Tramaine Hawkins

Tramaine Hawkins, the American Grammy-,Dove and Stellar Award winning gospel singer.

Tramaine Hawkins was born October 11, 1951 in San Francisco, California. She grew up in the Ephesian Church of God in Christ located in Berkeley, California, pastored by her Grandfather the late, Bishop E.E. Cleveland. While still in high school, Tramaine and her friends Mary McCreary, Elva Mouton and Vet Stone had agospel group called The Heavenly Tones and performed at various venues around the Oakland and San Francisco areas. In 1966 they recorded the album "I love The Lord" for the Gospel label, part of Savoy Records, and a 45 for the Music City label called "He's Alright". When Vet Stone's older brother Sylvester, better known as Sly Stone, formed Sly & the Family Stone with their brother Freddie, and friends Larry Graham, Cynthia Robinson, Jerry Martini, and Greg Errico, The Heavenly Tones were recruited directly out of high school to become Little Sister (band), Sly & the Family Stone's background vocalists for their recording. Tramaine left the group and started a very successful solo career. She first started singing on The Edwin Hawkins Singers Choir's single "Oh Happy Day." With her distinctive soprano and extensive vocal range, she became better known as a featured soloist with then-husband Walter Hawkins' Love Center Choir.

She scored several hits as a solo artist in the 1970s while signed to Light Records, and released now-classic albums, such as her 1979 self-titled debut and its 1983 follow-up Determined. Songs such as "Changed," "Goin Up Yonder," and "Highway" quickly became staples and fan favorites.

Following this foreshadowing, Hawkins delivered the tour-de-force studio recording Still Tramaine in 2001 after signing a new contract withGospoCentric Records. The album would also give a nod to her former career as a dance-floor darling featuring Basement Boys club remixes of the single "By His Strength."

Hawkins again paid final tribute to an African-American legend when she was requested in 2005 to sing at the funeral service of civil rights activist Rosa Parks. Hawkins was also part of the Rosa Parks tribute recording "Something Inside So Strong" from A Celebration Of Quiet Strength featuring other gospel artists such as Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Daryl Coley.

Tramaine has been inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame. Recently receiving the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award and netting two Stellar Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year and Traditional Female of the Year for her 2007 CD release I Never Lost My Praise (2007). She also sang at James Cleveland's funeral.

While married to Walter Hawkins, the couple had two children a son, Walter "Jamie" Hawkins, Jr. and a daughter, Trystan Hawkins with one granddaughter, Jahve Hawkins and one grandson, Jamie Daniel Hawkins.

Hawkins now refers to herself as "Lady Tramaine," as emblazoned on the header of her official website. Hawkins lives outside of Sacramento, California with her husband of sixteen years, Tommy Richardson, Jr., and has one stepson, Demar Richardson with two step grandchildren.

Walter Hawkins

Bishop Walter Hawkins, the American gospel music singer, and a pastor. Hawkins was consecrated to the bishopic in 1992. He died at his home in Ripon, California, from pancreatic cancer.

Walter Hawkins was the brother of Edwin Hawkins, Daniel Hawkins (Marcia), Feddie Hawkins Smith, Carol Hawkins and Lynette Hawkins-Stephens. Bishop Hawkins was married to Tramaine Hawkins, they had two children, a son Walter "Jamie" Hawkins, Jr., who is married to Myiia "Sunny" Davis-Hawkins, and a daughter Trystan Hawkins. Bishop Hawkins also had a granddaughter, Jahve Hawkins, and a grandson, Jamie Daniel Hawkins.

Bishop Hawkins started his career in one of his brother's chorales, "The Northern California State Youth Choir" of the Church of God in Christ. Later, he accompanied his brother Edwin and founded The Edwin Hawkins Singers. This collaborative effort produced the hit song "Oh Happy Day", which became one of the first gospel songs to cross over onto mainstream music charts.

Walter Hawkins left The Edwin Hawkins Singers in the early 1970s to establish the Love Center Church in Oakland, California. He and his Love Center Choir had considerable success with their "Love Alive" series of recordings, which sold well over a million copies from the 1970s through the 1990s. "Love Alive IV", released in 1990, was #1 on the Billboard Gospel Album charts, where it stayed for 33 weeks. In all, Walter Hawkins produced and/or collaborated on 116 hit songs which were listed on the Billboard Gospel Music charts

Walter Hawkins won three Dove Awards (awarded by the Gospel Music Association).

He was nominated for nine Grammy awards, and won a 1981 Grammy Award in the category of Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational for "The Lord's Prayer".

He wrote and produced an album for his sister Lynette, entitled Baby Sis, released in 1987 on Birthright Records.

He wrote and sang solo (later joined in duet by Frank Williams) on the popular Mississippi Mass Choir song '"Hold On Old Soldier,"' from the recording "It Remains to be Seen...", released in 1993 on Malaco Records.

He won two Stellar Awards in the categories of Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year and Traditional CD of the Year for his solo album A Song In My Heart.

He performed a duet with Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers on the popular song entitled "Seasons", from their 2002 recording "Go Get Your Life Back."

Richard Smallwood

Richard Smallwood, the American Gospel music artist who formed The Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977 in Washington, DC.

