James Cleveland

Nicknamed the ‘King of Gospel,’ James Cleveland – born in Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1931 – pioneered modern gospel music by combining traditional black gospel with soul, pop, and jazz in his musical and vocal arrangements for mass choirs. His musical journey began as a child when he was a member of the Pilgrim Baptist Church choir in Chicago, which led to him joining a local gospel group, The Gospelaires, when he was in his teens. A pianist as well, James Cleveland was then hired by vocalist Roberta Martin as a composer and arranger. He also began working with Albertina ‘Queen of Gospel’ Walker as a member of her group The Caravans. This association led to his first studio sessions – along with The Caravans – in November 1954. James Cleveland then recorded several albums with The Voices of Tabernacle including Today (1959), The Love of God (1959), Give Glory to God (1960), Yes, God Is Real (1960) and He's so Divine (1961). He signed with Savoy Records in 1961 and released Out on a Hill, a collaboration with The Gospel All-Stars, that same year. Becoming an ordained minister in the early 1960s, he continued to record with several different choirs including The Angelic Gospel Choir, The Gospel Chimes, and The Angelic Choir, with whom he released Peace Be Still (1963), one of his best-selling releases. He formed The Cleveland Singers after moving to Los Angeles, California in 1964 and released albums such as The Sun Will Shine After Awhile and Heaven, That Will Be Good Enough For Me. In 1972, James Cleveland collaborated with Aretha Franklin on her multi-million selling gospel album Amazing Grace, which is now referred to as the greatest gospel album of all time. He won his first Grammy Award in 1974 when his In The Ghetto album was chosen as Best Soul Gospel Performance. He would go on to win three more Grammy awards: Best Soul Gospel Performance for Live at Carnegie Hall (1977) and Lord, Let Me Be an Instrument (1980) plus a Best Gospel Album by a Choir or Chorus award for Having Church (1990). James Cleveland reunited with his old friend Albertina Walker for two albums in the 1970s: Reunion (1977) and Please Be Patient (1979), which became his first gold-certified album. A prolific artist until his death, James Cleveland recorded a series of albums that remain gospel favorites to this day including 1980’s James Cleveland Sings With the World’s Greatest Choirs, which features one of his most beloved songs, “The Lord is My Light.” Reverend James Cleveland died of a heart attack on February 9, 1991, in Culver City, California. He was 59 years old.