Jazz & Soul Singers Draw on Gospel Roots to Honor Elvis

Charlotte Pope and Tomi Wright are professional backup singers whose voices traverse the musical terrain from jazz standards to neo-soul. They have toured and recorded with some of the most legendary names in jazz, soul, and R&B, including Thelma Houston and Solomon Burke, and have performed countless studio sessions together since meeting in 1996.

But until very recently, neither could have imagined they’d be backing an Elvis Presley tribute singer, or that they would be singing the music that prepared them for their future careers: gospel.

But that is what these two talented singers will be doing Sunday Oct. 13 when they perform with award-winning tribute artist Martin Anthony during the gospel concert that will cap an all-day tribute to Elvis and the gospel music he loved: Elvis in Harmony: A Gospel & Classics Celebration, at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana.

Neither Pope, 66, a Harbor City resident, nor Wright, also 66, a Los Angeles resident, was familiar with Presley’s gospel recordings until they were asked several months ago by another Elvis tribute artist to back him. To say it was an ear-opening and mind-expanding experience would be an understatement.

“I have to be honest; I didn’t really know anything about Elvis recording gospel music or how religious he was until that evening,” Wright said. “And now, getting ready for this performance and learning the songs we’ll be performing, I mean, I’ve taken on a whole new level of respect for what Elvis was doing.”

The two will back Anthony on four songs, three of which appeared on Presley’s first full- length gospel album in 1960: “His Hand in Mine,” the title track to that 1960 record; gospel record in 1960; “the up-tempo I’m Gunna Walk Dem Golden Stairs”; and “Swing Down, Sweet Chariot,” a lively blend of gospel and rockabilly. The fourth song, “Peace in the Valley,” was first recorded in 1957 and performed on the “Ed Sullivan Show,” his earliest televised gospel performance.

While their experience backing an Elvis tribute artist is limited to just one performance, there will be a comfortable old friend beside them during next month’s performance: the gospel music they both grew up singing in church choirs, including two South Los Angeles churches located just four miles apart.

Neither Pope nor Wright describe their professional singing careers as gospel. Pope refers to herself as a jazz singer who leans toward standards, while Wright calls herself a neo-soul singer. But while neither identifies as a gospel singer professionally, singing gospel music prepared them for their future careers as backup singers capable of singing a vast range of genre; and it is gospel music that continues to fortify their souls.

“Gospel music inspires me, comforts me, and strengthens my faith in God,” says Pope. “I can still love my jazz and love singing gospel.”

Pope grew up in Houston and sang in her church choir beginning at age 14, but before that would “caterwaul” songs she made out on the streets of her neighborhood. She moved to Los Angeles with her family when her father became pastor at Greater New Vision Missionary Baptist Church in South Los Angeles and sang in the choir at West Angeles Church of God in Christ in the Crenshaw District from 1992 until 2020, when the choir stopped due to the pandemic.

That church was only four miles from Calvary Baptist Church on 60th and Compton, where Wright, who was born and raised in Watts, grew up singing. Wright, who leans heavily on R&B, jazz, and pop in her singing, said singing gospel was perfect training for those genres.

“I think gospel music is ideal to help you sing anything,” says Wright. “It has all those different harmony parts, and it trains your ear to sing just about anything.”

Pope was drawn to music at an early age, initially listening to the R&B and soul her parents loved. As an only child, she often entertained herself by singing in her neighborhood, belting out songs she made up.

“I would just be caterwauling around my neighborhood, out in the street. I was an only child and didn’t have anyone to play with, so I would sing… holler out stuff.”

Though she started to sing publicly in her choir in Houston as a teenager at age 14, she had already decided jazz was what she wanted to sing professionally. She fell in love with the genre as a teenager, watching black-and-white movies on Saturday afternoons featuring jazz singers like Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole.

“There was a lot of jazz singing, and I really gravitated to that when I was a teenager and have been singing jazz ever since,” she said.

Like Pope, Wright inherited a musical gene from her father, who played trumpet. But his line of work was equestrian; he owned a horse-riding stable in Burbank, and Wright and her sister had plenty of four-legged companions when they visited him at work.

“I was riding horses before I started walking,” Wright said. “At the stable, there was an arena, and my dad would tie me on the horse into a bundle and then it would walk around the arena and let me fall asleep. From there, I just grew into loving where I came from.”

Wright became so proficient at barrel racing that she turned professional for a while. But she was always drawn to music, and her father encouraged her, arranging for her to take piano lessons and attend the Hollywood Academy.

Pope, who has worked with R&B legend Thelma Houston, jazz guitarist Doc Powell, and South African phenom Belinda Davis, among many others, and Wright, who has also toured with Houston as well as the immortal Burke, have been close friends and colleagues since meeting in 1996 through Motown composer and producer Greg Wright, whose resume’ includes artists from Diana Ross to Marvin Gaye and (Tomi eventually married Greg White, and Pope sang "The Lord’s Prayer" at their wedding.)

Both Pope and Wright, who also writes music, have headlined their own solo shows (Pope’s first solo concert was a sold-out evening at the Gardenia in West Hollywood in 2022), but for this show, they are strictly backup. This means finding their parts and blending their voices, which naturally fit as Pope is a soprano and Wright is an alto.

“I don’t think there’s any different approach to backing someone singing Elvis. You still have to learn your part,” Pope says.

“We pretty much blend our voices and make sure we’re listening to each other and not stepping on each other’s parts,” Wright adds. “And then we just let our hearts speak through what we’re singing. That’s gospel music.”

Pope and Wright will be singing during the gospel show, which begins at 3 p.m. in the all-marble Rose Window Chapel of the Historic Mausoleum, which was famously used to record Charlton Heston’s “Voice of God” performance in the movie The Ten Commandments.

In addition, the gospel segment will also feature the harmonious voices of The Orange County Threshold Choir, known for their a cappella lullaby-like songs performed at the bedsides of those entering the final stage of life and The Friendship Choir, led by Grammy-nominated singer Sonya Griffin, to close the show.

The all-day tribute to the King of Rock and Roll runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes other Elvis tribute artists, bands, vendors with Elvis memorabilia and other collectibles as well as handmade items, food trucks, an Elvis life story display and other activities. Admission and parking to the Park is free, and includes the outdoor shows, however entrance to The Gospel Show requires a seat purchase of $25. Seats may be purchased in advance at Eventbrite.com under Elvis in Harmony.

For more information, email elvisgospelfest@yahoo.com or call 714-267-4657. Fairhaven Memorial Park is located at 1702 Fairhaven Avenue, Santa Ana, CA.

The event is presented by Dignity Memorial™ in support of Patriots and Paws, a Southern California nonprofit that provides essential home furnishings and companion pets to veterans, active-duty military, and their families at no cost.