallelujah" from the Clark Sisters was sung in the Derek Luke film Antwone Fisher, starring Denzel Washington.

* Mary J. Blige sampled The Clark Sisters' 1980 "They Were Overcome (By the Word)" from their "Is My Living in Vain?" album. She used the sample on "Checkin' for Me," from her 2001 smash album, "The Breakthrough