My Dailymotion Channel www.dailymotion.com/FerrellSo... Dr Bobby Jones Presents
Karen Valencia Clark-Sheard (born Karen Valencia Clark; November 15, 1960) is an American gospel singer, musician, and songwriter. The youngest daughter of pioneering gospel choral director Mattie Moss Clark, Sheard began her career as a member of the legendary Grammy Award-winning female gospel group The Clark Sisters. She is the mother of contemporary gospel singer and actress Kierra "Kiki" Sheard. She has won four Grammy Awards.
During the hiatus of the Clark Sisters, Sheard rose to fame after she recorded her critically acclaimed and much anticipated solo album Finally Karen, which spawned her hit, "Balm in Gilead" (a re-recording of a song she originally recorded as part of The Clark Sisters back in the 1980s for their Heart & Soul album) the R&B-flavored "Just For Me" and "Nothing Without You" - a contemporary duet with R&B diva Faith Evans. Finally Karen became one of the most successful gospel albums of 1998 earning Sheard a Grammy nomination and earning her a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for "Best Female Vocalist"[2]
After her debut album success and much touring, Sheard was hospitalized in 2001 after one of her blood vessels burst during a minor surgery, resulting in doctors giving her a 2% chance of survival. Her testimony inspired the title name for her long-awaited sophomore project, 2nd Chance released in 2002, featuring a "Secret Place" - which is now considered a classic amongst fans. Sheard recorded two more live albums, including The Heavens Are Telling and It's Not Over (which featured some studio recordings), before releasing All in One, Sheard's first all-studio-recorded album in 13 years. The album debuted at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Gospel Chart and #98 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart, while its first single "Prayed Up" has so far peaked at #10 on the U.S. Billboard Gospel Songs chart.[3]
Sheard is in talks to play Kitty Parham (a member of The Famous Ward Singers) in Aretha Franklin's upcoming biopic.[4]
Sheard released her latest single "Sunday A.M" in 2014, which is nominated for the Best Gospel Song in the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.
Karen Clark Sheard was born November 15, 1960 in Detroit, Michigan to Pastor Elbert Clark and Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, a pioneering gospel choral director. She was the youngest of five children, her siblings are Leo, Jacky, Denise, Elbernita "Twinkie" and Dorinda.
Clark-Sheard is best known for being a member of iconic gospel group The Clark Sisters. A soprano, Clark Sheard is known for her high vocal ranging abilities.
Personal life
On June 16, 1984, Karen Clark wed Bishop J. Drew Sheard, a minister. Her husband is senior pastor of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit. Together they have 2 children: Kierra "Kiki" Sheard (1987) and John Drew "J. Drew" Sheard II (1989). Kiki is also a gospel recording artist, with four albums, plus various projects to her credit. J. Drew is a young, up-and-coming musician and producer. He has a son named Jacob Dillon Sheard and daughter named Kali Drew Sheard.
In 2001, Clark-Sheard was faced with a life-threatening crisis when a blood vessel burst during a scheduled hernia surgery. Her doctors only gave her a 2% chance of survival due to her complications. After the blood clot was surgically removed, Clark-Sheard fell into a coma. The coma lasted three and a half weeks,[5] but Clark-Sheard says she made a miraculous[6][7] recovery.
Karen's involvement in the Island Inspirational All Stars' "Don't Give Up" in 1996 (along with Donald Lawrence, Hezekiah Walker, and Kirk Franklin) led to her signing with Island Records.[10]
Her solo career began with the release of her debut album Finally Karen in 1997. The album, consisting of half studio recordings and half live recordings, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 1998, won Sheard the Lady Of Soul award for Best Gospel Album that same year[11] and peaked at #28 and #2 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and U.S. Billboard Gospel Albums charts respectively
After Yolanda Adams, Karen Clark Sheard became the 2nd gospel artist to sign to Elektra Records. She released her Elektra debut album 2nd Chance in 2002 (so named because of the "second chance" she was given by God after her near-death experience - which is referenced in her daughter Kierra's song "You Don't Know").[12]
The album was led off by the single "Be Sure" and though Clark Sheard was in excellent form vocally, the slick, progressive sound of the disc was not received well in the gospel community. However, the album still performed well commercially and critically reaching #82 on the U.S. Billboard 200, #27 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart (her highest chartings on those charts to date) and #2 on the U.S. Billboard Gospel Albums.