By 1m
Sno y-haired, cowboy­
booted Ralph Carmichael of "
ewbury Par Calif. is an un­
likely figure to be regarded
pioneer in Bia G pel usic.
A fonner big- d co due-
torandm . dir or 0
or ed with peop . B'
Crosby, his initial claim to (; e
wa "Go pel jazz with big
band sound. omething th t
ocked the conservative white
Christian orId in the 1950s ...
but that i another ory.
enty-three years ago, he
founded Lexicon Music and the
Light Records label. Although
. company has had numerous
white artists over the years, it is
bes known for its Blac Gospel
successes, such as Andrae
Crouch, Sandra Crouch,
Dougl s Miller and Vanessa
Bell Armstrong. Light had en­
joyed the phenomenal success
of the "Love Alive" ries of al­
bums by The Ha . Family,
. which sold millions.
Among the firm' many as­
ts re favorite songs like "My
Tribu e" and Bless His Holy
me" by Andrae Crouch,
Changed by Walter Hawkins,
Holy Holy" by Jimmy and
C rol Owen and Ralph
C rmichael' own "He's
Everything To Me."
Abou five years ago, after a
tint of being distributed by the
huge Word Records system,
Lexicon Music opened its own
distribution company. By 1986,
it w handling a great deal of
records for other companies,
such as Command Records
(home of the hit _group
Gospel Music
icholas) and Birthright, a
pioneering Black G pel com­
pany owned by Dr. Byron
Spears. it seemed as if Lexicon
Music h d become the biggest
thing in Black Gospel.
Then the roof fell.in.
Lexicon Music found itself
crippled by unrealistic contracts
that could not be met Several
leading artists left Light and the
distributed labels pulled out.
Carmichael reorganized his
staff but found himself literally
millions of dollars in the hole, "It
was very painful," says Car­
michael. "I promised everyone
100 cents on the dollar and I'm
sure that. many did not believe
they would ever see their
money."
Under the direction of his
new Executive Vice President,
Alan Abrahams, Light con­
tinued to produce hit albums,
which by mid-1987 included
"Loa Up And Live" by the New
Jersey Mass Choir (famous for
their performance of the pop
rock hit Want To Know What
Love Is" by Foreigner), and "Go
Tell Somebody" by Commis­
sioned.
Light Iso enjoyed best
sellers by Douglas Miller,
Sandra Crouch, Andrae
Crouch, Shirley Miller and The
King James Version.
Light recently released the
smgte -We Shall Behold Him"
and the album "Be Encouraged"
by Vickie Winans (wife of the
famous Marvin Winans).
"I'm more excited about this
record that about anything
we've done in years," says Car­
michael "I predict a fast climb
for her music. She's go her own
style and record stores are al­
ready reordering."
The revenue was still just not
enough. to keep up with the
obligations. . . until a miracle
happened.
A group of investors from
Nashville, led by Bob Mac­
Kenzie (former president of The
Benson Company) purchased
Lexicon Distributing and 2, 700
of Carmichael's song copyrights
for a healthy sum.
With this action, MacKenzie
formed a new major force in
Gospel music of which he is
president, Lexicon/Spectra Dis­
tributing. Carmichael remains
president of his firm, Lexicon
Music, which owns Light
Reocreds. Light and other
Gospel labels are now dis­
tributed by Lexicon/Spectra.
"Now Light can get back to
the business of continuing to do
what we do best, says Car­
michael. "That's making great
Blac Gospel music."
I TIlE NEWS: Superstar
Philip Bailey is putting the
finishing touches on an album he
is producing of the 100 voice
King Baptist Church Choir of
Denver,Colorado (Bailey's
hometown) ...
.. .And Jesus is stilt the King
of Glory and worthy to be
praised!
13
In and About Muskegon
MCC dance scholarships
a slst area students
Muskegon Community Col­
lege.. Performance-based
scholarships in dance will as­
sist several West Michigan stu­
dents as they continue their
dance studies.
Auditions for the 1988
Repertory Dance Tour Com­
npany are scheduled for
January 6 from 11:15 a.m.-1:15
in the Bartels-Rode Gym on
campus.
