gospel artist with an old-school spirit.”
The style she chooses to present at any
given time can vary, depending on the
demographics of her audience.
And, not surprisingly, Jackson and
Caesar are two of the “old-school” icons
to whom she aspires. “They were the ones
I grew up listening to and they were definitely
inspirations to me,” is how she put
it. But she also has idols among the present
generation of gospel singers, especially
30-year-old Jessica Reedy, a best-selling
performer/songwriter who gained national
exposure as the first runner-up on BET's
gospel singing competition, “Sunday
Best,” in 2009. “Her range is phenomenal,”
Joanna said.
Growing up in Picayune,,
Mississippi, Joanna found her
niche at a very early age. As she
recounted, “I grew up in the
e
church singing with my
y
mother (Georgia Hale). I
sang with her and some
of the gospel groups she
sang with as a child.
When I got older
I sang in the show
choir in high school
(Picayune Memorial
High School) Then
I sang in the concert
choir in college (Dillard
University), so I’ve always
been a singer. I’ve only
sung gospel music. My entire
family is music. Singing runs in
the veins.”
With the release of her latest CD,
“New Sound, Same God: Volume 1,”
on her namesake McGill Music Group
label, Joanna has been busy making the
rounds of performances at churches and
other venues promoting the record and
the upcoming late spring 2019 release of
Volume 2.
One of Joanna’s producers on the eighttrack
Volume 1 was the late, renowned
Chicago-based recording industry mogul,
Morris “Butch” Stewart, who produced
theme songs for Oprah Winfrey and
the nationally syndicated “Tom Joyner
COVER STORY
Morning Show,” as well as jingles for
McDonalds and Coca-Cola. Stewart also
wrote and produced a jingle for Joanna
that played at the top of the hour on the
Joyner show, airing locally on KMEZ
106.7 FM.
The instrumental accompaniment for
Joanna on the first volume consists of
keyboards (piano and organ), drums and
guitar. Volume 2 will feature a gospel
second-line with a live brass band, which
was initially arranged and produced by
Stewart. “He wanted it to have that real
New Orleans feel,” Joanna said.
Although Joanna’s journey through
the music world began early in life, her
career really accelerated into high gear
after she won the “Walmart’s Next Gospel
Superstar” competition. “That opened the
door for everything else that followed,”
she happily recalled.
And, what followed was a virtual whirlwind
of accomplishments for Joanna. She
was given an opportunity to record a song
(“Open Door”) written and produced by
two-time Stellar Gospel Music Award
winner, Deitrick Haddon and, that
same weekend, she opened for Haddon
and Yolanda Adams at the “Tom Joyner
Family Reunion.” Then came the jingle
she recorded for Joyner’s morning show,
which was turned into a well-received,
frequently played single titled “I Can Do
Anything.” Also in 2015, she recorded a
four-track EP with Stewart’s Chicagobased
Good Stewart Productions.
Stewart’s sudden passing in May 2017
left a huge impact on Joanna. As she
stated, “He took a chance with me when
no one else would and for that, I am
forever grateful.”
Two months later, Joanna and
her husband founded their
h
5
501(c)(3) organization, the J.
McGill Music Foundation.
M
T
The foundation is geared
towards teaching today's
youth the true art of
t
y
m
t
music. “I want to help
today's youth understand
music and allow
them t
to experience
music outside of their
norm,” Joanna said.
In June 2018 she
performed as the fiery
pastor’s wife, Mable,
in “Crowns,” a musical
stage production written
by Regina Taylor and directed
by Tommye Myrick at New
Orleans’ Le Petit Theatre. The
show, which centered around the
f
flamboyantly decorative hats worn by
African American women to church,
received rave reviews in the New Orleans
press. Three months later Joanna was
wearing another “crown” after receiving
the “Artist of The Year Award” from the
Gulf Coast Gospel Music Awards.
In January 2019 Joanna will premiere
in the opening scene of episode 2 of
“Disney's Cloak & Dagger” doing what
she loves to do, singing. “This was a major
open door that I did not see happening
this fast,” Joanna proudly noted.
JANUARY / F E B R UARY 2 0 1 9 breakthrumediamagazine.com | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | 7
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