If you have missed coming out to see Witness,Yolanda Adams or David Ivey. I suggest you not miss Ce Ce Winans.
Thursday, October 6, 2005 - 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Justin's Music 14621 Fenkell * Detroit, MI * Entertainment * Food * Fellowship
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CECE WINANS: OVER 20 YEARS IN THE BUSINESS
AND STILL GOING STRONG
(By Gary Jackson)As fans of music know, respect in any genre of music is hard-earned. In gospel, it is demanded. For nearly 20 years, CeCe Winans has earned the respect and admiration of gospel aficionados, her peers and across the board by weaving an uncanny blend of music and message that effectively removes the delicate stigma of being “preached at.” Through her immense musical contributions, CeCe Winans commands respect, which she has received in abundance to the tune of 20 Dove Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 5 Stellar Awards, and 3 Soul Train, NAACP Image and Billboard Music Awards, Gold and Platinum sales certifications, and innumerable social and civic nominations and recognition.
CeCe Winans is the queen of gospel’s royalty, the Winans family—very liberally numbered at well past 20 currently active members—which has dominated gospel and urban music for decades. CeCe and her brother BeBe gained fame in the 1980s and 1990s with a series of well-crafted albums that successfully straddled a fine line between secular and gospel music. Songs such as “Lost Without You,” “It’s OK,” “Heaven,” “Count On Me” and “I’ll Take You There” brought the duo fame in both arenas, and laid the groundwork for CeCe’s solo career. Alone in His Presence (1995), Everlasting Love and His Gift (both released in 1998), Alabaster Love (1999), Cece Winans (2001) and Throne Room (2003) unfailingly attracting and mesmerizing listeners throughout the world with breathtaking vocal style and insightful lyricism.
Indeed, listening to CeCe Winans’ music and thoughtful lyrics is rather like having a warm and intimate conversation with a kindred spirit. The tête-à-tête continues with Purified, available at retail stores nationwide on September 13. Purified remains true to CeCe Winans’ deep gospel roots, yet transcends her previous six releases by keeping an ear to contemporary musical trends. CeCe talks about the title of her sixth album and what Purified means to her: “When you hear the whole CD, you hear a lot of love. We’re living in a time where we’re labeling everything ‘love,’ and it’s not! Love is pure, and that is my goal: to be purified in the Father’s eye, and to do everything with a sense of purity; care about people, love one another without any hidden agendas. We, as a community, as a country, as a people, tend to forget what pure love is; what pure motives are, what pure peace is. It’s just really my prayer that we desire what is pure, and I really think it should be everybody’s prayer.”
However, the road to the completion of Purified was not as smooth as the sounds that emanate from CeCe Winans’ melodious voice. “It took a long time! But there were several reasons,” Winans explains. “When you work with different producers, there are different time frames to consider; their availability—my availability. I was touring, so we had a couple of setbacks. It probably took about a year and a half from the concept of starting to its finish.” The project began around Christmas of 2003 and wrapped just before the summer of 2005, but Winans says it was worth the wait, saying assertively, “I’m really pleased with the outcome.”
One very palpable reason for Winans’ enthusiasm was reuniting with an old friend, producer Keith Thomas, who worked with her and brother BeBe on several of their early classic hits, including “Addictive Love,” “Lost Without You,” “For Always,” “It’s O.K,” “Meantime” and “Heaven.” “I’ve always desired to work with Keith Thomas again, but a lot of times, timing and different things caused several projects to not work out. This time, we were able to sit down and make it happen.” Thomas says of his reunion, “Cece and I hadn’t worked together in almost a decade, and when she got ready to do Purified, she gave me a call and we hooked up. CeCe is like family; I’ve known her forever, and have a great relationship. What’s not to like about her? She’s so adorable!” CeCe says that working with Thomas came easy and was a comfortable fit, even after ten years apart: “It was awesome because Keith is one of the best. He knows me very well; he knows what sounds right and what doesn’t sound right. I totally trust him when it comes to music production and producing my vocals. He’s a genius with melodies and harmony lines. It was great being back in the studio with him.”
