Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religious Music & Entertainment
Sing to the Lord: ‘The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel’ Comes to Lifetime on Holy Saturday

Sing to the Lord: ‘The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel’ Comes to Lifetime on Holy Saturday

Last updated on: June 18, 2020 at 9:10 am by Kate O'Hare

Sing to the Lord: ‘The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel’ Comes to Lifetime on Holy Saturday 2020-06-18T09:10:09-08:00 Kate O'Hare

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

‘The Clark SIsters: First Ladies of Gospel’/Lifetime

For Catholics, Holy Saturday is a time of waiting, ending with the glorious Mass of the Easter Vigil. This year, in the mist of COVID-19 shutdowns, that won’t happen in many places. But cablenet Lifetime still offers a joyful noise unto the Lord on the eve of Easter Sunday, with the April 11 premiere of The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel.

The executive producers include music luminaries Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige and Missy Elliott. Christine Swanson directed from a screenplay by Sylvia L. Jones and Camille Tucker, based on a story by Tucker. The authorized musical biopic traces the history of the Clark sisters — Twinkie (Christina Bell), Karen (Kierra Sheard), Dorinda (Sheléa Frazier), Denise (Raven Goodwin) and Jacky (Angela Birchett) — who, driven by trailblazing mother Mattie Moss Clark (Aunjanue Ellis), rose from humble beginnings through many trials to achieve international fame as gospel singers.

As you might expect from any film depicting sisters, especially ones who are performers, there’s a lot of drama — and some misbehavior. But the music, and the power of their mother’s faith, lifts the film.

This past January, Latifah, fellow executive producer Holly Davis Carter and the cast appeared at the biannual TV Critics Association Press Tour. After the actresses blew away the room with music, here’s some of what they had to say.

Frazier on being raised singing in church:

I remember being in a children’s choir around, you know, four or five years old. And so, that is always going to be a part of me no matter even what I’m singing. I always joke and say, you know, God always gets my best vocal. And it’s like I’m singing, you know, a song even like about a relationship or a man, sometimes I’ll cheat a little bit, and I’ll act like I’m singing to the Lord to get that conviction and that love across.

On balancing the faith elements in the story with the ups and downs of the family’s lives:

Sheard: I think the story itself is what keeps the balance, because very often, people in church can be viewed as a hypocrite, but you see this mother who goes through a divorce, who is also a leading woman in the church. And then you have a group of girls who want to have sex, who want to sing gospel, and then some of them may want to spaz out and fight and act like Love and Hip-Hop. But you see the balance there, because she’s still saying, “But you got to stand for what you sing about.”

And I think that she definitely shuts down the idea that … you have to be this perfect individual, but it’s all us figuring it out together.

Carter: And I would also say because Lifetime focuses on women, empowerment, aspiration, inspiration, a story of faith and triumph fits well with their brand. And when we were looking for a home for this when Lifetime became an opportunity, our response was, “Yes, it feels safe. It feels appropriate and it gives us our opportunity to actually tell the story that we want to tell.” And shout out to them for allowing us to do just that.

Latifah on her own experience growing up with faith and gospel music:

Well, I, like everyone else up here, was raised going to church. So my aunt directed a big gospel choir in Virginia, which she still does to this day, about a 100-plus members. So I would go to choir rehearsal with her all the time and just listen to how she taught these songs. And so just the building of a gospel song is something that was embedded and ingrained in me.

And then I went to Catholic school from third to ninth grade, because I grew up in Newark, and I think my mother just wanted us to have the right education. And so I learned a whole different style of music in school. So, but it still was the music of God.

And so it’s grown with me all my life and everywhere I go, and I think when Sheléa says it’s a lifestyle, it is a lifestyle. I mean, you don’t really kind of step in and out of it. It just goes wherever you go, and God goes wherever you go as well.

When you choose to sing a gospel song you sing a gospel song. But I feel like gospel, as well as the Clark Sisters, in particular, literally go with me wherever I go.

I remember being a young kid and I remember my mother playing the Clark Sisters in the house, and I remember hearing You Brought the Sunshine. I remember that being, playing on radio in New York. Right after a club record here comes You Brought the Sunshine. I remember it being the last record that played in clubs before you left. See, I could sneak in clubs at 15. It was a different era.

But they would play that song as the last song, and then everybody would go home with this different feeling from having partied and been drinking and whatever else all night, you still danced to that last record. Even though they played it earlier, they would still end on that song, and people would go home with this uplifted feeling. So before there Jesus Walks there was You Brought the Sunshine.

Here are three of the real Clark Sisters performing this very song on Latifah’s talk show:

Latifah continued to talk about the Clark Sisters’ music as a constant in her life, and then this exchange happened:

Frazier: And you don’t even have to say the name of Jesus for just His presence to be there. I look at your music, and it was always just so positive and uplifting and just, even as a woman, that’s God. I see God in that.

Latifah: Yeah, God made it pretty hard for me in this hip-hop game. I wanted to say a lot of other words. I had to go easy on that.

Carter, who has produced various projects, both in secular and faith-based entertainment, addressed the balance of the two:

I’ve been very careful never to be heavy-handed. It’s always been about aspiration, redemption, fun and just making sure you get to the heart, because although it’s faith we all have — we’re all on a journey. We all deal with some of the same challenges. And so it was very important to make sure that story speaks to the everyday man. …

I’ve been able to do that by telling stories that connect to every man — the redemptive side, the aspirational side, and the side of really inspiring you to go after whatever it is God has put in you. So it has not been easy, but it has been possible, and I think we are living in a day and time where everybody needs a little inspiration, a little aspiration, and a little Jesus.

Say Amen!

Here’s a sneak peak at The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (click here for the homepage), airing Saturday, April 11 on Lifetime, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Image: Lifetime TV

Don’t miss a thing: Subscribe to all that I write at Authory.com/KateOHare

About Kate O'Hare

Based in Los Angeles, Kate O'Hare is a veteran entertainment journalist, Social Media Manager for Family Theater Productions and a rookie screenwriter. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

March 11, 2020

'I Still Believe' Tells Christian Singer Jeremy Camp's Story of Love Amid Suffering

Next Post

April 10, 2020 EPIX's 'Belgravia' May Fill That 'Downton'- or Austen-Shaped Hole in Your Heart

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books breaking news digital media Faith practice food interview jane the virgin media movies music NFL Pope Francis Showbiz 101 social media sports technology television Uncategorized video

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz