Smokie Norful
Encyclopedia
Rev. W.R. "Smokie" Norful, Jr. is an American gospel
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 pianist, best known for his 2002 album, I Need You Now
I Need You Now
"I Need You Now" can refer to:*I Need You Now, a 2002 gospel album by Smokie Norful.*"I Need You Now" , a song by Al Jacobs and Jimmie Crane.*"I Need You Now" , a 2009 song by the Swedish singer Agnes Carlsson....

and his 2004 release, Nothing Without You, which won a Grammy at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 2004.

Early life

Norful, a minister who is also the son of an African Methodist Episcopal Church
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the A.M.E. Church, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination based in the United States. It was founded by the Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816 from several black Methodist congregations in the...

 minister, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

 but grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...

, deeply involved in his father's church. He was interested in music from a very young age, reportedly picking out one-finger piano melodies from the age of four. His parents supported him with music lessons, and, unusual for his background, allowed him to experiment with and listen to the current R&B and soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 of the day as well as gospel music
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....

. Norful attended Pine Bluff High School, where he occasionally performed in school assemblies and programs. Norful graduated from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1873, it is the oldest HBCU and the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas . UAPB is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...

 as a History major and spent four years teaching high school. In 1998 he felt a calling to the ministry of the gospel, and pursued a Master of Divinity degree at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary is a graduate school of theology of the United Methodist Church located in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1853, Garrett-Evangelical is on the campus of Northwestern University and continues many associations with the university...

 in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...

. While working toward ordination in the A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) church, he took a position as assistant pastor at a church in Chicago. He currently pastors Victory Cathedral Worship Center in Romeoville, IL, which he founded on September 20, 2005.

Recording career

He participated in an album release by the Thompson Community Choir, a well-known gospel group, and contributed a song as well as solo vocals. He was then offered the opportunity to make a solo album for EMI Gospel, I Need You Now. The album was a slow starter but eventually went gold, spending two years in the upper reaches of the Billboard Gospel Charts.

He was nominated for and won a Grammy in 2005 for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. He is also signed to EMI-CMG Publishing and his own Norful Music Publishing as a songwriter. He performed on June 6, 2005, for President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 in a concert honoring Black Music Month.

Norful's music is best described as a fusion of gospel, 70's soul, and contemporary R&B; the influences of 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...

, Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...

 and other male soul/R&B vocalists of the 70's and 80's are clear.

On October 3, 2006, Norful released his 3rd album, Life Changing.

He is a featured guest artist along with Fred Hammond
Fred Hammond
Fred Hammond is a gospel music singer, bass guitar player, and record producer.-Musical career:Hammond has been active both as a member of the gospel performing group Commissioned, and as a solo artist...

 and J Moss
J Moss
J. Moss , Detroit, Michigan is an American singer-songwriter, composer, arranger, and producer.-Early years:...

 on the ballad 'Cover Me' by the Gospel R&B trio 21:03. The song appears on Total Attention, the second album of 21:03, which was released July 22, 2008.

Smokie released his first live album on April 7, 2009. It is entitled Smokie Norful Live
Smokie Norful Live
Smokie Norful Live is a live album from Contemporary Gospel singer Smokie Norful. The album was released on April 7, 2009 through EMI Gospel.-Track listing:# "He's Gonna Come Through" Smokie Norful Live is a live album from Contemporary Gospel singer Smokie Norful. The album was released on April...

and features the singles "Justified," "Jesus is Love" featuring Heather Headley
Heather Headley
Heather Headley is a Trinidadian-American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She has won one Tony Award and one Grammy Award.-Personal life:...

, and "God's Gonna Come Through" featuring Tye Tribbett. The Smokie Norful Live DVD was released in September of the same year on his newly formed label Tre'Myles Music. This is a collaborative effort between Tre'Myles Music and EMI Gospel.

Personal life

Norful describes his first single, "I Need You Now"...

"I wrote that at a time when my wife [who was told she may have cancer and wouldn't be able to conceive], my father [who had just had emergency heart-surgery] and my grandmother were all dealing with some serious medical issues, and I was seriously reaching out to God for comfort and guidance and healing. I was crying out to God and realizing my total dependence on Him, and ultimate victory through Him."


Norful and his wife, Carla, are the parents to two boys, Tre' and Ashton, and a daughter named Ashley.

Albums

  • I Need You Now
    I Need You Now (album)
    I Need You Now is the debut studio album from Contemporary Gospel singer Smokie Norful. The album was released on May 21, 2002 through EMI Gospel and Chordant Records...

    (Chordant Music Group, 2002)
  • I Need You Now Limited Edition (EMI, 2003)
  • Nothing Without You
    Nothing Without You (Smokie Norful album)
    Nothing Without You is a studio album from Contemporary Gospel singer Smokie Norful. The album was released on October 5, 2004 through EMI Gospel...

    (EMI Gospel, 2004)
  • Nothing Without You Special Edition CD+DVD (EMI, 2005)
  • Life Changing
    Life Changing
    Life Changing is a studio album from Contemporary Gospel singer Smokie Norful. The album was released on October 3, 2006 through EMI Gospel.-Track listing:# "Celebrate" - 4:04# "Um Good" - 4:46# "Great & Mighty" - 4:15...

    (EMI Gospel, 2006)
  • Smokie Norful Live
    Smokie Norful Live
    Smokie Norful Live is a live album from Contemporary Gospel singer Smokie Norful. The album was released on April 7, 2009 through EMI Gospel.-Track listing:# "He's Gonna Come Through" Smokie Norful Live is a live album from Contemporary Gospel singer Smokie Norful. The album was released on April...

    (EMI, 2009)
  • How I Got Over...Songs That Carried Us (EMI, 2011)

External links

  • http://www.smokienorful.com/
  • http://www.blackgospel.com/psalmists/smokienorful/interview/2006/
  • http://www.getthevictory.org
  • http://www.smokienorfulministries.org
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