Calvin Newton
Encyclopedia
Calvin Newton, born in 1929, is a Gospel music
singer and pioneering Contemporary Christian music
personality from West Frankfort, Illinois.
because he was tired of being bullied. Newton won a Kentucky Golden Gloves
championship, retiring one opponent in just 23 seconds.
. From 1953 until 1956 Newton sang lead for the Oak Ridge Boys, and later he was a co-founder of the Sons of Song, one of the first pioneering acts in what would become the CCM industry.
(Please note that the correct name between 1953 and 1956 was the Oak Ridge Quartet.)
, who he described as the one who "stood by him when most gospel singers abandoned him," Newton would end his estrangement from the gospel community, eventually reconciling with dozens of former colleagues and appearing in a Bill Gaither-produced gospel performance video titled All Day Singing and Dinner on the Grounds and touring with Gaither's traveling gospel music show.
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
singer and pioneering Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
personality from West Frankfort, Illinois.
Youth
Newton was a boy soprano who took up amateur boxingBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
because he was tired of being bullied. Newton won a Kentucky Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
championship, retiring one opponent in just 23 seconds.
Music career
In his late teens Newton was recruited to join the Blackwood Brothers, then a prominent gospel quartetQuartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
. From 1953 until 1956 Newton sang lead for the Oak Ridge Boys, and later he was a co-founder of the Sons of Song, one of the first pioneering acts in what would become the CCM industry.
(Please note that the correct name between 1953 and 1956 was the Oak Ridge Quartet.)
Criminal career
According to biographer Russ Cheatham, Newton was "super-handsome, athletic, and charged with sexual charisma...Audacious, Newton never turned down a dare...[hedonistic] -- reckless driving, heavy romancing, and addictive pill popping." Later Newton would spend decades involved in crime: serving time in state and federal prisons for a variety of crimes including theft, counterfeiting, and drug offenses.Redemption
In his seventh decade, under the discipleship of gospel legend Jake HessJake Hess
Jake Hess was an American Grammy Award-winning southern gospel singer.-Life:Hess was born Manchild Hess December 24, 1927, in Limestone County, Alabama...
, who he described as the one who "stood by him when most gospel singers abandoned him," Newton would end his estrangement from the gospel community, eventually reconciling with dozens of former colleagues and appearing in a Bill Gaither-produced gospel performance video titled All Day Singing and Dinner on the Grounds and touring with Gaither's traveling gospel music show.