Shirley Caesar

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I am the tenth of 12 children, born October 13, 1938. My father James was a tobacco worker who was well-known in the Carolinas as the lead singer in a gospel quartet, the Just Came Four. I began singing with the group at age ten. When I was twelve, my father died, and I began touring with an evangelist named LeRoy Johnson, who also had a television show in Portsmouth, Virginia. In 1951, at thirteen, I recorded her first song "I'd Rather Have Jesus." While still in high school, I toured throughout the Carolinas.

I went to North Carolina Central College where I studied business education. I got the call to preach God's work in the middle of a typing test. I heard someone call out my name. I turned to the young woman next to me and asked if she had spoken. When I went home, I laid on the bed, and heard the same voice: "Behold, I have called you from your mother's womb and I have anointed your lips to preach the gospel." I believed that this was a message that foretold special work for me in spreading the Gospel. Around the same time, I heard the world famous Chicago female gospel group, the Caravans, lead by Albertina Walker ("Queen of Gospel Music"), and I saw an opportunity to answer the call. I sought an audition with the group, and convinced Albertina Walker that I was of age and ready to travel with The Caravans, was immediately hired, and left school for a life of singing and ministry. I readily acknowledge the influence of Albertina Walker and The Caravans on my current style and success as a solo artist.