Sounds Of Blackness
Led by bodybuilder Gary Hines, a former Mr Minnesota, Sounds Of Blackness are a gospel/soul 40-piece choir whose work has also torn up the dance charts. Stranger still, perhaps, was the fact that they broke though so late in their career. They were 20 years old as an outfit when they came to prominence in 1991. Hines took them over from their original incarnation as the Malcalaster College Black Choir in January 1971, running the group on a strict code of ethics and professional practices. The rulebook is sustained by the long waiting list of aspiring members, and Hines' self-appointed role as ‘benevolent dictator’. They first made the charts under the aegis of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who had spotted the band and used them for backing vocals on their productions for Alexander O'Neal. In turn they used the choir to launch their new record label, Perspective, scoring almost immediately with Optimistic. Released in 1991, it single-handedly sparked off a revival in the fortunes of gospel music. The album which housed it went on to win a Grammy award, as The Pressure and Testify also charted. Recent singles have again, via remixes from the likes of Sasha, and hugely emotive vocals from Ann Bennett-Nesby, proved extremely popular in the thoroughly secular arena of the club scene. Hines is ecstatic rather than hesitant about this, insisting that their message can seep through despite the environment. Sounds Of Blackness also sang Gloryland, alongside Daryl Hall, as the official theme to the 1994 World Cup.