On Friday, August 25, 2006, Bishop Paul S. Morton, Pastor of New Orleans' Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church, returned to the scene of his greatest nightmare to record what is likely to go down in music history as one of the best and most inspirational live albums ever created.
That same time a year before, Hurricane Katrina had begun to sweep through the Gulf States with a hungry fury that eventually submerged New Orleans with waves of water and a high tide of death. Families were destroyed and in the wake of Katrina, Morton lost his current church building, his home, his cars and his 20,000-member congregation was scattered across the United States.
So, when Morton took to the pulpit of the church (it wasn't touched by the storm) where he first pastored in 1972, he was sending a message. That message was that the people of New Orleans would not be defeated but would overcome their shared adversity through Christ. The new recording, "Still Standing," releasing on November 7, 2006 (List Price $16.98 - Light Records/Tehillah Music Group), is a celebration that the worst has passed and the best is just up ahead. The project will also be released as a dual DVD set (List Price $14.98 DVD alone/ $24.98 CD/DVD combo). The first DVD contains the concert video and the second features interviews with Katrina survivors, Bishop Morton, Kurt Carr, and other behind-the-scenes footage.
"Working with Kurt Carr has put me on another level musically," says Bishop Morton of the Grammy-nominated choirmaster, known for tunes such as "Awesome Wonder" and "In the Sanctuary, who produced the collection. "This project will surely be a blessing to many." Backed by the Greater St. Stephen Atlanta Choir (Morton set up a church there after Katrina) and his Greater St. Stephen New Orleans Choir (their first time uniting on one stage), the rousing concert opened with the vigorous lead single, "I'm Still Standing." It's a personal testimony of the experiences Bishop Morton has personally overcome, including: a nervous breakdown in 1998, the sudden death of his infant grandchild, Hurricane Katrina's devastation on his congregation and himself and his victory over colon cancer.
Morton commanded the audience with his trademark preacher's squall and also displayed an old school soul singer's charm worthy of the Rev. Al Green or Marvin Gaye. Each song touched on pain but in the end, Morton proclaimed that there's no hurt that God can't heal. He delivered "Not Me Lord, But You" as a love song to God.
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