Contemporary gospel vocalist and evangelist Beverly Crawford made her performing debut at the age of three, singing at her father's church; a few years later, she joined her siblings in a group called the Camp Sisters. A battle with cancer drew her closer to her faith, and in 1989 she and husband Todd Crawford founded the Potter's House Ministries. After appearing on recordings including the Bobby Jones Gospel's Bring It to Jesus and the Music City Mass Choir's We Need to Hear It From You, Crawford made her Warner label solo debut with 1995's Jesus, Precious King; Now That I'm Here followed in 1998. — Jason Ankeny
Take a Grammy-nominated gospel singer with a dynamic personality, add a new record label, fresh sound and revitalized message, and what do you get? Probably one of the most powerful testaments of faith to come out of the gospel music industry this year.
"Some people say they see my energy in so many different people -- Shirley Caesar, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin," Beverly says of her style. "I just love to have fun!"
There's plenty of fun evident on BEVERLY, a beefy, energetic collection that's both steeped in tradition and refreshingly contemporary. Produced by the renowned talents Cedric & Victor Caldwell, Sanchez Harley, Kevin Bond, and newcomer Carlos Pennell, BEVERLY blends traditional Gospel with jazz-pop elements, then tosses a good bit of funk, Motown and even Caribbean influences into the mix for extra umph.
Backing Beverly on several tracks is the critically lauded Potter's House Mass Choir, a group with which she has been affiliated for several years. As a member of Dallas' Potter's House Church, the ministry founded by celebrated pastor/author (and Dexterity Sounds co-founder) Bishop T.D. Jakes, Beverly has long been active in the church's various theatrical and musical efforts. She appeared in Jakes' "Woman, Thou Art Loosed" stage production, and more recently was a featured performer on Jakes' #1 CD The Storm Is Over along with its companion concert video.
With Beverly's command performance of the song "Marvelous" from that project generating considerable buzz in Gospel circles, it was no surprise that Jakes would invite this performing and recording veteran to join the EMI Gospel/ Dexterity Sounds roster.
"Bishop Jakes is really a person of integrity. He has been a great inspiration to me and my family," says Beverly who, with husband and manager Todd Crawford, has two children. "It was really an honor for him to even ask us to be a part of the church. The funny thing is, long before we ever met Bishop Jakes, before he even started his Dallas church, my husband and I had an evangelistic ministry we called the Potter's House. It's so funny that God would put us together!"
Indeed, ministry is a way of life for Beverly Crawford. A native of Gainesville, Florida, she began singing at the age of three. As a young child she joined her musical siblings singing at the church pastored by their father, Walter Camp.
"I used to sing in our front yard with a stick in my hand as a microphone," she recalls, laughing. "I would imagine the grass was my audience and in my mind I could hear people clapping."
As a young adult, she performed with her four sisters in a family Gospel act known as the Camp Sisters, which quickly gained acclaim in the region. At Todd's urging the Camp Sisters sent a homemade video to gospel legend Bobby Jones. Jones liked the group, but was even more impressed with the talents of young Beverly. She would be a member of Bobby Jones and New Life for six years before striking out on her own in 1996, releasing two critically-lauded albums for Warner Bros. Precious King would bring Beverly her first Stellar Award nomination, while 1998's Now That I'm Here would take the Crawfords to the Grammy Awards.
Today, Beverly Crawford maintains a grueling tour schedule that sees her perform over 200 concerts a year. What fuels this drive is her heart for ministry. During concerts, she says, "my prayer is to touch lives. That's what I'm all about. When people walk in, my hope is they will never be the same again.
"I love to give all of Beverly on stage. Everything I have, from the depth of my soul, my bones -- even my hair!," she laughs. "I give Him everything! When you do that, people can't help but be blessed."
Ripe with such musical blessings, BEVERLY has already borne some powerful fruit. Beverly recalls listening to an advance tape of the release while on an airplane one day, when another passenger asked to hear the tape. As the Donnie McClurkin-penned "I Won't Go On" began to play, the woman began to cry, then laugh. She told the Crawfords that she had miraculously been cured of cancer 11 years earlier, after a hospital chaplain prayed over her. Her doctors, she told them, had completely given up.
"She was British and the Brits are so reserved," Beverly recalls. "But when she heard 'I Won't Go On,' she realized it was only the grace of God that had saved her. When you hear stories like that, it all means so much."
Equally powerful is the groove-inflected "Run To The Water," a song co-written by Beverly and Todd Crawford with producers Cedric & Victor Caldwell. The song's distinguishing beat was one of Beverly's inspirations, a rhythm she couldn't get out of her mind while in the recording studio. Sharing what she heard with her collaborators, Cedric opened his Bible and the pages fell open to the fifth chapter of John, where Jesus heals a lame man by the pool of Bethesda.
"We just started putting these lyrics together," she recalls. "And it's just been a blessing to everyone that hears it. It's talking about, 'bring your family and your friends to the water -- the water that is Jesus.' "
While the music, with its mesmerizing rhythm, is captivating, the lyric is equally piercing: "You've got some problems, You can't solve them, And you need some help from God ... Run to the water ..." Fittingly, "Water" has been chosen as the theme song for Bishop Jakes' 2001 Woman Thou Art Loosed conference, where Beverly is one of the featured performers.
The island-flavored "Your Name" is Beverly's nod to her Caribbean fans. "I wanted something for island people, because I do a lot of things in the Bahamas," she notes. "Even in Europe, people love those Caribbean songs. So when I heard 'Your Name,' which is a love song singing the praises of God, I thought, I have to do this on the album!"
Beverly relishes such diversity in today's Gospel, believing God is present in all kinds of music. "I just heard a woman doing Gospel poetry and that was so awesome! In the church where I was raised, people were so strict---Gospel poetry? People would have thought, 'that's not Christian!' But people now realize God comes in so many different kinds of music, and people are open to using their talents."
With an artist as uniquely talented as Beverly Crawford, there's no telling where we'll see her next. She's already fulfilled two lifelong dreams, performing with heroes Aretha Franklin and Natalie Cole in the past three years. This fall, she'll fulfill another dream when she sings live with a symphony orchestra at Washington, DC's Kennedy Center. "I'm looking forward to it," she says, "and I believe one day I'll be able to sing for the President!"
Indeed, the idea is not that farfetched. Beverly Crawford has come a long way from the little girl who sang for an audience of grass. Today, she is a living testament that with God on your side, if you can dream it, then you can do it.
