For two decades, Darrell McFadden and the Disciples have been making down home traditional gospel music just like four part harmonizers make it in southern quartet hubs such as Canton, Miss. (home of the Canton Spirituals), Jackson, Miss. (birthplace of The Jackson Southernaires) or Tupelo, Miss. (the launching pad for Lee Williams & the Spiritual QCs). The only difference is these guys hail from Brooklyn, NY. Now the group has assembled a jam-packed live CD/DVD called “Alive! 20th Anniversary Concert” (Blacksmoke Music Worldwide).
“We’re honored and privileged to be used as instruments of God to deliver this project, 20 years in the making,” says the group’s founder, Bishop Darrell McFadden, who is pastor of the Galilean Deliverance Temple in Bronx, NY, in a news release. “We’ve had some hard times, but we count it all joy. We thank God for our Fans because they’ve had our backs throughout this entire journey, we thank and love them so much! And always remember, in all of thy getting, make sure you get an understanding.”
The 22 song, two-disc set (one audio CD and one video DVD) was recorded in April 2011 at the Christian Faith Center in Creedmoor, NC, and features the Disciples’ most-loved hits. Among them are the soul-stirring ballad “I Can’t Even Walk (Without You Holding My Hand),” the hand clappers “Shackles” and “Long as I Got Jesus (That’s Alright)” and the upbeat “Be Ready.” The set also features two studio performances, including the ’70s R&B throwback groove, “Wilderness.” Jazzing up quartet has been in the group’s lifeblood from the start.
“We want to take quartet music to a new stage of recognition and popularity,” says McFadden. “A lot of people have lost touch with it, or aren’t even familiar with it, or have an inaccurate impression about it. We want to show them that it can still be current and modern, and something they can latch onto and enjoy. But our greatest purpose is just to win souls.
For more information, go to www.mrkerrydouglas.com.
