Time for Healing

Led by bodybuilder Gary Hines, a former Mr Minnesota, Sounds Of Blackness are a gospel/soul 40-piece choir whose work has also revolutionized the dance charts. Stranger still, perhaps, was the fact that they broke through 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 ethical code of professional practices. 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 .

This year has been one of the more eventful in the group's 26-year history. There was a four-week tour of Japan and plenty of studio work, including the soundtrack for Disney's "Hercules." In June, Sounds performed at a world leadership summit in Denver, and I would have traded my vacation in the Boundary Waters to have witnessed Bill Clinton swaying in funky praise. Though Texan Kirk Franklin became a bigger pop star this year, he used the same basic recipe as Sounds of Blackness - traditional gospel laced with hip-hop beats - without as much blues, jazz or pure soul.

For my money, Franklin is no match for Sounds director Gary Hines, who's been with the group since his days as a Macalester student in the early '70s. (Hines writes most of the material while also playing keyboards and singing baritone, but credit also is due to guitarist Levi Seacer, who leads the 10-piece band.) Gospel purists may carp that the group's most recent album, "Spirit," edged too close to the street with guest appearances by rappers such as Craig Mack, but that misses the point. Gospel always connects with the converted; the true test of its power is whether it can make believers - musical or spiritual - out of agnostics.

Director Gary Hines says, "Our simple idea was that the rich tradition of African American music, in all its magnificent forms, was a vehicle to both entertain and enrich the lives of our listeners."

Soothing Sounds of Blackness aims to heal the soul and has been lifting spirits for more than 25 years with songs of hope and encouragement. And nowadays, Gary Hines says, the need for such music is as great as it has ever been.

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