“Jesus won’t you please have mercy…I’m so weak and you’re strong, take me by the hand and lead me on…have mercy…I’ll speak your name, oh Lord, hear me calling …help me from falling…help ease my p
“Jesus won’t you please have mercy…I’m so weak and you’re strong, take me by the hand and lead me on…have mercy…I’ll speak your name, oh Lord, hear me calling …help me from falling…help ease my pain wash all my sins away on my knees I beg you please…Jesus won’t you please have mercy…have mercy on me.”
Those are lyrics to a powerful song and prayer by James Ingram. The Grammy Award-winning balladeer is going gospel. On the hills of Dionne Warwick and Regina Belle, Ingram is one of many secular recording artists adding their name to the gospel music roster in search of their first love: the church.
The multi-talented Academy Award-nominated singer, songwriter, performer, producer, arranger and composer inspired and touched millions of listeners worldwide while working with such legendary artists as Quincy Jones and Michael McDonald. Ingram’s talents as a songwriter were recognized by some of the most celebrated artists, including Michael Jackson who called on Ingram for Jackson’s hit tune "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)," on the "Thriller" album that sold more than 50 million.
Ingram’s popular duet with Patti Austin "Baby Come to Me" soared on the Billboard charts in the early 80s. His other chart-toppers include "Secret Garden" with the late Barry White and "Somewhere Out There" with Linda Ronstadt.
The son of a deacon, Ingram is one of six children and is a self-taught musician, adept at piano, guitar, bass, drums and synthesizer.
He has been fortunate to pursue two of his personal passions: humanitarian work and composition for live theater. In 1987, Ingram was hand-picked by Jones to perform in "We are the World," the recording industry’s legendary singing and fundraising effort that raised more than $100 million to aid famine sufferers in Africa.
Today, Ingram is using those same gifts to sing about the Creator and the kingdom, inspiring the masses with the release of his first complete inspirational CD, "Stand (in the Light)." Inspired by the plight of the Hurricane Katrina victims, Stand features new works and "Yah Mo Be There"–his legendary, Grammy award-winning 1983 collaboration with Michael McDonald–and is the natural advancement in a career grounded in faith.
Faith and family are Ingram’s main sources of inspiration, driving his industry achievements.
“Music is an important part of my life," Ingram notes, “but it’s not all of my life…my family’s my life. I never confuse who I am with what I do.”
Ingram lives in Los Angeles with Debbie, his wife of 33 years, and their six children.
He continues to work with longtime collaborator, choreographer/producer Debbie Allen on a number of musical projects including "Stand," which will grace the shelves soon.
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Congratulations to Dr. Byron T. Brazier, who officially stepped into his new role as pastor of the Apostolic Church of God. He was installed at the South Side church Sunday. Brazier gave up a successful business 13 years ago to work side-by-side with his father and to “lift some of the burden of the day-to-day operation of such a large congregation,” he said.
As pastor, Brazier has three goals: to sustain and strengthen the comfort and trust that the congregation has come to have in his father; to maintain the spiritual and fiscal stability of the church; and to continue to invest in the present and future of young people. “When I came to the church, it didn’t matter if I would be pastor or not. Being a pastor isn’t an ambition; it’s a calling. When people ask me if I’m ready, I say ‘yes,’ because the Lord has given me what I need to be ready.”
The young ladies of Love, Faith and Hope Church will present The Terry Ross Trio in a free gospel jazz extravanganza Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m., on 51st and Winchester. For information, call Dr. Falicia Campbell at (773) 846-2043. Condolences to Stan Stubbs and family in loss of his mother-in-law, Barbara Marsalis. “Remember, you are blessed by the best!”
Effie Rolfe is the religion entertainment columnist and can be contacted at [email protected].
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