Reuniting with Keith Thomas supplied lots of fun during the recording process, but CeCe also drew nephew Mario Winans into the studio. The author of one of 2004’s biggest hit, “I Don’t Wanna Know,” Mario wrote and produced “Pray,” the first single release from Purified. The song is a catchy, hook-laden piece that fits comfortably with CeCe’s vision to reach out to young gospel lovers. CeCe recalls one distinct memory working with Mario: “I never had a producer call me ‘Auntie’ before! Skeeter—I always call him Skeeter—had been trying to work with me for a long time. But, again, timing has everything to do with everything. Going into the studio, my record label (Pure Springs/Sony) asked if I would work with him. I said, ‘Well, sure, I’d love to! I don’t know what he’s up to right now, as far as his time frame was concerned, but we were able to get one song in, which was ‘Pray.’ What can I say? He was very professional, had all his stuff laid out.”
With today’s youth searching for more spiritual direction, CeCe Winans’ music aims to touch with a feather, rather than hit young fans over the head with hammer-like lyrics. CeCe reasons that “BeBe and I were teens ourselves when we started out, so automatically it grabbed the attention of young people. The older we get, we still love all different styles of music. I always try to inspire youths to do the right thing. Some of the music out today is pretty scary, and I hope that not just this CD but other inspirational or positive music that’s out there will encourage young people to hold on and let them know that there’s hope.” CeCe cites one song in particular, “Let Everything,” a pulsating pew-shaker that would fit quite comfortably in a dance club atmosphere. CeCe agrees, saying, “A lot of times, companies are so afraid of what the song is saying. But I say, ‘Guys, people are past that! Don’t put it in a box because it’s blatant gospel. The beat is what it is—hot!’” Another of CeCe Winans’ favorite youth-oriented songs is “Colorful World,” about a young woman who “wears nose rings and weird things floating through her hair… But she could rule the world when she opens up her mouth and smiles.”
CeCe Winans has also not forgotten contemporary fans, and points to “You Will”, written by Tommy Sims, as a comfort to a member of her church before the song was completed. The member had recently lost a son to a car crash, and CeCe made a point of giving the woman a copy. “The song touches your heart so much, so I sent it to her, and she said that it took her through the whole time. She would play it over and over. Unfortunately, as a part of life, we experience hard times, pain and things that we don’t expect to happen. But with time, you will heal.”
A social activist beyond gospel, CeCe Winans has a cause that is near and dear to her heart. The effort is “Always Sisters,” and Winans wrote a song of the same title that is included on Purified. “I got a chance to write the song with my sisters, Angelique and Debbie, along with Tommy Sims. It’s a song that, hopefully, women will catch onto and realize how important your sisters are and also how important of a responsibility you have as a sister; whether it’s your blood sister or just a sister-sister, woman-to-woman. We barely finished the song; we were laughing so much and having a good time.”
In keeping with the song’s theme, CeCe has planned a conference titled “Always Sisters, Always Friends,” which will be held in Nashville on October 21 and 22, 2005. CeCe, along with Kirk Franklin, Kelly Price, Mary Mary and Christian comedienne Chocolate will appear to discuss today’s women’s issues. “This conference is to invite everybody, old girls, young girls, so we can encourage them to, first of all, love God and then how to love themselves. I’m blown away about how many kids take their own lives, how many are involved with anorexia, cutting themselves. We really have to take a little more time and walk them through certain things and get them to see who they really are and what they can accomplish; that they don’t have to follow anybody: they are leaders. I feel an awesome responsibility to take the time to do this.” Please visit www.alwayssisters.com for more details.
Cece Winans isn’t waiting for Purified to hit retail before touring. You may see her performing at any number of places (check out www.cecewinans.com). Which begets the question: Does CeCe think there will ever be another full-on Winans Family Tour? “Yes, it’s been a long time since we’ve done it. (Older brother) Ron has gone to Heaven, but we’ve got plenty of videotape on him. So, yes, I believe we will. BeBe and CeCe will be together soon, and then the nephews, the brothers, sisters, mom and dad. Now that we’ve lost Ron (early in 2005), we’re going to take it one day at a time.”
Purified marks another glorious chapter in CeCe Winans’ career, and she takes the honors, recognition and awards in stride: “It’s never been why I do what I do. But, of course, I’m always humbled by it, I’m always honored by it, that my music has gotten recognition from my peers and has reached the level it has. I was talking with somebody the other day, and we were discussing how I get letters from young people saying they were contemplating suicide until they heard my music and decided to give life another try. And when you hear stuff like that, it’s like, ‘Yeah!’ That’s why we do what we do.’”
Publicity contact: Erma Byrd (323) 965-5551 or erma@ebyrdcom.com
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