Frankie Paul... put together some well known punch lines and applied some fresh verses to them

Reggae crooner Frankie Paul is putting the finishing touches to his first gospel album.

"I'm finishing up my gospel album, which is at the mixing stage now," the singer born Paul Blake told the Observer.

"It's my first gospel album and its going to be called Frankie Paul In Gospel, and it's a nice album," revealed the entertainer who has done gospel singles before by himself and in combination with Sanchez.

"Most of it is original. What I did is put together some well-known punch lines and applied some fresh verses to them so that it sounds a little different," Frankie Paul said about the set with tracks like Give God The Glory, Sweet Jesus, Tell The Power Of and The Lord Come Down among others.

He said the album, which is scheduled to be out by Easter, will be released on his Extended Music label.

"Remember I went to the Salvation Army School for the Blind and sang on the church choir, so I decided to let the people hear what I did then. This gospel album is also to show the world that I'm not only a dancehall act, but I can do gospel as well."

Visually impaired from birth, Frankie Paul first came to the record buying public's attention in the early 1980s when he shared honours with veteran singer Sugar Minott (one side each) on the Channel One album, Clash. Although at first, Dennis Brown and Stevie Wonder's influences were apparent, it wasn't long before he established his own vocal styling.

With the power and purity of his voice, Frankie Paul distinguished himself as one of reggae's most prolific hit makers of the decade of the 1980s, with amazing consistency.

One of the real singers of note during the period that heralded the birth of dancehall, his talent exploded on hit singles which, over time, became title tracks on various albums.

Releasing an average of two albums per year, the gifted vocalist has made his mark on such sets as Be My Lady (Joe Gibbs, 1984), Pass The Tu-Sheng-Peng (Greensleeves, 1984), Tidal Wave (Greensleeves, 1985), Alesha (Powerhouse, 1987), Sarah (King Jammys, 1987), Casanova (Live and Love, 1988), Slow Down (Redman, 1988), Heartical Don (Superpower, 1990), Frankie Paul and Studio One, (1992) and Fire Deh A Mus Mus Tail among others.

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