Contemporary gospel singer Babbie Mason was born and raised in Jackson, MI; the daughter of a pastor, she tenured for two decades as a church pianist and choir director, also working as a public school teacher before founding her own ministry in 1984. A year later, Mason took top honors in the vocal and songwriting categories at the annual... [+] Read More

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The eighth of ten siblings in the musical Winans family, CeCe Winans (born Priscilla) performed most often with her brother, BeBe, in a duo which recorded gospel material with R&B settings and proved to be the most commercially successful of the Winans groupings (which also includes her older brothers Marvin, Carvin, Ronald, and Michael in the... [+] Read More

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Born in San Francisco, Coley grew up on jazz music and learned to play clarinet and piano. He played keyboards for The Hawkins Family from 1977 until he left to collaborate with James Cleveland in 1983. Later he worked with jazz artists Nancy Wilson and Rodney Franklin and pop singer Philip Bailey. ~ Bil Carpenter, All Music Guide

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Donnie McClurkin is a gospel vocalist with the soul of Andraé Crouch and the contemporary flair of Kirk Franklin. Born into a home filled with domestic violence and drug abuse, McClurkin was saved by an aunt who sang background vocals with Crouch himself. After staying close to Crouch throughout his boyhood, he began to play piano and sing with... [+] Read More

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Gospel vocalist George Beverly Shea spent most of his 45-year career closely associated with evangelist Billy Graham. His best-known song is "How Great Thou Art," which was written by Rev. Stuart K. Hine in the 1920s. Shea is also a distinguished writer of popular hymns such as "The Wonder of It All."

Born the son of a Wesleyan... [+] Read More

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Gospel soul singer Helen Baylor travels throughout the country conveying the message of God's saving and healing power. She describes her concerts and performances as "a church service set to music." Her music ministry has taken her not only to performing concerts but also to performing in prisons, women's shelters and housing projects. [+] Read More

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Recruited for the legendary gospel group Commissioned while still a relative unknown, Marvin Sapp recorded with the group until its dissolution in 1995, and then began his own solo career with a self-titled album the following year. Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan (where he has based his JOY Ministries outreach), Sapp debuted with... [+] Read More

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Known as "The Voice," Sandi Patti is one of the biggest stars in CCM and over a 15-year period (from the early '80s) has earned three platinum albums, five gold albums, 33 Dove Awards, and five Grammys. Her debut album sold 11 million copies. Known for her versatility, Patti draws from pop to ballads to modernized gospel standards. As a singer,... [+] Read More

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This Washington, D.C., minister sings inspirational music in a booming baritone. ~ Bil Carpenter, All Music Guide

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