Richard graduated cum laude from Howard University with degrees in both vocal performance and piano, in addition to graduate work in the field of ethnomusicology. Smallwood was a member of The Celestials, the first gospel group on Howard University's campus. That group was the first gospel act to appear at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival. Richard was also a founding members of Howard's first gospel choir.

Smallwood's recording career began in 1982 with the album The Richard Smallwood Singers. The album spent 87 weeks on Billboard's Gospel chart. Its followup, Psalms was nominated for a Grammy. Two years later the album Textures was also nominated. Textures spawned the now-classic "Center Of My Joy" written by Richard Smallwood along with Bill and Gloria Gaither. He won his first Grammy, along with a Dove Award for his production on the Quincy Jones' gospel project Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration.

His music has been recorded by artists such as Destiny's Child, Yolanda Adams, Karen Clark-Sheard, and many more. He even accompanied opera legend Leontyne Price at a White House Christmas celebration during the Reagan administration. Richard, with his current group Vision, has recorded several successful projects for Verity records. He finished his Masters degree in Divinity from Howard University in 2004 and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

Smallwood's next project was recorded live at the Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center in New York. The concert features guestsKim Burrell on "I Can Make This Journey (With You By My Side)," Kelly Price on "Morning Is Breaking," Chaka Khan on "Precious Is Your Name," as well as The Hawkins Family, Tramaine Hawkins, and the original roster of singers who comprised The Richard Smallwood Singers and Vision.Aretha Franklin and The Clark Sisters will contribute to additional studio tracks to appear on the album

Vanessa Bell Armstrong

Vanessa Bell Armstrong, the gospel singer who released her debut album Peace Be Still in 1983.

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. Armstrong's second albumChosen hit number one on the US Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart.

Bell Armstrong performed on the 1st Annual Soul Train Awards ceremony. Her 1986 album Following Jesus won a Soul Train Music Award for Best Gospel Album - Solo in 1988. She is also a seven time Grammy Award-nominee.

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." The next year's follow-up album Wonderful Onefeatured a cover of the Labi Siffre anti-Apartheid anthem "Something Inside So Strong." The song was later remade in 1995 by Armstrong along with Shirley Caesar, Fred Hammond,Tramaine Hawkins, Yolanda Adams, and a host of other gospel artists as a tribute to Rosa Parks. The song was serviced to radio stations to play on the 40th anniversary of the civil rights icon's arrest.

Vanessa Bell Armstrong took a 3 year self-imposed hiatus from recording before releasing A Brand New Day under a new deal with Tommy Boy Gospel in 2001. Vanessa was presented with a lifetime achievement award during 2004's Gospel Superfest.

Armstrong's 2007 album, Walking Miracle, is her first release in 6 years, and blends traditional gospel fare like "So Good To Me" (produced by Smokie Norful) with contemporary songs like "Til The Victory's Won" (produced by Fred Jerkins III) and the title track (produced by Rodney Jerkins). The latter song was inspired by Armstrong's son who was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Armstrong recorded a stand out duet "Choose Ye" with gospel act The Winans on their major label debut Let My People Go for Qwest Records. She also sang the theme song for the 1980s NBC sitcom Amen.

Armstrong was a frequent musical guest of the early projects of John P. Kee & The New Life Community Choir, and lent her voice to several classics that include "We Walk By Faith", and "We Glorify".

Rev Timothy Wright

Reverend Timothy Wright, the American gospel singer and pastor.

Wright started on piano at age 12, and sang and composed for his church choir as a teenager at the St. John's Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God in Brooklyn. He played piano for Bishop F. D. Washington and Isaac Douglas in the 1960s and 1970s, including on recordings, and he formed his own gospel ensemble in the mid-1970s, the Timothy Wright Concert Choir. He eventually became pastor of the Pentecostal Grace Tabernacle Christian Center Church of God in Christ located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and issued albums regularly from 1990.

Wright's 1994 album Come Thou Almighty King, with the New York Fellowship Mass Choir, made Billboard’s Top 20 chart for gospel albums and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album, as was his 1999 release Been There Done That.

On July 4, 2008, Wright was critically injured in a car crash on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania, a crash which killed his wife and grandson as well as the driver of the oncoming car.He died April 24, 2009 as a result of these injuries, at the age of 61.

Dottie Peoples

Dottie Peoples, the American gospel singer.

Born Dorthy Peoples in Dayton, Ohio, Peoples began singing at an early age. After completing high school, she toured with gospel pioneerDorothy Norwood, a member of The Caravans. After that, she briefly joined a jazz ensemble, performing in various venues across the country.

Unhappy singing secular music, she relocated to Atlanta to return her gospel roots. At the age of 32 Peoples gave birth to her daughter, Tyra.

She recorded her debut album, Live At Salem Baptist Church, in 1993. On July 28, 2008, Peoples performed a free concert at the EastBirmingham Church of God in Christ.

Dottie has an honorary Doctor of Sacred Music from Global Evangelical Christian College (Part of the International Circle of Faith Colleges and Seminaries network). Dottie toured many places with her very dear friend Garnelle Hubbard-Spearman

Hold My Mule

Shirley Caesar, "Hold My Mule" Concert