“We were raised in a family where you went to church every single night,” Rance Allen recalls. “To keep our interest, my grandmother Emma Pearl went to a pawn shop and brought instruments, drums, guitars and amplifiers.” Using records by the Rev. James Cleveland and occasionally a Ray Charles tune as his guides, he learned to play the piano before picking up the guitar with Chuck Berry as an influence. Emma Pearl encouraged Allen’s early call to become a child preacher and singer at the age of five. The talents that she groomed in Allen and his siblings laid the foundation for their five-decade career as contemporary gospel and urban inspirational music pioneers. To stream or download the beautiful track, “Emma Pearl,” follow this link: http://smarturl.it/RAGEmmaPearl