Written by Tanya Terry
Featured photo: Ezra Lee Tillman Jr., pastor of First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, and his father, Ezra Tillman Sr.
Hear song above!
Ezra Lee Tillman Jr., pastor of First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, recently released the single recording of the song “Heaven.”
It is a traditional gospel song that was written over 30 years ago. The single was released on Nov. 14, which was Ezra Tillman Sr.’s 78th birthday.
“I wanted to attribute this song to him as a song I learned growing up around the house,” stated Tillman Jr. “For the Flint community, I think it’s something encouraging. All of us are still dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic. A lot of people have not been really spiritually ministered to, and some people are still struggling with their response to going back to church altogether. It’s a time and a season that is very sentimental because of losses.”
According to Tillman Jr., the song’s message about heaven, and the expectation of seeing loved ones seemed to get a good response locally.
Tillman grew up in church. He and his became accustomed to singing with his father in the Male Chorus.
Over the years, Tillman tried to encourage his father to record the song “Heaven” with him. Tillman Sr. had the song in a notebook with other songs, which the family found.
“We got to the point of wanting to record it and going to record it, and he said hold on,” Tillman explained about his father.
Unfortunately, before Tillman Sr. was able to record the song with his son, he suffered a stroke. In the process of trying to recover, he suffered a second and a third stroke. As a result, his voice was damaged and his singing became challenged.
In 2020, Tillman Jr. performed “Heaven” at a Christmas concert. Tillman Sr. was able to hear the arrangement and see his son perform it.
“Then, my husband said I need to record it,” said Tillman Jr.’s wife, Catrina Tillman.
It has taken Tillman Jr. a few years to find people to arrange the amazing song’s music because he could not get the melody from his father anymore. He worked on the single for five years. Musicians at First Trinity have recorded with other groups in the Flint area. With the help of Marc Nunn (formerly of the Flint Cavaliers and the Anointed Brothers), Craig Johnson (the current lead singer of the Flint Cavaliers) and Spark Studio of Flint Township the song has been arranged.
“My husband Ezra kept Dad in the loop each step of the way,” stated Catrina Tillman.
Tillman Jr. remembers that when his father was the age Tillman Jr. is now, Tillman Sr. used to sing around the house. At the time, Tillman Jr. was only about 9 years old.
Just talking with the Courier about how seeing how excited his father was about the tribute to him nearly moved Tillman Jr. to tears. Tillman Jr. was honored and delighted to be able to get his father’s approval for how the song was coming along prior to its release.
“It was hard for him knowing he couldn’t sing anymore. Me doing the song the way he would sing it as a tribute I think was very touching,” said Tillman Jr.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Tillman Sr. sang R&B. Back then, he had some “bad breaks” with some record companies.
Yet he was committed to singing in church.
“That’s one of the things we’re trying to do is make sure his voice and words still live on,” Tillman Jr. noted.
Tillman Jr. talked about how his father was active in church and men’s ministry.
“During the Water Crisis, right before his first stroke, he alongside other men in our church, helped distribute water to the community.”
According to his son, for Tillman Sr. to be able to assist with and hear the song has given him back a spark of life.
Tillman Jr. hopes to continue passing on the tradition of singing gospel music. His sons Ezra the III, Isaac and Luke Tillman all like to sing. Micah Tillman prefers cooking.
The single “Heaven” is available on all platform outlets digitally, according to Tillman Jr., including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, iTunes, TikTok and TIDAL, or it can be downloaded at www.eltministries.com.
