Donald Lawrence is an American gospel music songwriter, record producer and artist. Before you can upload images you will need to register an account Only use this if you hold the copyright on the image. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Gospel music refers to the religious music that first came out of African-American churches in the first quarter of the twentieth century or, more loosely, to both black gospel music and to the religious music composed and sung by predominately white Southern Gospel artists. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... GospoCentric Records is an Inglewood, California based gospel music record label started as an independent label by Vicki Mack Lataillade and Claude Lataillade in 1993. ... Reprise Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, operated through Warner Bros. ... EMI Christian Music Group is a subsidiary of EMI which contains its Christian music record labels: ForeFront Records, Gotee Records, Sparrow Records, Tooth and Nail Records, EMI Gospel, Credential Recordings and WorshipTogether. ... Verity Records is a subsidiary of Zomba Records. ... Gospel music refers to the religious music that first came out of African-American churches in the first quarter of the twentieth century or, more loosely, to both black gospel music and to the religious music composed and sung by predominately white Southern Gospel artists. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ...

Biography

Donald Lawrence studied at Cincinnati Conservatory, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in music. To his credit, Donald's musicality has seen many incarnations, as vocal coach to the R&B group En Vogue, musical director for Stephanie Mills, songwriter for The Clark Sisters, and producer for a host of artists including Peabo Bryson and Kirk Franklin. Lawrence took on The Tri-City Singers after a friend vacated his position as musical director. ^[1] En Vogue is a Grammy nominated American female R&B vocal quartet assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, formerly of the disco group Club Nouveau. ... Stephanie Mills (born March 22, 1957 in Harlem, New York) is an African American R&B and soul singer and former Broadway star. ... The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of four sisters: Elbernita Twinkie Clark, Jacky Clark Chisholm, Dorinda Clark Cole, and Karen Clark Sheard. ... Peabo Bryson (born Robert Peabo Bryson on April 13, 1951) is an American R&B and soul singer, born in Greenville, South Carolina. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The group debuted in 1993 with A Songwriter's Point Of View on a then-brand-new independent record label called GospoCentric Records. The set debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top Gospel Charts.^[2] The group's follow-up release Bible Stories would top those same charts when it arrived in 1995.^[3] It was the first to be billed as Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers and featured black church-ubiquitous hits such as "A Message For The Saints", "I Am God" and "Stranger". The album was released on Lawrence's newly minted label Crystal Rose Records which was distributed through Sparrow Records. GospoCentric Records is an Inglewood, California based gospel music record label started as an independent label by Vicki Mack Lataillade and Claude Lataillade in 1993. ... Sparrow Records is a popular Christian Music record label; a Division of EMI Music. ...

In 1997, Donald Lawrence produced the live portion of Karen Clark Sheard's Grammy-nominated Finally Karen debut. Lawrence & Tri-City also released the seasonal Hello Christmas the same year. Later, Lawrence signed a contract with the Island Records imprint Island Inspirational. Though a live recording did take place for release^[1], the album never materialized. Karen Valencia Clark-Sheard is an African-American gospel singer who was born in Detroit, Michigan. ... Island Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group and is operated through The Island Def Jam Music Group. ...

In 2000, Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers signed to EMI Gospel. To promote the new album, a maxi CD of the lead single "Testify" to the mainstream. House remixes by Junior Vasquez sent the song to #33 on Billboard's Mainstream Dance Charts.^[4] When tri-city4.com was finally released in 2001, the set peaked at #2 on Billboard's Top Gospel Charts and #13 on Billboard's Heatseekers Charts.^[2]. The album also got a profile boost from the all-star standout "God's Favor", featuring vocal turns from Karen Clark Sheard, Kim Burrell, and Kelly Price. This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. ... Junior Vasquez is a famous New York club DJ and remixer/producer. ... Kim Burrell Kimberly Burrell Wiley [1] is an American gospel singer from Houston, TX. She calls her musical style Jazz Gospel. ... Kelly Price on the cover of her 2003 album Priceless Kelly Price (born April 4, 1973 in Queens, New York) is a Grammy Award-nominated American R&B and soul singer, the flagship female artist on the Def Soul label. ...

Lawrence only waited a year before delivering the follow-up Go Get Your Life Back in 2002. "Never Seen The Righteous", a song sonically much in the vein of the previous smash "Testify," was chosen as the album's lead single. This release featured guest appearances from Ann Nesby (formerly of Sounds Of Blackness) and gospel pioneer Walter Hawkins. The momentum continued with the 2003 release of Restoring The Years, a greatest hits album featuring two new songs. Nesby on the cover of her new album In The Spirit released April 18, 2006 Ann Bennett Nesby is an American R&B, gospel, and dance music singer from Joliet, Illinois who started out as the lead vocalist for Sounds Of Blackness. ... Sounds Of Blackness is a gospel music ensemble from Minneapolis Minnesota who scored several big hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the nineties. ... Walter Hawkins is an American gospel music singer born May 18, 1949 in Oakland, California. ...

