Dorothy McClung Lewis is glad to be home, back in Columbus where she grew up. Soon after her move from the Atlanta area was completed in November, the gospel singer and songwriter was being encouraged to share her voice again in the community where she took part in her first recording more than 40 years ago. She held up the vinyl LP Thursday, its cover a photograph of a youthful church choir, Lewis on the front row. Surrounding the album were a 45 record, several cassettes and seven CDs, Lewis’ recordings that chronicle her enduring musical journey.
“I was thinking, what could I do … I wanted to honor some of the people who helped me,” she said. To that end, Lewis will present a Homecoming Concert Sunday, Jan. 29 at Trotter Convention Center in downtown Columbus. The 3 p.m. event commemorates the legacy of gospel music. Numerous musical guests will also perform.
“This is my time to honor and to give back to those who allowed me, as a young singer, to be on their programs,” said the former educator. Lewis is retired from a near 40-year career teaching in public and private schools in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.
Earlier gospel groups, some dating back as far as the 1930s, inspired and influenced Lewis’ music. They include The Fantastic Mississippi Nightingales, The Rising Stars, The Spiritual Wonders, The Golden Voices and The Mighty Trumpets of Joy, and will be honored at the concert.
“These were good men, husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles who worked here and took care of their families,” Lewis said. “This is one way I can show I saw what you were doing, I carried it on, and now I’m going to pass it on.”
Scheduled guests include The Perryman Brothers, the Canaan Baptist Church Choir, The Friendly Brothers in Christ, The Golden Gates, Craig Roseburgh and The Voices of Zion, of which Lewis was a former member.
Vendors such as 4S Event Planning, the R.E. Hunt Cultural Museum, Songbird’s Music and the Pickensville Community Center will also be set up at Trotter.
Bringing it home
Born in Pickensville, Alabama, Lewis moved to Columbus around seventh-grade. Singing came naturally, especially with the family group known as The McClung Singers. After graduating from R.E. Hunt High School and Rust College, teaching, music and faith were major focuses, as eventually were marriage and motherhood.
Lewis has performed for a variety of occasions, such as the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators annual conference, state and national Baptist Conventions and even a World’s Fair.
She was a soloist honoring Congressman Mike Espy during President Bill Clinton’s 1993 Inauguration festivities and received an Album of the Year award at the 16th Annual Mississippi Gospel Music Awards. Lewis is the recipient of a Mississippi Divas honor in 2002 at the 24th Annual Cingular Wireless Mississippi Gospel Music Awards. She was also appointed National Songbird for the I.B.P.O. of Elks of the World. It was the Elks who bestowed on her the title of “Mississippi Songbird.”
Working with a committee to organize the homecoming concert has brought Lewis in contact again with friends and acquaintances from her school years. She’s already reconnected with many former Hunt classmates, all looking forward to a 50th high school reunion later this year. The experience has been “heartwarming,” she said.
“This has been a ministry … This is a way of bringing in and involving the community,” Lewis continued. “It’s been a joy to come back. I’m thankful.”
How to go
Advance tickets are $15 online at dorothymcclunglewis.eventbrite.com, or at locations including Skeets Hot Dogs, Ebony Florist, Something Different Restaurant and several hair salons. Tickets are $20 at the door.
Follow the event on Facebook at facebook.com/mcclunglewis.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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