Donald Lawrence is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 gospel music

Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 and artist.

Early years

Donald Lawrence was born on May 4, 1961. He studied at Cincinnati Conservatory, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in music. While in Cincinnati, he was also the Minister of Music at the Southern Baptist Church on Reading Road. To his credit, Donald's musicality has seen many incarnations, as vocal coach to the R&B group En Vogue

En Vogue

En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...

, musical director for Stephanie Mills

Stephanie Mills

Stephanie Dorthea Mills is an American R&B and soul singer, and a former Broadway star.-Career:Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of nine. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater a record six times...

, songwriter for The Clark Sisters

The Clark Sisters

The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of four sisters:Jacky Clark Chisholm, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole, and Karen Clark Sheard. A fifth sister, Denise Clark Bradford, no longer performs with the group. The Clark Sisters are the daughters of legendary...

, and producer for a host of artists including Peabo Bryson

Peabo Bryson

Peabo Bryson is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, born in Greenville, South Carolina...

 and Kirk Franklin

Kirk Franklin

Kirk Dwayne Franklin is an American Gospel music musician, choir director, and author, and is most notably known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew .- Early years :...

. Donald Lawrence has been an inspiration to many.

Musical career

Lawrence took on The Tri-City Singers after a friend vacated his position as musical director. (NOTE: The three cities that The Tri-City Singers come from are Spartanburg, SC, Gastonia, NC

Gastonia, North Carolina

Gastonia is the largest city and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is also the third largest suburb of the Charlotte Area, behind Concord and Rock Hill. The population was 71,226 as of Gastonia is the largest city and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina,...

, and Charlotte, NC

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

.) The group debuted in 1993 with A Songwriter's Point Of View on a then-brand-new independent record label called GospoCentric Records

GospoCentric 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. The label rose to prominence in the 90's largely on the runaway success of gospel artist Kirk Franklin. The label has grown to...

. The set debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top Gospel Charts. The group's follow-up release Bible Stories would top those same charts when it arrived in 1995. 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

Sparrow Records

-Background:Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then A&R director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by EMI in 1992, it is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group, and has been named by Billboard Magazine as "America's Best Christian Music Record Label"...

.

In 1997, Donald Lawrence produced the live portion of Karen Clark Sheard

Karen Clark Sheard

Karen Clark-Sheard is an American gospel four-time Grammy Award winning singer, musician, and songwriter. The youngest daughter of pioneering gospel choral director Mattie Moss Clark, Sheard began her career as a member of the Grammy-Award winning, gospel legendary female group, The Clark Sisters...

'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

Island Records

Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...

. Though a live recording did take place for release, the album never materialized.

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

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

 remix

Remix

A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

es by Junior Vasquez

Junior Vasquez

Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...

 sent the song to #33 on Billboard's Mainstream Dance Charts. When tri-city4.com was finally released in late summer 2000, the set peaked at #2 on Billboard's Top Gospel Charts and #13 on Billboard's Heatseekers Charts. The album also got a profile boost from the all-star standout "God's Favor", featuring vocal turns from Karen Clark Sheard, Kim Burrell

Kim Burrell

Kimberly Burrell is an American gospel singer from Houston, Texas. She calls her musical style jazz gospel. Though she is comparatively new to the gospel music industry, having only performed since 1989, she has quickly become one of the most influential voices in the genre, often named as "this...

, and Kelly Price

Kelly Price

Kelly Price is an American R&B and soul singer, formerly on the Def Soul label.-Life and music career:Kelly Cherelle Price was born in Queens, New York. She was first discovered by Mariah Carey in February 1992 and subsequently introduced to Sony Columbia's then CEO Tommy Mottola...

.

Lawrence waited almost two years before delivering the follow-up Go Get Your Life Back in early 2002. "The Best is Yet to Come", 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

Ann Nesby

Ann Nesby is an American R&B, gospel, and dance music singer and actress. She is the former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness; a songwriter with credits including hits sung by Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight; plus she co-starred in the 2003 romance musical The Fighting Temptations with Cuba...

 (formerly of Sounds of Blackness

Sounds of Blackness

Sounds of Blackness is a Grammy Award-winning vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the Billboard R&B chart and Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play...

) and gospel pioneer Bishop Walter Hawkins. The momentum continued with the 2003 release of Restoring The Years, a greatest hits album featuring two new songs.

The next album would mark a fresh start for Donald Lawrence. I Speak Life was his first 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

Donnie McClurkin

Donald Andrew McClurkin, Jr. is an American gospel music singer and minister. He has won three Grammy awards, ten Stellar awards, two BET awards, two Soul Train awards, one Dove award and one NAACP Image award for his work....