The next album would mark a fresh start for Donald Lawrence. I Speak Life was his first album solo album, the debut for his newly inked recording contract with Verity Records, and also the first release under his new sublabel Quiet Water Entertainment. Though the album was without The Tri-City Singers, guest appearances were plenteous. Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Faith Evans, Richard Smallwood, and Carl Thomas all contributed to the album. Even jazz notables Ramsey Lewis and Lalah Hathaway were on hand for a remake of the Bible Stories classic "Don't Forget To Remember". The effort earned Lawrence a total of 7 Stellar Award nominations, and 6 wins.^[5] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Pastor Hezekiah Walker is a popular American gospel music artist and pastor of prominent Brooklyn New York megachurch Love Fellowship Tabernacle. ... Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B singer, songwriter and producer. ... Richard Smallwood is an American gospel music artist from Atlanta, Georgia who formed The Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977. ... Carl Thomas is an African-American R&B singer who was born on June 15, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois where he attended Simeon High School. ... Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. ... Lalah Hathaway (born Eulaulah Hathaway [1]), is a contemporary R&B/Jazz singer. ... The Chicago-based Central City Productions, Inc. ...

In March 2006, The Tri-City Singers announced that they would retire, but not before one last live recording.^[6] Finale: Act One and Finale: Act Two were released simultaneously on April 4, 2006. Each release was a CD/DVD set that chronicled the audio and video of one half of the concert, with packages that locked into one another respectively. A special edition of Finale was later released with both CDs and DVDs. The blowout concert included guest appearances from Karen Clark Sheard, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Daryl Coley, LaShun Pace, Darwin Hobbs, and many other gospel luminaries. The album's lead single "The Blessing Of Abraham" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance in December 2006.^[7] There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Discography

Albums ^[3]

• A Songwriters Point Of View (The Tri-City Singers) (GospoCentric, 1993) (US Gospel #2)
• Bible Stories (Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers) (Crystal Rose, 1995) (US Gospel #1, CCM #10)
• Hello Christmas(Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers) (Star Song, 1997) (US Gospel #7)
• tri-city4.com (The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2001) (US Gospel #2, Heatseekers #13)
• Go Get Your Life Back (Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2002) (US Gospel #4)
• The Best of Donald Lawrence & the Tri-City Singers: Restoring the Years (EMI Gospel, 2003) (US Gospel #21)
• I Speak Life (Donald Lawrence & Co.) (QWE/Verity, 2004) (US Gospel #2)
• Finale: Act One (Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2006) (US Gospel #4)
• Finale: Act Two (Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2006) (US Gospel #5)

Singles ^[4]

• "Testify (Remixes)" (The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2001)
• "Never Seen The Righteous" (The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2002)
• "The Blessing Of Abraham" (The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2006) (Billboard #97 R&B)

Awards

Stellar Awards 2006

• Artist of the Year for I Speak Life
• CD of the Year for I Speak Life
• Producer of the Year for I Speak Life
• Group/Duo of the Year for I Speak Life
• Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year for I Speak Life
• Contemporary CD of the Year for I Speak Life

Stellar Awards 2007

• Artist of the Year for Finale: Act One
• Choir of the Year for Finale: Act One
• Producer of the Year for Finale: Act One
• Contemporary CD of the Year for Finale: Act One
• Contemporary Choir of the Year for Finale: Act One
• Special Event CD of the Year for Finale: Act One
• Music Video of the Year for Finale: Act One

Trivia

• The three cities that The Tri-City Singers come from are Spartanburg, SC, Gastonia, NC, and Charlotte, NC.^[8]

Spartanburg is a city located in Spartanburg County in South Carolina, a state of the United States of America, and 98 miles north of Columbia. ... This articles section called Trivia does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Nickname: Location in Mecklenburg County in the state of North Carolina Coordinates: Country United States State North Carolina Counties Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Government  - Mayor Pat McCrory, (R) Area  - City  280. ...

References

Other References

• 22nd Annual Stellar Award WINNERS (2007). GospelFlava.com. Retrieved on January 14, 2007.

The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ...

External links

• Tri-City Singers Official Website
• EMI Gospel Official Website
• Verity Records Official Website
• Donald Lawrence at All Music Guide
• Tri-City Singers at All Music Guide