MW Gospel Recording Artist & 81 Years Old Elder Goldwire McLendon’s New CD Jumps This Week to #7 from #22 on Billboard
(Houston, TX – May 14, 2012) –Music World Gospel recording artist and BET’s Sunday Best Season 3 first runner-up’s debut solo CD project, The Best of Elder Goldwire McLendon, jumps to #7 this week from #22 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart. McLendon is the oldest American contemporary solo artist signed to a record deal.
Preparing for a series of concert dates this summer, and wrapping up a promo tour in the Northeast and Southwest, the spirited and charismatic McLendon has been singing and ministering the gospel for seven decades. Two of his hometown papers, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Tribune, rave about his talent and appeal and bestow some brotherly love on the elder (see links below).
Philadelphia Daily News
The Philadelphia Tribune
The Best of Elder Goldwire McLendon features seven songs. McLendon puts a contemporary spin on traditional and classic gospel songs, which were all produced by Stanley Brown. His first single is an upbeat rendition of Sam Cooke’s “Jesus Be A Fence Around Me.”
He also offers a hand-clapping, foot-stomping rendition of “He’s All Over Me.” Written by Alvin Darling, this song gained international exposure when it was performed by Whitney Houston and Shirley Caesar in the movie The Preacher’s Wife. McLendon says the song has a special meaning to him. “It expresses how I really feel because I know that the spirit of the Lord is all over me and it’s keeping me alive—literally.” He performs a soulful rendition of “The Battle Is The Lord’s,” putting his own stamp on a signature song of gospel great Yolanda Adams, which was written by V. Michael McKay. McLendon’s contemplative and worshipful version of the classic, “How Great Thou Art,” written by Carl Boberg and Max Morris, is followed by a lively take on Edwin Hawkins’ gospel treasure, “Oh Happy Day.” His performance of “I Know It Was The Blood,” written by Chester D.T. Baldwin, takes him back to the church songs of his youth, and he takes the listener along for the ride. “The song has been a part of my nature ever since I first heard it as a kid,” he says. “I wanted to bring some of that old-time gospel to my version of the song.” He rounds out the CD with a soulful take on the Staple Singers’ classic (written by Alvertis Isbell), “I’ll Take You There,” which McLendon performed with Le’Andria Johnson on Sunday’s Best. “It was really something,” he says of that duet.

ABOUT MUSIC WORLD GOSPEL
In 2002, Music World Entertainment President and CEO Mathew Knowles founded Spirit Rising Music, now known as Music World Gospel. Celebrating its 10th Anniversary, Music World Gospel is a premiere faith-based record and management company under the umbrella of Music World Entertainment/Music World Music. Music World Gospel is the largest owned and operated African American Gospel label in the world. The company is dedicated to developing creative and innovative approaches to producing and promoting gospel, sacred, and inspirational music worldwide. Its mission is to reach, inspire and empower a diverse audience around the globe. Music World Gospel features a roster of award-winning recording artists, joint ventures and special projects including Trin-i-tee 5:7, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Brian Courtney Wilson, Juanita Bynum, Le'Andria Johnson, Amber Bullock, Elder Goldwire, Andrea Helms, Michael Pugh, Pastor Rudy Rasmus, ESSENCE Gospel, Ultimate Gospel, the Most Powerful Voices, The Gospel Superfest, Spirit Rising and The Pastor Rudy Experience brands. Music World Gospel’s joint ventures and partnerships include Universal Music Christian Group, Fontana Distribution, Integrity Africa, BET, ESSENCE Communications, Son Flower Records, Interface Entertainment, Dr. Bobby Cartwright, Jr., and James Fortune and Fiya World, LLC. The company has achieved record breaking success on the sales and radio charts, with several artists' albums and singles debuting atop Billboard and Christian Music Trade Association charts and remaining in the Top 5, 10 and 20 positions for as many as 100 weeks and counting.
ABOUT MUSIC WORLD MUSIC
Music World Music was founded by Mathew Knowles, founder, President and CEO of Music World Entertainment. Music World Music has had an unprecedented impact on the history of music around the globe, with record sales exceeding 300 million worldwide. Knowles established several recording imprints under Music World Music, including Music World Gospel, Music World Country/Compadre and Music World Kids. Music World Music was crowned by Billboard magazine as one of the Top Imprint Labels of the decade (2000-2009). With successes across multiple genres, including pop, R&B, gospel, dance, and country, as well as soundtracks and special themed projects, Music World Music has produced over 100 award-winning, platinum and gold albums. Music World Music was also named the #1 Dance Imprint Label in 2009 by Billboard magazine. Under Music World Music, Destiny’s Child became a global phenomenon and was named the Best Selling Female Group of All Time in popular music, selling over 100 million records and collecting nearly 200 awards, including GRAMMY® Awards, World Music Awards, American Music Awards, MTV Awards (U.S., Europe and Asia), Billboard Awards, BET Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and countless others. Under Knowles’ guidance, both Destiny’s Child and Beyoncé experienced spectacular success during the decade between 2000 and 2009. Destiny’s Child was named on Billboard magazine’s Top 10 Artists of the Decade (2000-2009) and, as a solo artist, Beyoncé was crowned Billboard’s number one Artist of the Decade—Female (2000-2009) and number 4 Top Artist of the Decade (2000-2009).
Music World Gospel
Music World Entertainment