, Hezekiah Walker

Hezekiah Walker

Bishop Hezekiah Xzavier Walker, Jr. is a Grammy Award-winning gospel music artist, founder and leader of the Love Fellowship Choir , and Pastor and Bishop of the Love Fellowship Tabernacle, with locations in Brooklyn, New York, and Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

, Faith Evans

Faith Evans

Faith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B...

, Richard Smallwood

Richard Smallwood

Richard Smallwood is an American Gospel music artist who formed The Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977 in Washington, DC.-Biography:...

, and Carl Thomas all contributed to the album. Even jazz notables Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...

 and Lalah Hathaway

Lalah Hathaway

Eulaulah Donyll Hathaway best known as Lalah Hathaway referred to as the First Daughter of Soul, is a contemporary R&B and jazz singer. She is the daughter of soul singer Donny Hathaway and a classically trained vocalist. In 1990, Lalah Hathaway released a self-titled album. The album's first...

 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.

In March 2006, The Tri-City Singers announced that they would retire, but not before one last live recording. 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 Bishop Walter Hawkins, Karen Clark Sheard, Vanessa Bell Armstrong

Vanessa Bell Armstrong

Vanessa Bell Armstrong is a gospel singer who released her debut album Peace Be Still in 1983.-Musical career :...

, Daryl Coley

Daryl Coley

-Early life:Daryl Coley was born in Berkeley, California in 1955, spending his formative years in Oakland, California. His parents separated when he was five years old, with he and his two siblings being raised by his mother in a solid Christian home. Musically, Coley was first influenced by his...

, LaShun Pace

LaShun Pace

Tarrian LaShun Pace is an American gospel singer, Stellar Award winner, and evangelist....

, Darwin Hobbs

Darwin Hobbs

Darwin Hobbs is an American gospel music singer noted for his vocal similarity to classic soul singer Luther Vandross. In addition to his career as a gospel artist, Hobbs and his ensemble The Darwin Hobbs Choir have also performed both studio and live background vocals for artists such as...

, and many other gospel luminaries. The album's lead single "The Blessing Of Abraham" was nominated for a Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 for Best Gospel Performance in December 2006. His sophomore solo album, The Law of Confession Part I was released in February 2009. Donald said in an interview that The Law of Confession, Part II will be released soon, but he's focusing on other projects.

Albums

• 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, 2000) (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)
• The Law of Confession, Part I(Donald Lawrence & Co.) (Zomba/Verity Records, 2009) (US #72, US Gospel #2)
• YRM (Your Righteous Mind)(Donald Lawrence & Co.) (Zomba/Verity Records, 2011) (US #41, US Gospel #1)

Singles

• "Don't Give Up
  Don't Give Up (Kirk Franklin song)
  Don't Give Up is a 1996 song by the Island Inspirational All-Stars from the Don't Be A Menace soundtrack. The project of these artists was a part of Island Records' exploration into the gospel music scene. The song peeked in the top 30 of the U.S. R&B chart...
  
  " with Kirk Franklin
  Kirk Franklin
  Kirk Dwayne Franklin is an American Gospel music musician, choir director, and author, and is most notably known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew .- Early years :...
  
  , Hezekiah Walker
  Hezekiah Walker
  Bishop Hezekiah Xzavier Walker, Jr. is a Grammy Award-winning gospel music artist, founder and leader of the Love Fellowship Choir , and Pastor and Bishop of the Love Fellowship Tabernacle, with locations in Brooklyn, New York, and Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
  
  , and Karen Clark Sheard
  Karen Clark Sheard
  Karen Clark-Sheard is an American gospel four-time Grammy Award winning singer, musician, and songwriter. The youngest daughter of pioneering gospel choral director Mattie Moss Clark, Sheard began her career as a member of the Grammy-Award winning, gospel legendary female group, The Clark Sisters...
  
  (Island, 1996)
• "Testify (Remixes)" (The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2001)
• "Never Seen The Righteous" (The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2002)
• "The Best Is Yet To Come" (The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2002)
• "The Blessing Of Abraham" (The Tri-City Singers) (EMI Gospel, 2006) (Billboard #97 R&B)
• "Back II Eden" (Donald Lawrence & Co.) (Zomba/Verity Records, 2009)
• "YRM (Your Righteous Mind" (Donald Lawrence & Co.) (Zomba/Verity Records, 2010)
• "Spiritual" (Donald Lawrence & Co.) (Zomba/Verity Records, 2011)

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

Stellar Awards 2008:

• Producer of the Year for The Clark Sister - LIVE! One Last Time

External links

• Tri-City Singers Official Website
• EMI Gospel Official Website
• Verity Records Official Website