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re> about Whiney
> Well, to some gospel fans I know, Whitney Houston, so far, hasn't a
> fraction of the gospel, or soul, credibility of Cissy Houston. More
Whitney Houston appeared in the new movie as "The Preacher's Wife." Has
anyone seen the movie or heard its soundtrack? Below is from
http://www.movies.com/pw/music/music.html
- Kazunori
[The Preacher's Wife]
[The Music]
In the opening and closing sequences of "The
Preacher's Wife," Whitney Houston and the Georgia
Mass Choir were singing live for the cameras. Each
session turned into a gospel concert, with all the
emotion of a live performance. The set was filled
with festivity and joyousness.
Very often, while director of photography Miroslav
Ondricek and the electricians were busy lighting the
inside of Trinity United Methodist Church for an
upcoming scene, Whitney, her mother, Cissy Houston
(the famed gospel singer plays the role of St.
Matthew's choir member Mrs. Havergal), and Loretta
Devine, also a singer of great distinction, passed
the time by jamming with the choir.
The exhilarating singing caused crew members to
bounce and sway as they worked; extras stomped their
feet and clapped their hands; and the church's very
foundations seemed to shiver and rock.
Late one night, Houston and the choir, singing "I
Love the Lord" and "Joy to the World," were
possessed by the music and simply couldn't stop. No
matter that director Marshall kept crying "Cut!" --
they just kept on singing. Wave after wave of the
most spine-tingling, rousing gospel sound poured out
of Whitney Houston and the choir.
"I just kept the cameras rolling," Marshall says.
"We loaded magazine after magazine of the film, as
if we were shooting a documentary. It was dizzying."
"At that point, we had all been working so hard for
so long that these scenes were a release," Houston
says. "It was a spiritual time. I truly believe the
Holy Spirit came down and took over, because I saw
people on the set -- people you never dreamed would
be touched -- crying and sobbing. It made me think
of the saying 'Weeping may endure for the night, but
joy comes in the morning.'"
The Songs
"Love Divine All Loves Excelling"
Arranged by John Wilberforce and Michael Arthur
"Nyn Hae Dynameis"
Arranged by Demetrios Lekkas and Thanassis Moraitis
"Hold On, Help Is On the Way"
Written by Reverend Kenneth Paden
Performed by Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass
Choir
"Somebody Bigger Than You and I"
Written by Johnny Lange, Hy Heath, and Francis Burke
Performed by Whitney Houston
"Lay Aside Every Weight"
Written by Glenn Burleigh
Performed by Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass
Choir
"He's All Over Me"
Written by Alvin Darling
Performed by Loretta Devine
"Christmas Is a Whispering Time of Year"
Written by Jerry Abbott
"Good News"
Written by James Perry
Performed by the Nativity Choir
"Who Would Imagine a King"
Written by Mervyn Warren and Hallerin Hilton Hill
Performed by Whitney Houston and the Nativity Choir
"Big Alice"
Written by Don Pullen
"I Believe in You and Me"
Written by David Wolfert and Sandy Linzer
Performed by Whitney Houston
"My Heart Is Calling"
Written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
Produced by Babyface for ECAF Productions, Inc.
Performed by Whitney Houston
"The Lord's Prayer"
Music by Albert Malotte
Performed by Soul Tempo
Courtesy of Rev Run Records/Benson Music Group
"I Love the Lord"
Written by Richard Smallwood
Performed by Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass
Choir
"Joy to the World"
Arranged by Mervyn Warren
Performed by Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass
Choir
"Step by Step"
Written by Annie Lennox
Produced by Stephen Lipson
Performed by Whitney Houston
"You Were Loved"
Written by Diane Warren
Produced by Babyface for ECAF Productions, Inc.
Performed by Whitney Houston
Soundtrack album available on Arista Records
Compact discs and cassettes
[The Preacher's Wife home]
� 1996 Touchstone Pictures. All rights reserved.
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| > re> about Whiney
Hey, there's no reason to stoop to name calling...
8)
I have not seen "the Preacher's Wife" yet -- my kids rarely let me out at
night -- but surely will when it arrives on cable TV. I'm all for Miss
Whitney exploring her gospel roots, as previously noted. I've attended
dozens of gospel performances, usually in churches -- the original,
genuine houserockin' music!
Getting back to your original post, .0, I did buy and listen to the Cissy
Houston CD on the House of Blues label. Very fine. I noticed it was
mentioned on several critic's best-of-blues/gospel-1996 lists. - Jay
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Here's the track list of "The Preacher's Wife".
1. I Beleive In You And Me
2. Step By Step
3. Joy*
4. Hold On, Help Is On The Way*
5. I Go To The Rock*
6. I Love The Lord*
7. Somebody Bigger Than You And I#
9. You Were Loved
10. My Heart I Calling
11. I Beleive In You And Me(single version)
12. Step By Step(remix)
13. Who Would Imagine A King
14. He's All Over Me**
15. The Lord Is My Shepherd##
16. Joy To The World*
* performed with the Georgia Mass Choir
# featuring Bobby Brown, Faith Evans, Johnny Gill, Monica and Ralph Tresvant
** performed with Shirley Caesar and the Georgia Mass Choir
## performed by Cissy Houston With the Hezekiah Walker Choir
The album begins with pops numbers and is soon succeeded with gospel
numbers with the Georgia Mass Choir. Again went back to some pops and
builds toward the climax with some more gospels with assistance of her
mother, Cissy, and Shirley Caesar.
The most interesting number for me was "He's All Over Me" performed with
Shirley Caesar. Whitney has broad range of voice and ability to control
it, which Caesar might not have. But Caesar prevails Whitney with her
gospel feeling or some ad libs which seems to come from her long career
as a gospel singer, which I'm not familiar with.
Yes, Whitney could sing gospels well with the choir like "Hold On, Help
Is On The Way" but most suitable and successful song to her in this
album was "Step By Step" written by Annie Lennox in my opinion.
Whitney might need more abundant chops, disappointments in love, and
seven to eight children to bear to get gospel feeling. :-)
- Kazunori
P.S. I changed the title of thic topic from "Cissy Houston" to
"Cissy/Whitney Houston".
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