The Clark Sisters Live Recording: ONE LAST TIME

Reviewed By Cherisse Stephens

This year has been an awesome year in terms of the music industry. But the live recording of gospel music legends, The Clark Sisters is in a category all by itself. The sisters came back together for what they are calling their finale as a group. The historic event happened in July at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX.

GospelCity.com had the chance to speak with The Clark Sisters at their press conference and they were very excited about the evening ahead. I asked what made them finally decide to come together as a group and what could we expect at the live recording. As you can imagine; it was a loaded question, but the ladies were well equipped to answer!

Dorinda started out by saying that they always knew that they would come back together and so something together again and now is the time and season. “We’ve always supported one another, even when we were all doing our own thing,” stated Jackie. Karen chimed in, “Tonight will be an evening of something old and something new and we’ve got a couple of surprises up our sleeves as well. You’ll just have to wait and see”. I had the opportunity to ask one last question before they were rushed off to their sound check! “What would Mama Mattie Moss Clark say about her girls coming back together tonight?” With tear-filled eyes and smiles all at the same time; they responded; “She’d be very happy and very proud of us.”

Karen Clark Sheard informed us that her husband, Pastor J. Drew Sheard, was responsible for underwriting the event and really stepped in to make sure everything came together. "It was a blessing for us to be able to record as part of the Church Of God In Christ (COGIC) AIM Convention." stated Karen. "COGIC is where we got our start and they’ve always supported us. We’re also blessed to have supporters such as Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott and other secular recording artists. God has blessed our ministry to reach outside the four walls of the church and we are grateful." The press conference ended with great expectation and you could sense that the “girls” were ready to 'make it do what it do!"

As I approached the George R. Brown convention center an hour before show time, lines were already stretched around the building and streets for at least a couple of miles. The fans were in happy spirits as they chanted the names of the Clark Sisters. Inside, everyone was getting ready for a night to remember. The Clark Sisters knew that if they were going to do it right then they needed to have someone produce the project that could take them to the next level. And they picked the right guy for the job: songwriter/producer Donald Lawrence was at the helm of production that evening and did a fantastic job.

Keeping it all in the family, Kierra "Kiki" Sheard opened up the night and set the atmosphere. And then, finally, Jackie, Twinkie, Dorinda and Karen took to the stage in beautiful peach attire! They sounded as good as they looked! The first half of the concert was awesome.

We had the opportunity to hear new music from Twinkie! Everybody knows that Twinkie writes the music that everybody loves. Karen Clark-Sheard even put it down with new music that she wrote as well and Dorinda does what she does, sang and took us straight to church!

The second half of the concert was definitely the highlight of the live recording. It was what the thousands of fans had come to hear. It was a trip down memory lane and oh my goodness, it was a trip to remember. Without giving away all the nuggets, (buy the CD and DVD) but Twinkie rocked the organ and sang like never before! Remember You Brought The Sunshine? Well, after listening to the Clark Sisters, One Last Time; you’ll be beaming for joy about their return. As the girls said, “Mama would be proud.”