By Ruth Ferguson
NDG Editor
“It is one of the proudest things I can ever feel,” Jennifer Holliday said during a recent telephone interview about how she feels when young singers tackle her well-known song And I’m Telling You, I’m Not Going.
Holliday made the song a black woman anthem more 25 years ago in the Broadway production of Dreamgirls.
The Tony Award-winning singer and actress will perform with The Turtle Creek Chorale during her One Night Only: An Evening with Jennifer Holliday on Wednesday, March 23, at 8 p.m. at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. in Dallas. Also joining the Turtle Creek Chorale for this concert is The Men’s Chorus from First Baptist Church of Hamilton Park.
“To know that I created something that would last all of these decades and now a new generation understands the meaning and significance of what a great song should be makes me feel happy,” Holliday told the NDG.
She admits her fans are not as forgiving, frequently they will say to her, “So many people mess up your song.” However, Holliday believes, “maybe they can’t sing it like I sing it, but it says a great deal about that person that says they have found something within themselves to challenge themselves.”
Holliday encourages singers to go for it, stretch out of their comfort zone.
“You can’t climb a mountain until you try. If you dare to climb, then you are pretty much a winner already.”
Perhaps alluding to Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, who brought to life for a new audience in her film rendition of the same character and song from Dreamgirls, Holliday pointed out it is not always the winner of American Idol that has the incredible career. Even when they face adversity, “whatever was inside of them, was still inside of them,” and it propels them to continue their pursuit of their dream.
In addition to the upcoming performance, Holliday said she plans to release two new CDs. On the first, Holliday will team up with her pastor, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta (the spiritual home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), on a new inspirational CD of Warnock’s sermonettes that are seasoned with Holliday’s dynamic vocalizing. The ten-track project titled, Goodness and Mercy, is scheduled for release via Holliday’s own Euphonic Records label on April 5 with national distribution by New Day Christian Distribution in Nashville.
The new radio single, God is Faithful, is currently available as a digital download on CDBaby.com and will soon be serviced to gospel radio formats for airplay.
In the fall, look for a new jazz standards CD from Holliday.
Holliday says she is at a different phase in her life after turning 50 last fall and it is reflected in her music.
“I am older, yet I am new. I look at life now with so much more passion than I ever have before. I am a more happier Jennifer Holliday, far more at peace. It comes through in my voice. The audience will be able to hear it and feel it through my voice. I want people to know that when they come to hear me sing I will give them something,” Holliday said.
For tickets to see Holliday on March 23, call 214-526-3214 or purchase online at www.turtlecreek.org. Ticket prices range from $20 to $65.
