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Michele Pillar | |
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| Birth name | Michele Diane Pillar |
| Born | July 26, 1955 |
| Origin | Long Beach, California |
| Genres | CCM |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | Sparrow |
| Website | michelepillar |
Michele Diane Pillar (born July 26, 1955) is a contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter and occasional actress. Despite recording only a handful of studio albums, her music has made a lasting influence in the genre [1] having earned three Grammy Award nominations.
Pillar's early credits include singing classic songs for the Maranatha! Music Praise Albums II, III, IV and V with solos such as, "Jesus What A Wonder You Are", "In Moments Like These" and "Thou Art Worthy". Pillar's album Reign on Me and her project with Erick Nelson, The Misfit, are now considered classics of the CCM genre. The Misfit has recently been re-issued on compact disc. Her radio hit single with Phil Keaggy, "What a Wonder" brought her to the attention of Christian label executive Billy Ray Hearn and a recording contract with Sparrow Records. Her three solo records for Sparrow in the 1980s all together totaled over 2 million in record sales, before taking a hiatus from solo work in 1984. Pillar also charted with her CD, Love Makes All the Difference for the Benson Company.
Outside of her solo work, she teamed up with Steve Camp on the song "Love's Not a Feeling" (from Camp's 1983 album, Fire and Ice ). She also appeared with Camp on the charity single "Do Something Now" in 1985, and also served as the background vocalist for Camp's 1987 album, After God's Own Heart. [2] Then in 1988 her career came to a standstill when her husband, jazz guitarist Larry Carlton, whom she had married just a few months before, was nearly killed in a random shooting in the doorway of their Los Angeles house. [3]
Her 1991 studio album Love Makes All the Difference was her return to recording as a solo artist after working on her husband's music and a variety of other projects. [2] After that successful comeback, Pillar recorded again in 2007 with the Christmas album, I Hear Angels Calling, released through 335 Records. The title track, by Pillar, Nathan East and Jeff Babko, is a spin on Nashville's No. 1 AC Pop station, Mix 92.9 during the Holidays.[ citation needed ]
Pillar also studied acting and was represented by the William Morris Agency. Pillar was featured in commercials for Lexus, Levi Strauss, and others. She toured with The Billy Graham Association singing for massive crusades and toured up to two hundred concert dates a year. Pillar's voice was featured on The Simpsons on a number of occasions imitating the voice of Karen Carpenter and others. [2]
Pillar has morphed into a speaker, writer and songwriter and tours nationally.
Closer to Home is a Charity started by Pillar and Aubrey Preston in late 2000 that benefits residents of Williamson County, Tennessee. Fund-raising shows have been headlined by Vince Gill, Jo Dee Messina, Steve Winwood, Michael McDonald, Wynonna, Ricky Skaggs, and Phil Vassar. These shows have included a variety of other artists and songwriters from many styles of music. [2]
Stevland Hardaway Morris, known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder.
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales, chart position, or critical reception." Commonly known as "The Big Award", Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammy Awards. It is also one of the general field awards alongside Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year, presented annually since the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959. American singer-songwriters Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Taylor Swift have each won this award three times, more than any other nominee. Frank Sinatra became the first nominee to win the award in back-to-back years. Stevie Wonder is widely known for his iconic "streak", winning the award three times in four years, in 1974, 1975, and 1977. Taylor Swift became the first female nominee to win the award both two and three times over.
Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F♯7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use of the whistle register and has been referred to by the media as the "Queen of the Whistle Register".
Kim Carnes is an American singer and songwriter born and raised in Los Angeles. She began her career as a songwriter in the 1960s, writing for other artists while performing in local clubs and working as a session background singer with the famed Water Sisters. After she signed her first publishing deal with Jimmy Bowen, she released her debut album Rest on Me in 1971. Carnes' self-titled second album primarily contained self-penned songs, including her first charting single "You're a Part of Me", which reached No. 35 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1975. In the following year, Carnes released Sailin', which featured "Love Comes from Unexpected Places". The song won the American Song Festival and the award for Best Composition at the Tokyo Song Festival in 1976.
