By Mark Chappelle Coston
*Grammy Award winner Karen Clark Sheard is about family. Family has been key to her success as one of music’s most dynamic vocalists.
Whether it’s an inspirational R&B track or a down-home gospel groove, Sheard’s multi-octave vocal range and dizzying vocal gymnastics with and without the legendary Clark Sisters have inspired today’s brightest pop divas such as Beyonce and Mariah Carey, among others.
It started as a child when Sheard was trained to sing by her mother (gospel music pioneer Dr. Mattie Moss-Clark) and has come full circle with her 20 year old son (J. Drew Sheard II) producing tracks on her first CD in four years, All in One (Karew Records/EMI Gospel), a slick set of urban-flavored gospel that will hit retail and digital stores on April 6, 2010.
Sheard’s Go-Go flavored, up-tempo radio single “Prayed Up” (available digitally on March 16th) is making a fast impact at radio. The song is currently #26 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart and rapidly building momentum. The song’s success is a dream come true for Sheard who has aspired to own a record label for years. Sheard and her husband, Bishop J. Drew Sheard (Pastor of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church Of God In Christ in Detroit, MI, found Karew Records.
