About True Gospel Bookstore
The story of turning poems into music, bridging North Carolina woods with Los Angeles soundstages.
No Bookstore, No Gospel Songs... Confused Yet?
"True Gospel Bookstore is the name I came up with to describe us. Of course, there is no bookstore and so far we have not released a gospel song. Confused yet?" writes Don Edwards.
"I have carried TGB along with me since I was in college in NC. There you can find a church on nearly every street corner and, when I lived there at least, it was not unusual for the congregation of any one of these churches to have tiffs over process or interpretation of scripture and, as a result, many congregations would splinter and those who left would find an empty structure to house their own place to worship. Often these churches were set up in defunct diners, outdated warehouses — any empty space that could accommodate them."
"I had the idea to create a bookstore in an empty gas station near the college I was attending... I offered the name, True Gospel Bookstore, because it would have been a bookstore in a service station building in the spirit of the local churches who just needed a roof and walls... I’ve always liked the name and so finally got to use it!"
Meet Don & Angela
Don Edwards
Poet & Lyricist / Co-Founder
Los Angeles, CA (orig. North Carolina)
Don Edwards grew up in quiet, rural North Carolina among the woods and fields of that beautiful state. He now lives in Los Angeles with multi-laned freeways and energetic crowds. The transition from birds singing to sirens screaming required thoughtful reflection.
Don has written and published five books of poetry, including 'Scars and Stories — Poems', 'More Stories — A Book of Poems', and 'The Third Book — A Book of Poems, Mostly'. Most of these poems consider Love and Death, along with the 'M' poems.
Recognizing that few people read poetry books today while almost everyone listens to music, Don partnered with LA musician and vocalist Angela Michael to transform his poems into rich melodic songs.
Angela Michael
Musician, Vocalist & Composer
Los Angeles, CA
Angela Michael is a successful Los Angeles-based session/studio singer with multiple credits across major motion pictures, network TV shows, national commercials, and background vocals for major label artists.
Her credits range from being a featured background singer on 8 of 12 tracks for Rod Stewart's CD 'Fly Me To The Moon... The Great American Songbook Vol V', featured singer on 'Dancing With The Stars', X-Factor gospel choir vocals, and ghosting actors on films like 'Get Him To The Greek'.
As composer and arranger for TGB, Angela brings Don Edwards' poems to life with rich vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, and cinematic production.
