By Danielle Rosser story1[at]collegegospelchoirs[dot]comThe University of Alabama at Birmingham Gospel Choir is rejoicing after the news of being listed No. 2 on Amazon's neo-soul MP3 charts this past week.
The single, "You Don't Know What I Could Have Been," was released Monday, Jan. 31, 2012. The song gives a voice to the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. UAB Choir Director Kevin P. Turner wrote the song as part of the choir's 2011 concert and production, "Gospel Anthology II: The Church and the Civil Rights Movement." In exit interviews following the concert, Turner said many audience members urged the choir to record the song.
Last year, Turner and four women from the choir made it happen. The song was recorded in the school's studio and is now available for all to hear.
"Academically, when you can take student-singers with no professional recording experience into the recording studio and land a best seller place on Amazon.com, that lets me know that we are doing something right," said Turner. Turner has taught music at the university nearly 20 years and started the choir 17 years ago.
Thursday morning, February 23, 2012, the single reached its highest ranking to date, No. 2, on Amazon.com. It was listed at No. 3 later in the day, then at No. 17 by Friday, February 24, 2012. The song is available for $0.99 through Amazon, iTunes and cdbaby.com.
The song is bigger than Turner, he said. Turner wants the choir to keep up the momentum.
"...Doing so might just encourage the singers to consider a professional singing or entertainment career, it might an inspire another college gospel choir to do something even bigger and better, the possibilities are endless."
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