The Transparency of Fred Hammond: God, Love, and Romance
By Gloria Pearl Jones (Glorious Pearl)

After experiencing a divorce and various losses, Fred Hammond emerged back on the scene in full force, alive, vibrant, and strong at the DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the concert of the year on Friday December 30, 2011. 

The Concert Hall was charged with excitement as Fred walked onto the stage and began to sing.  He set the stage in motion as though to lead the filled concert hall of people as they transitioned from the old and moved into the new.  Fred’s remarkable delivery of his music was in itself a transition from the old to the new- a transition from his old memoirs to his new compilation.  This concert was more than just entertaining.  It was full of vibrant praise and worship as well as a celebration of Fred’s freedom and deep expressions of love. 

Fred has a new message.  As I sat backstage with him, he candidly spoke and gave insight on the issue of the growing number of divorces in the churches today.  In addition, he shared information about his newly recorded double disk project entitled “God, Love and Romance”, which is slated to be released in stores on January 31, 2012.

Gloria: I am talking with Fred “The Man Hammond” and I am so very excited.  Fred, tell me about your project that is going out on January 31st.
Fred: It’s called “God, Love and Romance.”  It’s a double disk.  If you take all of my collective work from “I’m Going On” all the way down to the last one, which is “Love Unstoppable” that’s probably about twenty pieces…  This one would be my “Songs of Solomon,” it would be like that.

Gloria: Okay, so Solomon… like in the Solomon, the lover… the bible’s book of love?
Fred: Yes!  You got to realize that fifty percent of all first time marriages end in divorce.  Sixty percent of all second time marriages in the church and seventy percent of all third time marriages amongst believers in the church end in divorce.  So people are praying, and people are putting money on the altar, and people are coming to church, but something is wrong.  I think that one of the ingredients honestly, is just getting real.  Just being real- transparent and real!  You know what I mean?  I can tell by my loss what was missing.

Gloria: Yes.  I know that God honors marriage, and He’s the one that brings us together in union. How can a man and woman walk together unless they agree?  Can you further elaborate on the separation and divorce?  Are you saying there is a loss of romance within the marriage?
Fred: What I’m saying is that at some point, a second vision creeps up inside of each relationship.  A second vision… and where there are two visions there is division and at some point you lose focus.  A lot of times because of our church affiliation or because of our, you know, our religious persuasion or traditions or whatever,  we tend to hide behind this Christianity that “we” created- something that was not really intended —like the word “appropriate” we all have something different that we feel is appropriate. 

I understand that the missing ingredient to me is the DNA of realness!  Just getting down to what is real—What am I really about?  What is God about?  What is it that He wants me to do?  You know, it’s not a lot of the things that we think He wants us to do.  Sometimes we think that singing on stage is what He wants us to do, and preaching . . .  those are only the small things.  But it’s the “how do you forgive when it seems to be unforgivable?”  You know, after it’s all blown up and messed up.  How do you make it best as possible or do you just live in bitterness?  I want you to hurt ‘cause...  or I am going to drive by your house because I got a brand new car and I want you to see that I am doing good.  See, God wants to deal with that kind of stuff in the midst of break-ups; in the midst of relationships.  So you know what?  I don’t want you to hurt even though I am crying.  I don’t want you to hurt and I don’t know how to fix it.  I have to lie before God—I have to trust God!  See, that’s the realness we’re missing.  So this album is just a real Album.  It’s … it’s . . . You have to get the DNA.  The songs may not do nothing and they may not make people say “no I am not going to get this . . .  I am not going to do that—we are going to stay together because I heard that song…”

Gloria: But it will make you think.
Fred: It is going to make you think because the DNA of who I am is . . . I don’t mind just putting myself out there before anybody else does.  You know I will put it out there and just say, “Here is what happened to me.”  

Gloria: So, you’re sharing your heart and being transparent.
Fred: Yeah, and that’s one thing about my ministry- it has been that way the whole time.  I have taken the DNA of things and made it the best I can make it.

Gloria: Your Album is going to be released January 31st and will be available on iTunes.
Fred:  You can preorder it on Amazon right now and on January 3rd you can preorder it on iTunes.  If you order it on iTunes, I think they will give you two tracks “I feel good” and one other track from the romance side.  It’s a double disk and the one side is called the “Romance Side.”  And it’s really… you have to listen to this one because it’s almost like an Audio Book.  People think its just music being played.  But it tells a story from the first thing in there.  There’s a bunch of little bitty interludes and there are things happening.  You have to listen in between the songs because that’s a very key component.

Gloria: What are you going to do after this project?  What are your plans?
Fred: I am going to do a movie of some sort.  I am going to do a major film of some sort in ’12- that’s my goal.  I’ve already worked on something with Sinbad.  We are working to get it out.  It’s a “comedy-of-love-dramady” that includes all of the music—but it’s real.  We are looking to do that in ’12.

In addition, I am already setting up for the next album.  It will probably be a live worship album.  I like doing something different so that by the time I go back to worship, people are ready for it.  If you keep doing the same thing over, over, and over again, people get tired of hearing it....  You know, but this is 30 years for me.

We will never get tired of hearing Fred “The Man” Hammond!  Be sure to pick up Fred Hammond’s new album, “God, Love and Romance” when it becomes available.  It is a ground breaking project filled with powerful new gospel songs as well as love songs touching on the real issues facing today’s couples- issues that are not often addressed over the pulpit.  Surely Fred has shared his personal life and the songs of his heart.

---

Gloria Pearl Jones (aka Glorious) is a gospel radio host of “Inside the Gospel Café” heard exclusively on JOY1580-AM/100.3-FM, WWSJ, Lansing, Michigan, and Power 91.9-FM, WDPW, Grand Rapids, Michigan every Saturday morning from 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 am.  In 1989, she hosted her first weekend gospel radio show on WNLF in Charlotte, Michigan.  In the summer of 1993, she worked at WKWM as a weekend gospel announcer where she was known as Glorious.  She joined the Joy 1580-AM/100.3-FM family as a radio angel in 2000 as host of the weekend morning shows.

Her name is significant in that her father christened her as Gloria Pearl, because when she was born she appeared to him as a "Glorious Pearl".  Gloria is an accomplished writer, aspiring psalmist, dance troupe leader, and a licensed minister.