The annual tour of area
schools will begin at the end
of April, 1988. The 14th an­
nual Overbroo Dance
Theatre Concert is scheduled
for April 15-17, 1988.
MCC's Special Events Com-
mittee will sponsor Master
Classes in dance to be held at
the College in conjunction
with performances by the
Alvin Ailey Repertory En­
semble (Feb. 21) and the
Erick Hawkins Dance Com­
pany (May 7).
Performing guest artists
from these two dance com­
panies will teach beginning
and intermediate/advanced
technique classes while in
Muskegon.
Information on any of the
above events is available from
the MCC Dance Office, m-
0386.
IIHow To Thin
Strategicallt
MUSKEGON - Small business owners, middle managers and su­
pervisors will benefit from a seminar titled, "Thinking Strategically .
- What's Your Strategic IQ1"
Bari S. Johnson, founder and consultant for the Stanton Group,
will conduct this session, cheduled for the Grand Haven Com­
munity Center from 8:30 a.m.-noon on Wednesday, December 2.
The speaker hopes to convince her audience of the benefits to be
derived from thinking about what an organization SHOULD BE
rather than HOW the organjzation will get there.
This is the final seminar in the Small Business Development
Centers series, "Piecing Together Your Own Business Puzzle." The
Small Business Development Center (SBDC), directed by Diane
Gauthier,is operated in coopeative agreement with the United
States Small Business Administration.
To enroll, call Muskegon Community College at m-0250 and r
ask to register for CE section 4166. Invoicing of the $20 fee will be
by mail.
CCo
·PUTER SBIINj�
OFFERED EDUCA
Are computers a fad or here
to tay? A seminar at Muskegon
Community College, especially
for educators, on Monday, Dec.
7 from 6-9 p.m. will explore the
subject, "Technology in Educa­
tion: B ck to the Future."
The impact on education by
the merging of computer and
communication technologies
will be examined. Another ques­
tion to be considered i how will
the proliferation of home com-'
puters affect classroom educa­
tion.?
To enroll call m-0250 and
to register for CE section
4179. Billing for the-Sl0 charge
will be by mail.
PC HARD 0 K
�.NA,�MENT
Hard disks are no very af­
fordable. PC owners will find
that they will be able to wor
smarter and more efficiently by
w ing them.
Tim Trainor, Mu kegon
Community CoDese Instructor
of Information Processing and
Jeffrey Stipes, Director of Busi­
ness and Industrial Training at
,...... .•.............•...•..... . .
• • 1 HOUR SERVICE TIL NOON •
• SAME DAY SERVICE DAILY •
EXPERT SILK CLEANING. SHIRT SERVICE
EXPERT LEATHER & DRAPERIES .
•
•• ••••••• ••••••• • •••
MCC, will demonstrate the ad­
vant ges of the system at a
rkshop on Monday, Dec. 7,
from 6:30-9-.30 p.m. Scheduled
for Caesar Lounge at MCC, the
seminar is offered for $35 per
person.
To enroll, call m-f1l5O and
to register for CE section
4125. Invoicing will be by mail
A LOOK AT DESKTOP
PUBUSH G
"Desk Top Publishing" an
Central United
ethodist
Church
Second & Sea ay
(Downtown Muskegon}
•
Phone: 722-6545
Dr. Lynn De oss
Rev. Jerry Hagans
Churdl ._ .8:30 a.m
____ �- _ .... 10:OO
�:OO
emerging technology which
promises to revolutionize many
aspects of communicating via
newsletters, magazines, forms,
promotional materials and
many other publications, wil be
the ubject of another MCC
seminar.
MUSKEGON CHAPTER
PARE TSI
DOES YOUR CHILD EED
FREE TUTOR. G
in
READI G OR ATH?
SPO SOR: MUSKEGO CHAPTER
ATIO AL BLAe U ITED FRO T
II ITED ENROLL E T
DON'T DELAY - PRE-REGI TER TOO YI
11AafU! ca 728-7516 or n3-6611