Donald Lawrence and The Tri-City Singers Bible Stories Approximate running time: 82 minutes ONLY $14.99 + Shipping & Handling

Skyrocketing onto the gospel music scene this year is the Tri-City Singers, with an album that has sparked a meteoric launch to the forefront of the gospel industry. An album that has also had them crowned "the choir of the future". Featuring Peabo Bryson and Stephanie Mills, the debut release--"a Songwriter's Point of View", thundered onto Billboard's gospel charts, scoring a top ten hit within one month of its release.

Leading the charge is director Donald Lawrence whose contemporary blend of urban and traditional gospel is making him gospel's most-watched newcomer. While songwriter, director and executive producer Donald Lawrence grew up in the church, he cut his professional teeth in secular music. His credits are indeed impressive. For the last five years, he's been musical director for Stephanie Mills, and among his impressive list of clients as vocal coach are En Vogue.

"My roots are in gospel," says the North-Carolina native, who's had some of his tunes (including "If I Can't Say A Word, Can I Just Raise My Hand") recorded by the Gospel Music Workshop of America Mass Choir. "I want to bring to gospel the same quality music you find in R&B, and I believe I understand what it takes to make a successful album."

You can hear it too, in the technical and production expertise showcased on "A Songwriter's Point Of View". Together with co-producers Kevin Bond and Rodney Barber, Lawrence has assembled some of the best voices in the Carolinas. His view for the Tri-City Singers was fashioned from his own Pentecostal roots, secular expertise and an ability to captivate and energize audiences with strong lead vocals and the choir's vivid style of delivery.

Formally organized in 1981, the Tri-City Singers had a series of directors before finding success with Lawrence, who took the reins in 1992. The choir has since appeared with Shirley Caesar, Edwin Hawkins, Timothy Wright, the Clark Sisters, John P. Kee and Shun Pace Rhodes. Theirs is a quest for perfection, with God as the unseen force fueling their rise. Their main objective: "to praise, raise, honor, magnify, and glorify the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ within our daily lives and within our singing."

More of an ensemble group in its look, feel and approach, the Tri-City Singers draw many parallels--visually, philosophically and often stylistically--to the Sounds of Blackness. Both directed by men whose talents are steeped in musical theater. Lawrence's B.F.A. in musical theater from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music has already more than paid dividends, with his work in an off-Broadway play "Sing Hallelujah" at the Village Gate, and "A Woman Like That" staring Peabo Bryson.

Yet for all their similarities, Lawrence's originality and freshness is what's driving this group. A 32-year old, North Carolina native presently residing in Charlotte (the choir's home base), Lawrence is molding his Tri-City Singers as a futuristic model for choirs, particularly with regards to production. So far, he's succeeding. What's more, his versatile rhythms and arrangements and distinct take on church music coupled with their savvy vocal flair are sure to elevate the genre of "new traditional gospel" to a whole new stratosphere.