Helen Baylor
Encyclopedia
Helen Baylor is an American gospel
singer.
Baylor was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
and raised in Los Angeles
, where she first performed as a secular nightclub
act. She opened for Aretha Franklin
, Stevie Wonder
, and B.B. King while still in her teens, and performed in the musical
Hair
. In the 1970s she continued working in musicals and also sang with Captain & Tennille
and Chaka Khan
, but struggled with drug abuse
in the 1980s as her career soured.
Baylor became sober
late in the decade, strengthening her Christian faith
and deciding to launch a career in gospel music. She released her first gospel effort on Word Records
in 1990. Her first five albums all hit the Top Ten of the U.S. Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart, with the most successful being 1994's The Live Experience, which reached #1 on that chart. The track "Oasis" was huge in the UK, via Expansion Records
and stayed on the Music Week
Dance Chart for 14 weeks. Also, the song "Sold Out" (from the album Start All Over) won a Dove Award for Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year at the 24th GMA Dove Awards
in 1993
In July 2011, Baylor announced that she is co-producing a feature film about her life story. The film, A PRAYING GRANDMOTHER:THE HELEN BAYLOR STORY, will feature accounts that she first shared in the song, "Helen's Testimony" (Word, 1995) and in her autobiography, No Greater Love: The Helen Baylor Story. Baylor approached award-winning filmmaker Cassandra Hollis to co-produce and direct the film.
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.
Baylor was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
and raised in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where she first performed as a secular nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
act. She opened for Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, and B.B. King while still in her teens, and performed in the musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
. In the 1970s she continued working in musicals and also sang with Captain & Tennille
Captain & Tennille
Captain & Tennille are American pop music recording artists who achieved chart success from 1975 to 1980. The duo consists of husband and wife duo "Captain" Daryl Dragon , and Cathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille . They are best known for their singles "Love Will Keep Us Together" and "Do That to Me...
and Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, but struggled with drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
in the 1980s as her career soured.
Baylor became sober
Sobriety
Sobriety is the condition of not having any measurable levels, or effects from, alcohol or other drugs that alter ones mood or behaviors. According to WHO "Lexicon of alcohol and drug terms..." sobriety is continued abstinence from alcohol and psychoactive drug use...
late in the decade, strengthening her Christian faith
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and deciding to launch a career in gospel music. She released her first gospel effort on Word Records
Word Records
Word Records is a Christian record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a division of Word Entertainment , which, itself is co-owned by Warner Music Group and Curb Records...
in 1990. Her first five albums all hit the Top Ten of the U.S. Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart, with the most successful being 1994's The Live Experience, which reached #1 on that chart. The track "Oasis" was huge in the UK, via Expansion Records
Expansion Records
Expansion Records is a British record label founded by Northern soul DJ Richard Searling and Soul Bowl owner John Anderson. In 1989 DJ, Author & Journalist Ralph Tee joined the label, which both he and Searling run to this day.-Label history:...
and stayed on the Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
Dance Chart for 14 weeks. Also, the song "Sold Out" (from the album Start All Over) won a Dove Award for Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year at the 24th GMA Dove Awards
24th GMA Dove Awards
The 24th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 1, 1993 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 1992. The show was held in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Barbara Mandrell.-Award recipients:*Artist of the Year**Michael English...
in 1993
In July 2011, Baylor announced that she is co-producing a feature film about her life story. The film, A PRAYING GRANDMOTHER:THE HELEN BAYLOR STORY, will feature accounts that she first shared in the song, "Helen's Testimony" (Word, 1995) and in her autobiography, No Greater Love: The Helen Baylor Story. Baylor approached award-winning filmmaker Cassandra Hollis to co-produce and direct the film.
Discography
- Highly Recommended (Word RecordsWord RecordsWord Records is a Christian record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a division of Word Entertainment , which, itself is co-owned by Warner Music Group and Curb Records...
, 1990) - Look a Little Closer (Word, 1991)
- Start All Over (Word, 1993)
- The Live Experience (Word, 1995)
- Love Brought Me Back (Sony Records, 1996)
- Helen Baylor...Live (Verity RecordsVerity RecordsVerity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label founded in 1994. The label is a now major component and namesake of Verity Gospel Music Group , the Gospel group operated by Jive Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment.-Artists :* 21:03* Crystal Aikin*...
, 1999) - My Everything (Diadem Records, 2002)
- Full Circle (MCGMcGJoseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
, 2006)