TRAMAINE BRINGS THE GOSPEL TO THE DANCE FLOOR

“Fall Down (Spirit of Love)” may have prompted more inquiries to deejays than any other song released last year. Clubs were filled with heads turning and ears tuning as the extraordinary eight-minute record--which hit the top of the dance-music charts--boomed past the boogiers. It wasn’t especially the song or the sound that set the record apart, but its wailing, way-beyond-ecstatic vocal that prompted the question: “That isn’t Aretha--so who is that woman?”

That woman was a singer named Tramaine (Hawkins, but she only uses her first name) who, until recently, disdained the idea of even entering those very sorts of nightclubs. And, much to the surprise of many unsuspecting dancers, the ecstasy in that vocal was spiritual, not sexual. The bass-heavy beat they were shaking their booties to accompanied a hard-and-fast gospel song.

“I don’t know if at that time the young people that frequent clubs were that cognizant of the message,” admits the veteran singer, who opens Al Green’s concert tonight at the Wiltern Theatre. “I think they were attracted to the beat and to the high notes they heard Tramaine hitting, and they kind of liked singing along.

“It perhaps might not have come home to them that it was a gospel tune until maybe someone who is affiliated with the church or has a relationship with the Lord heard a lyric and would say to them, ‘You know, you’re dancing to a gospel song--you shouldn’t do that.’ And then they would say, ‘It sounds great to me!’ And I was not offended by that at all.”

In contrast to the popular stereotype of a gospel singer as earthy and large, Tramaine in person is a slender vision of soft-spoken stylishness, her smart purple outfit capped by a hat and sunglasses that aren’t removed indoors.

Visiting the A&M; Records complex, she could be mistaken for any of the label’s other young and fashionable R&B; singers--until she opens her mouth, anyway. When she sings, there’s no mistaking her high notes for anyone else’s, and when she speaks, her emphasis on evangelizing the music world won’t get her easily confused with Janet Jackson.

“In the Bible it speaks of Jesus dealing with Peter and James,” she explains, “and he says that in order to be fishermen, you’ve got to be wise, and you’ve got to have bait out there that people will want to bite. The kind of music that I’m doing now is something of a bait, but I’ve got to get in the door with a fresh sound and get their ear before I can get the message to them.

“My primary thought in making this record was to get gospel music mainstreamed and have that kind of music being played on secular stations that you could hear around the clock, not only at 6 o’clock in the morning, where gospel usually is in this country.”

Tramaine, along with producer Robert Byron Wright, delivered the goods to make such a dream happen. They’ve followed up “Fall Down” with a full album, the newly released “The Search Is Over,” that with seamless ease and impassioned grit clarifies the historical and stylistic connections between the traditional black church sound and the modern dance groove.

A second dance single, “In the Morning Time,” is not only doing well on the black music charts but also--much to her delight--picking up airplay on predominately white Christian music stations.

All this crossover success has not come without resentment from the fans of Tramaine’s older, more traditional style, but she takes it in stride, citing the flak her brother-in-law Edwin Hawkins got from gospel purists when “Oh Happy Day” was a pop smash in 1969.

“I think people are looking for somebody who’s real, who’s not just one way on stage and another way off stage. I’m endeavoring to be that kind of person who really believes in the music she sings about and is about showing the kind of love and concern and compassion that Jesus showed.”

Even if that means showing it someplace Tramaine never would have ventured before: dance halls and nightclubs.

“I know there’s a real need for it, so I’m glad I have the opportunity to go and sing in places that I would not have gone in once, because those are the places with a lot of the people who need to hear the message I’m trying to convey. Gospel isn’t just for people who go to church. It’s for everybody--it’s good news.”

LIVE ACTION: The Blasters play what’s billed as a “farewell performance” May 2-3 at the Palace. Also due at the Palace: Red Lorry Yellow Lorry April 23, Bob Weir with Kingfish April 24. . . . Tickets go on sale Monday for two Beverly Theatre shows: Clannad (April 25) and Marillion (April 28). . . . Cherry Bombz makes its L.A. debut April 17 at the Whisky. . . . Green on Red will be at the Roxy April 24-25.