Kesi Asher, Staff Reporter
RB Gospel Singers. Front row (from left ) Patricia Levy, Anishca Sinclair, Cleayon Morris (lead singers), Desmond Minto, Windsor Jennings (road manager), Joma Hepburn. Back row (from left) Royston Braham (general manager), Jermaine Francis, Dave Brown, James Wedderburn, Damion Gayle, Patrick Coombs (mobile promoter). - ANDREW SMITH/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
OLD TIME religion was good for Paul and Silas and it's good enough for the RB Gospel Singers.
The group, formed six years ago, believes that Christ never changes, and that His word is constant. As a result, the RB singers record and perform mostly traditional gospel music. "The younger generation want God to change to suit them. We bring the old traditional teaching to show that Christ never changes," said Windsor Jennings, road manager.
"These are songs that I grew up singing and listening to, songs that have been around for decades. Over the years, we (Christians) have been diverting from the real old time gospel," said Patricia Levy, one of the lead singers. "When I saw how the crowd responded to our music at the Genesis Festival, it was as though they are thirsty for the old time religion," she said.
With the group members ranging from age 20 to 44, the younger members have had varying reactions to the traditional gospel.
HAD TO ADJUST
"I grew up in church so I like the traditional music. I'm not really into the modern DJ music," said Anishca Sinclair, 20 years old, and one of the lead singers.
However, another young member of the group, Damion Gayle, had to adjust to the music. "When we just join the group, it was kinda hard to sing the traditional song, but when we see that the people accept the old time songs, we alright with it," said Damion.
However, on their first album, My God Can Move Mountains, released in 1994, RB Gospel Singers experimented with a bit of contemporary music, reggae and soul. Cleayon Minto, the third lead singer, wrote You Must Save and Press Along, while Anishca wrote the title track My God Can Move Mountains. The group has, however, never performed these contemporary songs.
Desmond Minto, James Wedderburn, Joma Hepburn, Dave Brown and Jermaine Francis, round out the other members of the group.
Though they worship at various denominations, Church of God, Pentecostal, Baptist, Seventh-day, among them, and live in different parishes, St. Catherine, St. Ann, St. Thomas and Kingston, the music and the
ministry unifies them.
The members congregate regularly at Weise Road, Nine Miles, Bull Bay for practice.
They take pride in their music ministry as they feel the music is a good avenue to get the message of God out.
POWERFUL MINISTRY
"The singing ministry is a powerful ministry, people want to listen to songs more than a preacher. You can even listen to the song while you are doing something else. The music appeals to the masses," said Patricia.
In the future, the gospel group hopes to spread their music wider. "We expect to extend the ministry in the widest capacity that we can, so that the music can get to the world-wide market," said Royston Braham, general manager for RB Gospel Singers.
