Updike at Easter, 2026 Edition
Pondering the meaning and purpose of Updike's iconic poem about Christianity's signal event, with musical interludes by REGINA VANDERJEICK, ELVIS, MAHALIA, THE SENSATIONAL NIGHTINGALES and ALBERTINA WALKER
Mahalia Jackson
Clara Ward Abides
From Sweden's Gospel Friend label, a 27-track collection of rare and unreleased recordings dating from 1949 to 1971 featuring Clara Ward and the Ward Singers, including Marion Williams, in their peak years.
Open Up the Doors
Flow down Grace: Is REGINA VANDEREIJK (born in North Carolina, now residing in Gouda, Netherlands) the future of gospel? Her first album, THE LORD IS THERE, raises the question.
BOB MAROVICH’S GOSPEL PICKS
Introducing REGINA VANDEREIJK, the greatest new voice of the year; RIP, The Nelons; Gospel Christmas singles 2024
Gospel at Christmastime
Bob Marovich's overview of gospel music at Yuletide, from the Elkins-Payne Jubilee Singers (1926) to the Edwin Hawkins Family (1985).
Deep Roots Albums of the Year, 2019
KEB MO' is honored with two Albums of the Year selections for 2019 and he's joined by MARTY BROWN, MARC COHN and BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA, KIRK WHALUM and VINCE GILL, among others.
‘I WONDER AS I WANDER’
STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS: JOHN JACOB NILES's own account of writing 'I Wonder As I Wander,' plus an online discussion of the meaning of 'on'ry' in the first verse.
Raymond Myles and the Rocky Road to Redemption
MICHAEL SIGMAN on the late New Orleans gospel icon RAYMOND MYLES and a documentarian's attempt to finish a film about Myles's tragically short life and timeless musical legacy.
The Anti-Slavery Roots of ‘O Holy Night’
Attacked for his opposition to inequality, slavery, injustice and other kinds of oppression, French poet PLACIDE CAPPEAU insinuated his unpopular thoughts into an 1847 poem that became 'O Holy Night'
The Deep Roots 2016 Yuletide Baedeker
A guide to the Christmas content published over the years in TheBluegrassSpecial.com and Deep Roots, including our 2016 Christmas album picks.