Getty LeBron James is expected to try to recruit Kevin Durant to sign with the LA Lakers.
You may know Kirk Franklin, but Gospel group, Mary Mary has a ton of skin in the game, too!
Their lyrics are soulful:
“In the corners of my mind, I just can’t seem to find a reason to believe, that I can break free! Cause you see I have been down for so long, feel like the hope is gone, but as I lift my hands, I understand, that I should praise you through my circumstance!”
Even if you’re the most casual gospel music listener, you’ll attribute the lyric above to multi-Grammy Award winning gospel group Mary Mary and their single, “Shackles” (Praise You) from their 2000 Thankful album.
If it doesn’t ring a bell like Sunday’s at 12 o’clock, perhaps you’re more familiar with sisters, Erica and Tina Campbell from their WE tv reality television show, Mary Mary which shows the day and the life of the two balancing marriage, motherhood, career and holding on to their faith.
Nonetheless, the two bridge the gap between respected gospel artists like Andrae Crouch, Shirley Caesar, Daryl Coley, Dottie Peoples, John P. Kee, Yolanda Adams and more.
In American history, former United States Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are encapsulated as iconic symbols of the United States thanks to a sculpture in Keystone, South Dakota,
Sports took hold of that and remixed it. While doing an interview with NBA TV’s Steve Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James listed his Mount Rushmore of NBA players that includes: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson.
James added that he’d one day be “one of the top four that’s ever played this game.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wasn’t too pleased with that list and being left out, telling the Salt Lake Tribune’s Aaron Falk:
“I don’t know what LeBron was thinking. He didn’t even see Bill Russell play. He has no idea what Bill Russell did. Eleven championships in 13 years? Eight in a row? LeBron isn’t going to get anywhere near that. I don’t get it. And here he didn’t want Bill Russell on his Rushmore. I think today’s players have a very limited perspective on the game.”
But I digress.
In the day and age where everything is debatable here’s a query for ya: Is there such thing as a gospel music Mount Rushmore?
“That’s a good question,” Mary Mary’s Erica Campbell told me on Scoop B Radio.
Well, Google says no.
So guess what? Mary Mary has now created the first gospel Mount Rushmore!
“I would say Marvin Winans, Darryl Coley, Yolanda [Adams] and Donnie McClurkin,” said Erica Campbell.
Easy breezy, right?
Tina Campbell took us back further in the gospel music registry.
“The Clark Sisters,” Mary Mary’s Tina Campbell told Scoop B Radio.
For those taBut back to Mary Mary: Yo, a Mount Rushmore has four people!
But who cares?
This sounds interesting Tina, keep it going!
“Harvey Watkins Jr., Shirley Caesar, because she’s a beast,” she said.
The last of the Mount Rushmore??
“Commissioned,” she said.
That’s more than one person! That’s like a whole entourage, literally.
The original members of the Detroit, Michigan gospel group were Fred Hammond, Mitchell Jones, Keith Staten, Karl Reid, Michael Brooks, and Michael Williams. The group made hits like “Love Is The Way,” “Running Back To You” and “Ordinary Just Won’t Do.”
Commissioned’s “I Can’t Live Without You” is a classicrdy to the party, the Clark Sisters are literally five people. Jacky Clark Chisholm, Denise Clark Bradford, Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark-Terrell, Dorinda Clark-Cole and Karen Clark Sheard.
For those keeping score at home, The Clark Sisters, Ha-Ya was sampled by Jay-Z and Beyonce on 4:44’s Family Feud.
Start the video at the 1:01 mark to check it out.
But back to Mary Mary: Yo, a Mount Rushmore has four people!
But who cares?
This sounds interesting Tina, keep it going!
“Harvey Watkins Jr., Shirley Caesar, because she’s a beast,” she said.
The last of the Mount Rushmore??
“Commissioned,” she said.
That’s more than one person! That’s like a whole entourage, literally.
The original members of the Detroit, Michigan gospel group were Fred Hammond, Mitchell Jones, Keith Staten, Karl Reid, Michael Brooks, and Michael Williams. The group made hits like “Love Is The Way,” “Running Back To You” and “Ordinary Just Won’t Do.”
Commissioned’s “I Can’t Live Without You” is a classic!
For the gospel historians out there, Marvin Sapp was once a member of the group.
The group would go on to have solo careers with Hammond and Sapp having mega success. Evander Holyfield once used Fred Hammonds Glory To God as his entrance music to fight Mike Tyson and others.