Mary Mary has emerged as the most successful gospel duo of the 21st Century. In 1998, sisters and Erica Monique Atkins Campbell, born April 29, 1972, and Trecina Evette Atkins Campbell, born May 1, 1974, in Inglewood, California, formed the Urban/contemporary gospel duo “Mary Mary,” … Read MoreMary Mary (1988- )
Composer, conductor, lyricist, singer Andraé Edward Crouch was born on July 1, 1942, along with a twin sister, Sandra, in Compton, Los Angeles, California, to parents Benjamin, a minister, and Catherine Hodnett Crouch, manager of dry-cleaning operations. His older brother was Benjamin Crouch. They were … Read MoreAndraé Edward Crouch (1942-2015)
Gospel Legend Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams was born October 13, 1938, in Durham, North Carolina, the 10th of 13 children to Jim Caesar, a minister, and Hallie Caesar, a homemaker. In 1943 at the age of five Caesar started singing and performing as “Baby Shirley” throughout … Read MoreShirley Caesar (1938- )
Soul Train, one of the longest-running syndicated shows in television history, began in 1970 on the Chicago television station WCIU-TV when there were few outlets for popular Black culture throughout the United States. It was a radical move for the time, exhibiting the cultural perspectives … Read MoreSoul Train (1970-2006)
Gospel singer, songwriter, and choir director Kirk Dewayne Franklin was born Kirk Smith in Fort Worth, Dallas, Texas, on January 26, 1970. His parents were teenagers, and his mother abandoned him at the age of 3, leaving him with his great Aunt Gertrude Franklin. Gertrude … Read MoreKirk Franklin (1970- )
Baritone and arranger Joe Simon was born on September 2, 1943, in Simmesport, Louisiana. He picked cotton in the fields as a young boy and began singing in his father’s Baptist church. In 1953, the Simon family relocated to Richmond, California. As a teenager, he … Read MoreJoe Simon (1943- )
The Emotions were an American Grammy Award-winning soul/R&B vocal ensemble from Chicago, Illinois who began as a gospel group called the Hutchinson Sunbeams in 1962. The group transitioned into R&B music in 1963. The Emotions were four sisters: Wanda Hutchinson-Vaughn, born December 17, 1951; Jeanette … Read MoreThe Emotions (1962-2020)
The Intruders, an R&B ensemble, was established in 1960 as a doo-wop group influenced by gospel music. Its first members were Sam “Little Sonny” Brown, born June 21, 1941; Phillip “Phil” Terry, born November 1, 1943; Robert “Big Sonny” Edwards, born on February 22, 1942, … Read MoreThe Intruders (1960–1994)
Legendary composer, lyricist, guitarist Roebuck (Pop) Staples, born on December 28, 1914, in Winona, Mississippi, and his wife, Oceola Staple, a pianist from Louisville, Mississippi, was born on September 10, 1917, The couple met as children at the Rosenwald’s Little Red Schoolhouse in Drew, Mississippi … Read MoreThe Staple Singers (1954-2018)
The Clark Sisters, an African American gospel ensemble comprising five daughters, was established in 1966 is the highest selling female gospel group in United States history. The singers are Jackie, born in 1948 in Selma, Alabama, from the first marriage of Leo H. Cullum, Sr. … Read MoreThe Clark Sisters (1966- )
