(April 18, 2025) During his impactful career as “Gospel’s Leading Man,” Earnest Pugh earned several accolades in the music arena as an independent recording artist, receiving the BMI Award in 2012 for radio airplay and charting #1 on several occasions including his go-to hits, “Rain on Us,” “I Need Your Glory” and “God Did It.” Besides witnessing about his faith, Pugh inspired key moments for the Civil Rights Movement in song during Black History Month two years ago with the uplifting “Keep Hope Alive.”
But this multi-faceted talent goes beyond a voice with an astounding five octave range and a falsetto that smoothly jumps out on a moment’s notice. Sharing teaching tools as a seasoned church worship leader, Pugh earned an Amazon-Best Seller Award for the book, Abiding in the Place of Worship: Practical Instructions for the Modern Day Minstrel. And this accomplished actor recently played a leading character for Love Mountain, a lesson of adjusting to life’s hurdles of pressure-packed family circumstances in a Biblical perspective.
Heading back to the music, Pugh returns to the SoulTracks pages with the latest First Listen, “Your Glory – 2CU” (Blacksmoke Worldwide Music). As the initial song develops, another song came to mind for the music minister: “During the live recording of ‘Your Glory’ I spontaneously sang ‘We Wanna See You,’ just before the final line, expressing the goal of every song or prayer to God.” The trio of producers Keith Williams and E. Devon Goodwin and arranger Rufus McGee, Jr., crafts a suitable, simple soundtrack for Pugh’s take your time worship showcasing his flexible vocal gifts that propelled his previous radio gems. And there’s more on the way this summer with his latest CD project, We Wanna See You. For now, check “Your Glory-2 C U” out!
By Peggy Oliver
