Grammy-winning recording artist, producer and composer Donald Lawrence is one of the most influential figures in modern gospel music. After a stint as music director for soul legend Stephanie Mills, Lawrence made his mark in the gospel world by reshaping the regional Tri-City Singers in the 1990s and transforming them into an internationally acclaimed choir.
The Charlotte, NC native was raised by a church-going aunt in near-by Gastonia, where he sang in the Mills Chapel Fire Baptized Holiness Church’s choir. He taught himself to play piano and organ and began to write songs at the age of sixteen.
Lawrence put himself through the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and was staging plays such as “Sing Hallelujah” (which opened at New York’s storied Village Gate) when R&B star Stephanie Mills tapped him as her music director around 1989. Aside from his duties with Mills, he was also a member of an inspirational R&B group, The Company. Their single “Angel” was an R&B hit in 1993, the same year that Lawrence produced the first Tri-City Singers album, From A Songwriter’s Point of View.
Over the next fifteen years, Lawrence guided the Tri-City Singers into superstar status in the gospel world with hits such as “The Best is Yet to Come,” “Encourage Yourself” and “The Blessing of Abraham,” which was number 1 on the Radio & Records Chart for a then record breaking eighteen weeks in 2005. After a very successful Finale CD/DVD release and farewell concert tour with the Tri-City Singers, Lawrence retired from the group in 2007 to focus on personal and solo pursuits.
As a producer, Lawrence has collaborated with artists as diverse as Mary J. Blige and jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, Hezekiah Walker and the legendary Clark Sisters. Lawrence produced himself again (along with Daniel Weatherspoon) on his sophomore solo CD The Law of Confession Part 1, which yielded such hits as “There Is A King In You,” “Let the Word Do the Work” and the popular choir tune “Back II Eden.”
“I think my music is therapeutic,” Lawrence once said. “It’s aimed at helping people feel better; to help them get through life, to help them understand that what hurts them is not meant to kill them. As I’ve grown up, I try to write music that helps people understand who they are, how they are and who they are called to be. I’ve received e-mails from people saying `I’m changing everything. I’m going back to what I dreamed of doing.’ It’s really just having a revelation of what scripture means today and being able to apply it to the 21st century.
In addition to his artistry, Donald Lawrence has served as host of Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound™ since 2008. His newest solo album, titled YRM (Your Righteous Mind), is due in stores on March 15, 2011.
