Birthday Greetings Shirley “Queen of Gospel Music” Caesar
Shirley Ceasar
🎂Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams (aka Shirley Caesar), born October 13, 1938 in Durham North Carolina, is a Gospel singer, pastor, songwriter, recording artist, philanthropist and political activist.
James Caesar, Shirley’s father, was a tobacco worker and gospel singer — he also preached the gospel. James died when she was a mere 7 years old. After her father’s death, Shirley began singing in her late father’s gospel group, and in local churches, in order to help earn money for her disabled mother, Hallie Caesar and her 12 siblings.
In 1951 Shirley recorded her first single, “I’d Rather Have Jesus.” In 1956, she began working toward a business degree at North Carolina State College, however, after a short period of time, she left academia to join The Caravans, a female gospel group. In 1961, Shirley recorded a solo single called “Hallelujah, It’s Done” — it included a sermon by Shirley. This was the beginning of her touring as a singing evangelist. In 1966, Shirley formed her own gospel group — the Shirley Caesar Singers. In 1969, the gospel group began recording on HOB Records.
In 1969, Shirley Caesar Outreach Ministries was formed to help serve needy in Durham. In 1971, Shirley won her first Grammy — Best Soul Gospel Performance for “Put Your Hand in the Hand of the Man from Galilee.” In 1975, the recording “No Charge” by Melba Montgomery was a crossover hit on the R&B and pop charts. Shirley dominated the gospel charts from the late 1970s on. In 1981, The Gospel Music Association awarded Shirley the Dove Award for “Rejoice”. In 1981, Shirley Caesar Outreach Ministries registered as a nonprofit — the ministries were funded principally from Shirley’s performance fees.
Shirley enrolled at Shaw University and in 1984 received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. In 1987, she was elected to Durham City Council. Shirley became a pastor at Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church in Durham serving alongside her husband, Bishop Harold Ivory Williams, until his death in 2008.
In addition to singing, Shirley’s other endeavors: acted on stage in the gospel musical Mama, I Want to Sing and its two sequels; screen acting credits “The Fighting Temptations” and “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”; guest starred in the television series The Parkers.
This legend, to date, has garnered 12 Grammy Awards, 18 Dove Awards, and 14 Stellar Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy. Shirley Caesar is often lauded as “The First Lady of Gospel Music” and “The Queen of Gospel Music.” Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Happy Birthday 🙏🏿❤🙏🏿