The 2nd Chapter of Acts was a Jesus music and early contemporary Christian music group composed of sisters Annie Herring and Nelly Greisen and brother Matthew Ward. They began performing in 1972 and enjoyed their period of greatest success during the 1970s. The group disbanded in 1988.
Geoff Moore is an American contemporary Christian music singer. He began recording as a solo artist in 1984. In 1987, he formed Geoff Moore and The Distance, his touring band, which released eight albums generating a string of No. 1 radio hits throughout their 10+-year tenure. In 1998, Geoff retired the band from full-time touring. After a "farewell tour", Moore has continued as a solo artist, releasing eight more records between 1999 and 2015. The Next Thing was released in April 2016, making it his 25th album to date.
Nancy Honeytree is an American Christian musician and one of the leaders in what was known as Jesus music.
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Steven J. Camp is an American contemporary Christian music artist and pastor. In the tradition of Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses, Camp sent out his own 107 theses on Reformation Day, 1998, calling for a reformation in contemporary Christian music: calling Christian musicians to make direct, uncompromising music that confronts the world with the message of the scriptures.
Tramaine Aunzola Richardson, known professionally as Tramaine Hawkins, is an American award–winning Gospel singer whose career spans over five decades. Since beginning her career in 1966, Hawkins has won two Grammy Awards, two Doves, and 19 Stellar Awards.
Caron Melina Wheeler is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. Born and raised in London, she performed in various singing competitions as a teenager and began her recording career as one of the founding members of Brown Sugar. She was also one of the founding members of the female backing vocalist group Afrodiziak. She officially rose to fame in the late 1980s as lead singer of R&B group Soul II Soul. Managed by her bandmate, Jazzie B, the group became one of the London's best-selling groups in the 1990s. Their debut album, Club Classics Vol. One (1989), which established them as a global success worldwide, earned two Grammy Awards and featured the UK and Billboard number-one singles "Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life ".
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Jonathan David Brown was an American record producer and audio engineer known for his work on albums released in the Contemporary Christian music industry. Brown served federal prison time as an accessory after the fact for helping a member of the Tennessee White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan evade authorities.
Julie Iris Fernandez-Lim, also known by her stage name "Juris", is a Filipino singer and songwriter.
Sheila Walsh is a Scottish-born American contemporary Christian vocalist, songwriter, evangelist, author, inspirational speaker, and talk-show host.
Annie Herring is one of the pioneers of the Jesus music genre, later to be called Contemporary Christian music. She was a member of the trio 2nd Chapter of Acts, for which she wrote most of the songs and sang lead and harmony vocals with her brother Matthew Ward and sister Nelly (Ward) Greisen. During her musical career with the 2nd Chapter of Acts from 1973 to 1988, she also recorded solo albums.
Danniebelle Hall, was an American gospel musician, recording artist, songwriter.
Margaret Becker is an American Christian rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She has had twenty-one No. 1 Christian radio hits, won four Dove Awards, and been nominated for four Grammy Awards.
"The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" is a song by American songwriter Jimmy Webb. It has become a much-recorded standard, without ever having charted as a single. Webb appropriated the title from the 1966 science fiction novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein. The song is especially associated with Glen Campbell, who performed the song on his farewell tour, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, and Joe Cocker, who first recorded the song in 1974.
Victoria Monét McCants is an American singer and songwriter. She became involved in performing arts at a young age, singing in the youth choir at her church, and performing in a city dance team. She soon took to writing and began working with producer Rodney Jerkins. Previously signed to Atlantic Records, Monét released her debut EP Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 1 in 2014 and her follow-up EP Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 2 in 2015. Monét would follow this with the Life After Love, Pt. 1 and Life After Love Pt. 2 EPs in February and September 2018 respectively. Part one of her debut album, Jaguar, was released on August 7, 2020.
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