Mighty Clouds Of Joy Staying Power

When you sing gospel songs, you have a feeling there is a cure for what’s wrong, according to the queen of gospel music, Mahalia Jackson.

In that same groove, the singers who make up The Mighty Clouds of Joy have continued for nearly 50 years to deliver their signature joyful noise, in the process becoming one of the most notable and highly regarded gospel groups in the world.

Commenting on the long-distance endurance of the “Clouds,” founding member Joe Ligon says with a laugh that “gospel singers never retire. They’ll sing until they can’t talk anymore.”

The fact that the three-time Grammy winners are once again on tour — they perform a one-night-only concert at the Peace Center on Friday — and have released 35 albums to date seems to support the 72-year-old Ligon’s assertions.

The Los Angeles-based group’s original founders met in junior high school in the 1950s, says Ligon. “We’d get together to rehearse a couple of nights a week to sing gospel.” A radio host who heard them one night and recognized their talent talked them into making a demo to send to a record company.

Read entire article by By Ann Hicks at Greenvilleonline.com