Kirk Dwayne Franklin is most notably known as the leader of urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God’s Property and One Nation Crew (1NC).  A native of Fort Worth, Franklin was raised by his great aunt Gertrude.  She collected and resold aluminum cans to raise money for Kirk to take piano lessons. He excelled in music, able to read and write music by ear.  At age 11, Franklin became music director of the Mt. Rose Baptist Church adult choir.

Mary Mary is a three time Grammy© Award-winning gospel music duo, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell and Tina Atkins-Campbell.  They grew up as part of a large church family of nine children in Inglewood. All of Atkins children were on the Bobby Jones Gospel Show on BET.

The Rance Allen Group formed in Monroe, MI by Rance Allen (vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and songwriter) with his brothers Tom (drums) and Steve (bass guitar).  Another brother, Esau (percussionist), joined the group on an intermittent basis.  During an appearance at a gospel talent contest in Detroit, they came to the attention of one of the judges, record promoter Dave Clark, who worked for Stax Records.  The group was the first to be signed to the Stax imprint Gospel Truth and recorded for Stax throughout the 70s.  The group’s incorporation of rock and soul into traditional gospel music prefigures the crossover success of such artists as Amy Grant, Andrae Crouch, and The Winans.

BeBe (Benjamin) and CeCe (Priscilla) Winans are the seventh and eighth of “Mom” and “Pop” Winans’ ten children, most of whom have had successful Gospel music careers.  While BeBe and CeCe were in high school, four of their elder brothers formed the successful Gospel music group The Winans.  Initially known as The Winans Part II, BeBe and CeCe first appeared in the public eye when they debuted in 1982 as part of the singing group The PTL Singers on the Christian television show The PTL Club.  They were one of the first African American artists to receive significant airplay on contemporary Christian music radio stations and the second African American artists to receive the Dove© Award in the Group of the Year category.

Donald Lawrence studied at Cincinnati Conservatory, earning a BFA degree in music. While in Cincinnati, he was the Minister of Music at the Southern Baptist Church.  To his credit, Donald’s musicality has seen many incarnations, as vocal coach to the R&B group En Vogue, musical director for Stephanie Mills, songwriter for The Clark Sisters and producer for a host of artists including Peabo Bryson and Kirk Franklin.

The four sisters, Jacky Clark Chisholm, Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole and Karen Clark Sheard make up the group.  A fifth sister, Denise Clark Bradford, no longer performs. Daughters of legendary gospel musician and choral director Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, they are credited for helping to bring gospel music to the mainstream and are considered as pioneers of contemporary gospel.  Their biggest crossover hits include “Is My Living in Vain?”, “Hallelujah”. “He Gave Me Nothing to Lose”, “Expect a Miracle” and their largest mainstream crossover gold certified, “You Brought the Sunshine (Into My Life)”.  With 16 albums to their credit and millions-upon-millions in sales, the Clark Sisters are the largest selling female gospel group in the history of gospel music.

Yolanda Adams is a Grammy© and Dove©-award winning Gospel music singer and radio show host.  The oldest of six Adams was raised in Houston.  Following graduation from Texas Southern University, she began a career as a schoolteacher and part-time model.  Eventually she gave up teaching to perform full-time as a lead singer.

Lee Williams and The Spiritual QC’s started in Tupelo, in 1968, but did not start recording until the 90s. The gospel quartet includes Lee Williams (lead singer), Al Hollis (guitar/background vocals), Patrick Hollis (background vocals), Leonard Shumpert ( second lead vocals) and new full-time bassist Tommie Harris (bass).

Bishop Hezekiah Xzavier Walker, Jr., is a Grammy Award©-winning gospel music artist, founder and leader of the Love Fellowship Choir.  He catapulted into recognition in 1985 for his singing ability with the group.  Growing up in the projects, his travels enable him to reach people from all walks of life who he had never encountered before.

Donnie McClurkin has racked up the awards – three Grammys©, ten Stellars©, two BETs, two Soul Train© Awards, one Dove and one NAACP© Image award.  Born and raised in Louisville, MS, he was abused as a child.  Donnie frequently makes reference to his childhood abuse and how such adversity has shaped him as a Christian.  By the time he was a teenager, he formed the McClurkin Singers and later formed another group, the New York Restoration Choir.

Kurt Carr was born in the early 1960s in Hartford, CT, where he grew up in a family who believed, but were not deeply involved in church.  In his early teen years, he performed as an actor and dancer at the Hartford Stage Company in a Broadway musical called On the Town. Becoming an active member in his church’s music department, he realized that he was being called to do something even higher with his life.  Kurt studied classical music and earned a Fine Arts degree from the University of Connecticut.

This Gainesville native is one of seven children born to the late Bishop Walter Camps and his wife. She began singing at the age of three and joined her sisters as part of the Camp Sisters. In the late 1980s, her husband, Todd Crawford, recorded a homemade video of her and her sisters singing and submitted copies to several gospel companies.  Bobby Jones Gospel was the only one respondent.  An impressed Bobby Jones invited them to sing on his show and after a couple of visits, he invited Beverly to join his group, New Life.  Beverly stayed on the show for six years. Her solo career began in 1995 with the release of Jesus, Precious King.

Shirley Ann Caesar, born in Durham, NC is a singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned six decades.  A multi-award winning artist, with 11 Grammy© Awards and 7 Dove© Awards to her credit, she is known as “First Lady of Gospel”. She began recording at age 13 and has released over forty albums.  Her credits also include a series of commercials for MCI Communications.   She is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Paul Sylvester Morton is currently senior pastor of Changing A Generation Full Gospel Baptist Church and co-Pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church.  He is a also a recording artist and author.  Growing up, he exemplified a special talent in music. He sang with his brothers, gaining fame all over the country.  He founded a singing group called the Junior Progressives and served as the Youth Choir director in his fathers’ church.

Pastor Marvin Louis Sapp, singer-songwriter, recorded with the group Commissioned during the 90s before beginning a record-breaking solo career.  Sapp is the founder and Senior pastor of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church, Grand Rapids, MI.

After wrestling with the idea of forming a mass choir for some time, Frank Williams, a member of The Jackson Southernaires and an executive in the gospel music division of Malaco Records, decided to form The Mississippi Mass Choir.  First, he got the record company’s support, then he began calling on well-known Mississippi talents like David R. Curry, who became the choir’s music director.  Having the foundation laid, open auditions were held and more than 100 voices from across the state came together to form The Mississippi Mass Choir.  After months of rehearsals, the choir recorded their first album and video The Mississippi Mass Choir Live on October 29, 1988.  

Few gospel groups can equal the Williams Brothers in terms of longevity and popularity. The trio dates back to 1960, when Doug and Melvin’s father, the late Leon “Pop” Williams founded the group.  In April 1991, Melvin, Henry and Doug decided to merge musical talent with industry expertise to form their own label dedicated to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ through anointed music.  As a result, Blackberry Records was born. Blackberry Records’ first release, This Is Your Night, received a Grammy© nomination in the category of Best Soul Gospel Album and won two Stellar Awards.

Vanessa Bell Armstrong made her solo debut on Onyx/Muscle Shoals Sound Records in 1983 with the album Peace Be Still. The title track has since became one of Armstrong’s signature songs. Vanessa enjoyed a slice of mainstream success in the late 80’s. Her self-titled 1987 Jive Records debut yielded the Billboard-charting hit “You Bring Out The Best In Me”, as well as the club favorite “Pressing On.”