Shirley Caesar

                                    Shirley Caesar

"I'm in the fourth quarter of my life, and I’m doing everything I can to be the best humanitarian and best person that I can be."

Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams born October 13, 1938 in Durham, North Carolina.

Shirley Caesar is often referred to as the First Lady of Gospel. She recorded in the 1960s with the esteemed gospel group the Caravans, and launched a solo career in 1966 with the album My Testimony. Caesar has created an iconic body of work through the decades that includes such powerfully affecting recordings as "Faded Rose," "I Remember Mama" and "Rejoice."

Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned over six decades. A multi-award winning artist, with eleven Grammy Awards and seven Dove Awards to her credit, she was known as "First Lady of Gospel Music" and now the "Queen of Gospel Music" now since the death of the late Queen Albertina Walker.

Beginning recording at the age of 12 in 1951, Shirley Caesar has released over forty albums. She has participated in over 16 compilations and three gospel musicals, Mama I Want to Sing, Sing: Mama 2 and Born to sing: Mama 3. She is also the creator of the #unameit challenge, which occurred during one of her sermon. She opened her eponymous store and plans on using the profits to help others during the holiday season.

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. Caesar pastors the 1,500-member Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church in Raleigh, North Carolina

     
Shirley Caesar For The Love Of God playlist


She has won or received 11 Grammy Awards, 14 Stellar Awards, 18 Doves, 1 RIAA gold certification, an Essence Award, McDonald's Golden Circle Lifetime Achievement Award, NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, SESAC Lifetime Achievement Award, Rhapsody & Rhythm Award from the National Museum of African American Music, as well as induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. According to Soundscan, she has sold 2.2 million albums since 1991.  She has made several notable appearances, including the televised Live from Disney World Night of Joy, the Gospel According to VH1, a White House performance for George Bush, and a speech on the Evolution of Gospel Music to the US Treasury Department. In 2017, Caeser was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Recording Academy.

Between 1981 and 1995, she received seven Dove Awards for Black Gospel Album of the Year for Live at the G.M.W.A., Celebration, Christmasing, Sailin‘, Live ... In Chicago, Go and Rejoice. She received two Black Gospel Song of the Year Awards for "He's Working It Out for You" and "Hold My Mule". She has performed with such performers as Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, Dorothy Norwood, Faith Evans, Dottie Peoples, Arnold Houston, Kim Burrell, John P. Kee, Kirk Franklin and Tonex, Tye Tribbett among others. Shirley Caesar is also an actress. She acted in movies, such as Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998) with Larenz Tate and Little Richard, Fighting Temptations (2003) with Beyoncé and Cuba Gooding Jr. and The Unseen (2005) with Steve Harris. She also acted in 1 TV episode of "Good News" in 1998 as Aunt Shirley.

Caesar is a recipient of a 1999 National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

Caesar married Bishop Harold I. Williams in 1983. The two were co-pastors of the 1,500-member Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, until his death on July 4, 2014. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She cites her mother as a strong influence in her decision to give so selflessly of herself. Caeser has committed a sizable portion of all concert sales to her outreach ministries. She continues to deliver weekly sermons and also leads an annual outreach ministries conference. She notes, "I cannot sweeten the Atlantic Ocean, but I can take a pitcher out of the ocean and sweeten that."

Information sources:
https://getuperica.com/11964/pastor-shirley-cesaer-satan-tear-your-kingdom-down/
https://www.spin.com/2016/12/shirley-caesar-suing-unameitchallenge/
http://www.joemygod.com/2017/01/05/gospel-legend-shirley-caesar-defends-kim-burrell-blames-obama-making-homosexuality-alright-video/
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/shirley-caesar-mn0000032071
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Caesar
https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/shirley-caesar