Rev. James Cleveland1932-1991
Singer - Pianist - Arranger - Choir Director Composer
Known by such titles as "King James" and the "Crown Prince", he emerged as a giant of the post war Gospel music scene. With a vocal style similar to jazz great Louis Armstrong, He is credited for the architectural design of contemporary Gospel music with top Gospel choirs and for bridging the gap between traditional Gospel, Gospel Quartets and today’s Gospel music.
Born on December 5, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois he attended Roosevelt University. Rev. Cleveland first sang Gospel under the direction of Thomas Dorsey, father of Gospel music at the Pilgrim Baptist Church.
Inspired by the keyboard talents of Gospel singer Roberta Martin, he later began to study piano. In 1951, he joined the Gospelaires, a trio that cut several sides for the Apollo label. At the beginning of his career, he sang with such groups as the Caravans and the Gospelaires, among others. About 1959, he formed his first group, the Gospel Chimes. With the Caravans, Cleveland arranged and performed two hits, "The Solid Rock" and an up tempo reworking of the song "Old Time Religion"
By the mid-1950’s, his original compositions had found their way into the repertoires of numerous Gospel groups, and he was performing with such artists as the Thorn Gospel Singers, Mahalia Jackson, the Gospel All Stars, and the Meditation Singers. In 1960 he formed the Cleveland Singers, featuring organist and accompanist Billy Preston, who would later become and R&B legend. The smash hit "The Love of God", with the Voices of Tabernacle of Detroit, won Cleveland nationwide fame within the Gospel community. Signing with the Savoy label, Cleveland and keyboardist Billy Preston released a long list of classic albums, including Christ Is The Answer and Peace Be Still with the Angelic Choir of Nutley, New Jersey. Many feel that with the 1962 Peace Be Still album, Cleveland started the "traditional Black choir sound."
During the sixties, Cleveland became a minister, later founding the Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church in Los Angeles. He was the most prolific and one of the most gifted composers of his generation, and that earned him the title "Crown Prince of Gospel." His style was influential among many Gospel figures, particularly Aretha Franklin and Jessy Dixon.
In 1968 James Cleveland had a dream. He gathered a small circle of gifted
writers, singers and instrumentalists in Philadelphia in hopes of nurturing young talent and furthering the development of the music he loved and devoted his life to.Thirty one years later, that dream has flourished into a nationwide reality and has become one of the cornerstones of Gospel music, the Gospel Music Workshop of America. Today GMWA has nearly 30,000 members in 150 chapters across America and abroad. Each year they meet at their annual convention in August and sing, learn and fellowship together.
The GMWA has been the training ground for a number of Gospel’s greatest talent’s and visionaries, including contemporary superstars Kirk Franklin and John P. Kee, and many others. It’s an organization whose sole purpose has always been to give Gospel musicians opportunities and settings where they can both teach and learn from each other, and to know that the fruits of their labor could one day reach literally around the world.
In 1972, he was reunited with former piano understudy Aretha Franklin, who featured Cleveland as a guest on the album Amazing Grace, the biggest selling Gospel album of all time. A recipient of the NAACP Image Award, Cleveland also acquired an honorary degree form Temple Baptist College.
Although the commercial trends of the 1980’s had caused a down turn in Cleveland’s career, he continued to perform the gutsy blues-based sound that brought him recognition from listeners throughout the world.
Rev. Cleveland died February 9, 1991 in Los Angeles, California.