Amy Lee Grant is an American singer, songwriter, musician, author and media personality. She is known for performing contemporary Christian music (CCM) and for a successful crossover to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop".
Marie Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress, television host, and former Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Lady Soul is the twelfth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin released on January 22, 1968, by Atlantic Records.
Emily "Cissy" Houston is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, Houston embarked on a solo career, winning two Grammy Awards for her work. Houston is the mother of singer Whitney Houston, grandmother of Bobbi Kristina Brown, aunt of singers Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, and cousin of opera singer Leontyne Price.
Delia Juanita Warrick, known as Dee Dee Warwick, was an American soul singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she was the sister of Dionne Warwick, the niece of Cissy Houston, and the first cousin of Whitney Houston. She died in Essex County, New Jersey, at 66 years of age.
Judy Clay was an American soul and gospel singer, who achieved greatest success as a member of two recording duos in the 1960s.
"I Believe" is a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl and Al Stillman in 1953.
The Sweet Inspirations were an American R&B girl group founded by Emily "Cissy" Houston, mother of Whitney Houston, and sister of Lee Warwick. Houston and Warwick were members of The Drinkard Singers, a family group that had the distinction of recording the first Gospel album to appear on a major label—a live recording from The Newport Jazz Festival in 1959. The line-up included Judy Guions, Marie Epps, Larry Drinkard, Nicholas Drinkard, Ann Moss, Lee and Emily.
The Drinkard Singers were an American gospel singing group, most successful in the late 1950s and important in the careers of singers Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, and Judy Clay.
"Oh Happy Day" is a 1967 gospel music arrangement of an 18th-century hymn by clergyman Philip Doddridge. Recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, it became an international hit in 1969, reaching No. 4 on the US Singles Chart, No. 1 in France, Germany, and the Netherlands and No. 2 on the Canadian Singles Chart, UK Singles Chart, and Irish Singles Chart. It has since become a gospel music standard.
"Brand New Day" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and featured on his 1970 album Moondance.
"Ain't No Way" is a song written by singer-songwriter Carolyn Franklin and sung by her elder sister Aretha Franklin as the B-side to her 1968 hit, "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone". This song should not be confused with a different song of the same title, recorded by Aretha Franklin on her 2003 CD So Damn Happy: "Ain't No Way" by Barry J. Eastmond and Gordon Chambers.
"Sweet the Sting" is a song written and recorded by Tori Amos, released as the second single from the album The Beekeeper (2005). Following the trend of her several previous singles, "Sweet the Sting" was released as a promotional single only, with physical CDs produced for radio stations.
Surprises is an album by jazz flautist Herbie Mann featuring singer Cissy Houston which was released on the Atlantic label in 1976.
The McDonald's Gospelfest is an annual gospel music festival, talent competition, and fundraiser in Newark, New Jersey. The event, inaugurated in 1983, and sponsored by McDonald's, takes place in spring and has been held at the Prudential Center since 2008. The closing night contest and ceremony is produced, directed, and hosted by A. Curtis Farrow. The event, which can take several hours, has been recorded and broadcast variously on WABC-TV and WWOR-TV. Involving more than a thousand performers, it has been described as the "largest collection of gospel talent ever assembled" and the "most spectacular gospel celebration in the nation". The event is followed up by McDonald's Inspiration Celebration which makes a national tour.
The Sweet Inspirations is the self-titled debut album by American recording soul/gospel female group the Sweet Inspirations, released in 1967 by Atlantic Records. Led by Cissy Houston, the Sweet Inspirations were highly-in-demand female back-up singers featured on some of the most important pop and soul recordings of the 1960s and '70s. They toured and served as session background vocals on albums by various artists' including Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Dusty Springfield. This was their first album, recorded in 1967, in which it contains mostly covers of the hits of the day. The album peaked at number 12 on Billboard's Hot Soul Albums, and features the Top 20 hit "Sweet Inspiration" plus the R&B chart hits "Why " and "Let It Be Me".
Sweets for My Sweet is a 1969 album by American recording soul/gospel female group Sweet Inspirations released on Atlantic Records. The album features the groups cover of "Crying in the Rain" which peaked to #42 on Billboards Hot Soul Singles. The song was originally recorded by The Everly Brothers and reached #6 on Billboards Hot 100 chart.
A Joyful Noise is a live album by American gospel singing group The Drinkard Singers, released in the U.S. in 1958 on RCA Records. It is a live recording of gospel tunes performed by the family act which comprised Emily Drinkard, her sisters Anne Moss, Lee Warrick, and brothers Nickolas and Larry Drinkard and Marie Epps. Anne Drinkard left and was replaced by Lee's adopted daughter Judy Guions, who was later known as Judy Clay.
What the World Needs Now Is Love is the third album by American recording gospel/soul female group the Sweet Inspirations released in 1968 on the label Atlantic Records. The album was produced by Tom Dowd and arranged by Arif Mardin. It features their cover versions of the classic songs; "Alfie", "Unchained Melody", "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody".
Joy & Inspiration or He Is Beautiful is the twenty first studio album by American country music artist Crystal Gayle. It was released in 1997 via the Beautiful Music Company and Warner Special Products. The album was co-produced by Bobby Wood, Jay Patten, and Gayle. Joy and Inspiration would become her second album consisting of gospel music and would eventually be re-released and re-titled in 2008 under the name "He is Beautiful".
