Gospel Innovators Mighty Clouds of Joy Excite and InspIre

Media Contact:

Kristen Gleason
Director of Marketing
The Paramount Theater
215 East Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.979.1922 ext. 103
kristen@theparamount.net

For Immediate Release

December 19, 2007

After 46 years, 37 albums, three Grammys, and a trophy case full of awards, The Mighty Clouds of Joy are more than gospel legends. They are nothing less than a national treasure.

Incorporating rock and soul flourishes into a quartet sound that is today a cornerstone of the genre, the Clouds have carried gospel into the age of modern R&B and urban music like no act before them, performing alongside artists such as the Rolling Stones; Aretha Franklin; James Brown; Earth, Wind & Fire; Luther Vandross; Ray Charles; and Paul Simon.

Performing in concert at The Paramount Theater, the Clouds will show their power to excite and inspire on Sunday, January 6 at 4 pm. Special Media Sponsor for this event is WUVA -- 97.7 KISS FM.

One of the best-selling quartets of all time, Gospel Music Hall of Famers, and one of the longest-standing gospel groups, The Mighty Clouds of Joy -- founding members Joe Ligon and Richard Wallace, along with long-time members Mike Cook, Ron Staples and Johnny Valentine -- are far from retiring.

A pioneering force behind many of the genre’s changes over the years, the Clouds have been molding gospel music since the late 1950s, introducing changes such as the addition of a full rhythm section and keyboards to the previously sparse traditional accompaniment of a lone electric guitar, and presenting a smooth, choreographed stage presence with colorful, matching outfits.

The first gospel group to perform on Soul Train, the Clouds have played grand venues such as The White House, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, and the unofficial “Shrine of Soul Music” -- the famed Apollo Theater.

As deeply inspiring as they are terrifically entertaining, the group’s lifetime lead singer, Joe Ligon, thinks of his life with the Clouds as simply a calling that chose him, rather than vice versa. “Some people are just born to sing,” he says. “And if you’re one of those people, and you do it long enough, it grows on you until you can’t imagine doing anything else. That’s the Clouds in a nutshell. I was born into a gospel family. My dad was a singer, and his dad was a preacher. This was always just what I did.”

Anyone suspecting that a calling enduring nearly a half-century would inevitably lose some of its early impetus and excitement need only listen to the Clouds’ 2007 release Movin’ to have that notion dispelled. Produced by Sanchez Harley (Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Shirley Caesar, Rizen) -- one of today’s hippest hitmakers who also evoked fire and flair from the group on their last outing In the House of the Lord-Live in Houston -- Movin’ finds the Clouds kicking into higher gear than ever.

“We’re more passionate about what we’re doing now than we’ve ever been,” Ligon emphatically states. “When we first started recording most gospel writers just weren’t digging as deep as they are now. It’s a new day, and they’re writing more from the Word, with more substance and a deeper message -- and a lot more of a praise message. I listen to Movin’ and I’m excited, because I know it’s going to inspire people -- young and old -- like nothing we’ve done before.”

By 1960 the Clouds had a major gospel record deal, a hit single, and an album flying up the charts, but it was their move to then-giant ABC Records in 1974 that brought the first of a decade-long string of big R&B-flavored gospel hit records, including “Mighty High,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard dance charts in 1975.

Even as they began to work a steady rotation of major secular venues, the Clouds never shied away from their identity as a devoutly gospel group. Still, it was a fairly radical, even daring, move for a gospel act to make at the time.

“Looking back,” Ligon says, “I can see that we were able to take gospel music through a lot of doors, and to a lot of places and people it had never been before. And there’s no way that could ever be anything but good.”

“Folks find something in gospel that they don’t find in any other kind of music, and it changes their lives ... who could ever ask for anything greater than that?"

Tickets for The Mighty Clouds of Joy at 4 pm on Sunday, January 6 are $34.50, $37.50, $40.50, and $45.50. Youth/Child prices of $29.50, $32.50, $35.50, and $40.50 are offered to those aged 12 and under. Half-price student rush tickets and group discounts are also available.

Tickets are available online or through The Paramount’s Box Office at 434.979.1333.

For more information about The Mighty Clouds of Joy, please visit www.mightycloudsofjoy.com or www.myspace.com/themightycloudsofjoy.