New group 7 Sons of Soul brings a mix of traditional, quartet and contemporary Gospel to the table. David Lindsey, Cliff Jones and Deonte Gray took the time out from their Worship Alive tour with Fred Hammond to talk to Gospelflava.com




Gospelflava.com: How would you describe your sound?

7 Sons of Soul (David Lindsey): If you were to take The Canton Spirituals and The Winans and put them in a pot together, you would come out with the 7 Sons of Soul.

Gospelflava.com: Cliff, you have worked with several people mainstream and Gospel field. Tell us about your musical experience.

7 Sons of Soul (Cliff Jones): I’ve been in the music business for 17 or 18 years. I worked with such people as Guy, Wreckx-n-Effect, Boys to Men, Will Smith and the list goes on. I did plays like "Your Arm is Too Short to Box with God” and I sang with Bobby Jones for several years. I worked with Columbia Records as an A&R rep for two years. The Lord sought William Becton do a record (Broken) and the album took America by storm. Becton and I are good friends, we have a great relationship. There is a song that he wrote that we might put on our next album.

Gospelflava.com: What would 7 Sons of Soul like to bring to the Gospel Music field?

7 Sons of Soul (Deonte Gray): Number one, it’s our goal to bring versatility back to Gospel Music. For so long we’ve been used to either traditional, contemporary or CCM. With the 7 Sons of Soul we want to bring a new twist to it and put a little edge on it. That way, no one is left out. We want to appeal to all ages. That way, when you come and see the 7 Sons of Soul, you don’t just get entertained, but you get ministered to. At the end, you leave changed.

Album Review

7 Sons of Soul makes their debut and eponymously-titled Verity entry with a nod to both traditional quartet roots and the soul-driven, modern-style vocals. With an impressive list of credentials.... See full album review.

Gospelflava.com: How did you get signed to Verity Records?

7 Sons of Soul (David Lindsey): Basically, Cliff and I had a relationship (on the production tip) with Jive. Cliff also had a relationship with Verity exec., Max Siegel. Cliff brought the already finished project to Verity and immediately they fell in love with it. They signed us based on that.

Gospelflava.com: How did you guys get together?

7 Sons of Soul (Cliff Jones): Well we all knew each other from around the DC area. A lot of us were doing production work together. Deonte was working with Patti Labelle and singing in a group called Salvation. Dave was doing a lot of production work with me and singing in a group called Soulfood. A lot of the other members were doing things with Ginuwine and playing in his band.

Dave and I had a couple of production ideas that we laid down for the group. We started making calls saying that we have to put this together, and we came together and started going into the studio cutting records. Boom, the 7 Sons of Soul were born.

Gospelflava.com: You got a chance to work with the awesome Fred Hammond and the talented PamKenyon Donald of RFC on “What is This” . Tell us about that experience.

7 Sons of Soul (Cliff Jones): It was a great experience. I’ve known Fred for twenty years, we worked together for The Winans back in the early eighties. Now it’s just a joy to come together. When he found out that I was going to be his labelmate, he said, “Look we are going on tour and you’re going on tour with me.” I was like, “Huh?! You’ve got to be kidding right? Stop playing. Fred said “I’m dead serious. You’re going on tour with me.”

One day we were in New York, meeting. I said, “You know what man. We are trying to do this remake of ‘What is This?’ You and Pam need to get on this record.” He looked me like “What?! Are you serious?” I was serious and boom, the record came together. It is awesome. A matter of fact, we cut the record in like an hour at 12 o'clock in the morning.

Gospelflava.com: What is something on your heart and that you would like to share?

7 Sons of Soul (Deonte Gray): Basically we want the world to know that Jesus is real. A lot of people have a hard time in life, they have trials and tribulations, but they must believe that God is real. If they listen to the words in our music, I know that they will be touched. It touched us when we recorded it. Jesus is real. Have faith. Keep holding on.

Gospelflava.com: Who are some of your musical inspirations?

7 Sons of Soul (Deonte Gray): Even though we are part of the Gospel community, we have influences such as: Earth, Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, James Brown, Nina Simone, The Winans, Donnie McClurkin, Shirley Caesar and the list goes on and on. It’s a cross between genres. We don’t stay in one area.

We want to reach those who are saved as well as those who aren’t saved, to have them know that “All things are possible to him that believes.” All you gotta do is to believe and know He’s coming back. Then you can run on and see what the end is gonna be.


7 Sons of Soul have a heart to draw from their musical backgrounds and take not only Gospel music, but all music to another level. Andt they are doing ao with the message of Jesus Christ. This group is sure to make waves in 2004 and beyond. Get ready to see this group on many awards shows and ministering in many churches.