Minister Alen VonShea Norman (November 2, 1971 – October 26, 2017), who went by the stage name Shea Norman, was an American gospel musician. He started his music career, in 2004, with the release of ''My Heart Depends on You'', by

Verity Records Verity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label, founded in 1994. The Gospel group operated by Provident Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Artists * 21:03 * Crystal Aikin * Deitrick Haddon * DeWa ...

. This would be his breakthrough release upon the ''Billboard'' Gospel Albums chart. The song, "'Tis So Sweet", was placed on the ''

WOW Gospel 2005 WOW Gospel 2005 is a double CD gospel music compilation album in the WOW series. Released on January 25, 2005, it has thirty-one tracks. The album cover pays tribute to Washington, D.C. It reached 29th place on the Billboard 200 chart in 2005, f ...

''.

Early life

Norman was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

as Alen VonShea Norman, on November 2, 1971, where he was raised by a minister father the Reverend James A. Norman. His first church, where he got the chance to minister was the Church of God in Christ in Millington under the tutelage of Reverend Carl Payne. Up until his death, Norman was a member of New Growth in Christ Christian Center located in Memphis, for the last thirteen years. He was urged by God to help the ministry, Ekklesia Christian Church, located in

Sheffield, Alabama Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Shoals metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 9,039. Sheffield is the birthplace of "country-soul pioneer" and songwriter Art ...

, where he has been since 2012. The church is led by Apostle Kobie S. & Pastor Katina Fitzgerald.

Music career

His music career commenced in 2004, with the album, ''My Heart Depends on You'', that was released on September 14, 2004 by

. This album was his breakthrough release upon the ''Billboard'' magazine Gospel Albums chart at No. 17. While the song, "'Tis So Sweet", was placed on the compilation album ''

''.

Death

Norman died of complications from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

in Memphis on October 26, 2017 at the age of 45.

Discography

References

External links

Cross Rhythms artist profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Shea 1971 births 2017 deaths African-American songwriters African-American Christians Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Songwriters from Tennessee Songwriters from California 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people