Background
The tenth of 12 children, Shirley Caesar was born October 13, 1938. Her father James was a tobacco worker who was well-known in the Carolinas as the lead singer in a gospel quartet, the Just Came Four.
( Shirley describes her family, and their early struggles...)
Shirley describes her family, and their early struggles, the trials and tribulations she went through during the Civil Rights movement, her early singing career, and her callilng to become a pastor and concert performer. With a combination of music, ministry, and the message in all of her performances, all who hear her know that she listens to God every step of the way. Shirley introduces each chapter of The Lady, the Melody, and the Word with just that: the melody (lyrics to her inspiring songs) and the word (Scriptures that have inspired her), and along the way she will introduce you to her own inspiring story.
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(Track Titles: 1. Rejoice 2. He's Working It Out For You 3...)
Track Titles: 1. Rejoice 2. He's Working It Out For You 3. You're Next In Line For A Miracle 4. Jesus, I Love Calling Your Name 5. You Can Make It ft. Bobby Jones & The Nashville Super Choir 6. Amazing Grace 7. I Remember Mama 8. Satan, You're a Liar 9. You Are My Friend ft. Patti LaBelle 10. Hold My Mule ft. Albertina Walker & Milton Brunson 11. No Charge 12. He'll Do It Again 13. Blessed Assurance 14. Strong Man 15. Go
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LDKWWEI/?tag=2022091-20
The tenth of 12 children, Shirley Caesar was born October 13, 1938. Her father James was a tobacco worker who was well-known in the Carolinas as the lead singer in a gospel quartet, the Just Came Four.
Caesar graduated from Shaw University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1984. She also spent time studying at the Divinity School of Duke University and has received honorary doctorates from Shaw University and Southeastern University.
Shirley began singing with the group at age ten. When she was twelve, her father died, and she began touring with an evangelist named LeRoy Johnson, who also had a television show in Portsmouth, Virginia. In 1951, at thirteen, she recorded her first song "I'd Rather Have Jesus. " While still in high school, she toured throughout the Carolinas. This was a time when Jim Crow laws were still in effect in North Carolina. Shirley remembers restaurants putting up the CLOSED sign when she would arrive. "I went to school in the days when all the white kids got things better, " she told People, "I remember once when a lady gave cookies to all the kids in the state. The white kids got the fresh ones; we got the stale ones. " Despite these obstacles, her beloved mother Hannah taught her to respect herself and to persevere.
She has said that she got the call to God's work in the middle of a typing test. According to Kim Hubbard of People, she heard someone call out her name. Shirley turned to the young woman next to her and asked if she had spoken. When Shirley went home, she lay on the bed, and heard the same voice: "Behold, I have called you from your mother's womb and I have anointed your lips to preach the gospel. " Shirley believed that this was a message that foretold special work for her in spreading the Gospel. Around the same time, Shirley heard Chicago's female gospel group, the Caravans, and she saw an opportunity to answer the call. She sought an audition with the group, was immediately hired, and left school for a life of singing and ministry. The Caravans had several members who became famous in the history of gospel music: Albertina Walker, Inez Andrews, and Sarah McKissick. Each woman had a different style and Shirley's contribution was an energetic and dramatic approach where she would act out the songs and walk among the congregation, engaging the members directly. On the song "I Won't Be Back, " she would run through the hall searching for an exit, then leave for a brief period. Her forte was the sermon in the middle of songs that addressed the subject of the song and expounded on its theme. She exhorted the listeners to reach out to God and to take the example of Jesus. On the subject of motherhood, she was particularly effective. Her song "Don't Drive Your Mama Away" tells of a son who is shamed for putting his mother in the rest home. Along the way, Shirley found a male counterpart in the singer James Cleveland and they made several records together. They became known as the "King and Queen of Gospel. " Shirley formed her own group in 1966 called the Caesar Singers, but she would reunite with the Caravans and the Reverend Cleveland occasionally throughout the years. In 1971, she won her first Grammy, for the popular song "Put Your Hand in the Hand of the Man from Galilee. " On the night of the awards, she had returned very late from an engagement in Homer, Louisiana. People began banging on her door, and when she eventually answered, her sister Ann, one of her backup singers, shouted "You won!" It was the first Grammy for a black female gospel singer since Mahalia Jackson. Shirley went on to win the award in 1980, 1984, 1985, 1992 and 1994-for an astonishing total of seven Grammys. Among her numerous honors are eight Dove awards, the Gospel Music Association's highest tribute. She was inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame in 1982. She was the first female gospel artist to perform at Harvard University. In recent years, Shirley Caesar moved into other media, making several videos: Live in Memphis, I Remember Mama, and He Will Come. Broadway found that the gospel singer could conquer a big city when Shirley packed them in for the musical Mama I Want to Sing (1994). Her second Broadway musical in 1995 was titled Sing: Mama 2 and her third in 1996 was titled Born to Sing! Mama 3. Perhaps her proudest achievement was the creation of a ministry in Durham to provide emergency funds, food and shelter for the needy, the Shirley Caesar Outreach Ministries. When Shirley ran for public office and was elected to the Durham City Council in 1987, she concentrated her efforts on housing and care for the poor and elderly. Recently, Caesar went into the studio to help recording artist Bishop T. D. Jakes with his upcoming album, "Woman, Thou Art Loosed. " The album, recorded live at Jakes' national conference in New Orleans, was released in the summer of 1997.
( Shirley describes her family, and their early struggles...)
(Track Titles: 1. Rejoice 2. He's Working It Out For You 3...)
Quotes from others about the person
Her biggest fan, the Rev. Harold I. Williams, whom Shirley has called "my pastor, my best friend, my husband, " assessed his wife's character in the 1995 video He Will Come: "After twelve years, I'm going to say the same thing I said after the first year I was married to Shirley: exciting! You never know what is coming next. I mean it is exciting. It is from one thing to another. She's an exciting person. She's a joy to be around. "
Caesar married Bishop Harold I. Williams in 1983.