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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Donald Lawrence| image =| caption =| image_size = | background = solo_singer| birth_name =| alias =| birth_date = birth date and age|1961|05|04| death_date =| origin =| instrument =| genre = Gospel music | occupation = Singer , songwriter , record producer , choir director| years_active = 1992-present| label = GospoCentric Records|GospoCentric , Reprise Records|Reprise , Crystal Rose, Star Song, Island Records|Island , EMI Gospel , Quiet Water Entertainment, Verity Records|Verity | associated_acts = The Tri-City Singers| website = http://www.tricitysingers.com TriCitySingers.com| current_members =| past_members =| notable_instruments = Donald Lawrence (born May 4, 1961) is an United States|American gospel music songwriter , record producer 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 , musical director for Stephanie Mills , songwriter for The Clark Sisters , and producer for a host of artists including Peabo Bryson and Kirk Franklin . 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.cite web|title=Donald Lawrence & The Tri City Singers|url= http://www.gospelcity.com/dynamic/artist-articles/artists/91|publisher=GospelCity.com|date=2000-03-22 ( NOTE: The three cities that The Tri-City Singers come from are Spartanburg|Spartanburg, SC , Gastonia, North Carolina|Gastonia, NC , and Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte, NC .cite web|url= http://www.gospelflava.com/reviews/donaldlawrencerestoring.html|title=Restoring The Years|author=North, Stan|publisher=GospelFlava.com) 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. The group's follow-up release Bible Stories would top those same charts when it arrived in 1995.Allmusic|class=artist|id=p155985|label=Donald Lawrence: Billboard Albums Chart History 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 .
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 Records|Island Inspirational . 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 music|House remix es by Junior Vasquez sent the song to #33 on Billboard's Mainstream Dance Charts.Allmusic|class=artist|id=p155985|label=Donald Lawrence: Billboard Singles Chart History 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.cite web|url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p407014|pure_url=yes|title=Tri City Singers Charts & Awards|publisher=Allmusic 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 .
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 (formerly of Sounds of Blackness ) 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 , Hezekiah Walker , Faith Evans , Richard Smallwood , and Carl Thomas (singer)|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.cite web|url= http://www.gospelflava.com/stellar/stellarresults-2006.html|title=The Official 21st Annual Stellar Award WINNERS (2006)|publisher=GospelFlava.com
In March 2006, The Tri-City Singers announced that they would retire, but not before one last live recording.cite web|url= http://www.gospelcity.com/dynamic/music-articles/new_music/269|title=Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers Bid Farewell With the Release Of "Finale"|date=2006-03-14|publisher=GospelCity.com 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 , 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.cite web|url= http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/49th_Show/list.aspx#11|title=49th Annual Grammy Award Nominees List: Gospel Categories|publisher=Grammy.org 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.cite web|url= http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/gospelrama/2009/02/gospel_5.html|title=Donald Lawrence says there's power in confession
Discography
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)
Persondata | NAME =Lawrence, Donald | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = May 4, 1958 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Donald Category:Living people Category:African American musicians Category:American gospel singers Category:Urban contemporary gospel musicians Category:1958 births
