Priscilla Marie Winans Love, known professionally as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans; before launching an acclaimed solo career. Winans has been awarded 15

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, the most for a female gospel singer; and 31

GMA Dove Awards A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Award ...

, 16

Stellar Awards A Stellar Award is an award presented by SAGMA to recognize achievements in the gospel music industry.Sagma
The Stell ...

, 7 NAACP Image Awards, along with many other awards and honors to her credit. Winans is considered to be one of the greatest gospel artists of all time, the most-awarded gospel artist of all time, and is the best-selling gospel act of all time. She has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

, and has 17 million record sales certified by

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

, and over 19 million estimated in total sales as a solo artist. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine lists all of her solo albums as top Christian music sellers, and six albums as a duo with her older brother, BeBe Winans.

Early life

Winans was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Delores and David Winans, on October 8, 1964. She is one of 10 children. Her parents were part of the

Church Of God In Christ The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly ...

and would only listen to gospel music. She sang her first solo at the age of 8.

Duo with BeBe Winans

Winans first went to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1981 as a singer on the popular Christian telecast, '' The PTL Club'', hosted by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Although originally part of the larger Winans family singing group, CeCe and her older brother BeBe became a duo during their time at PTL, in response to positive reactions to their version of the song " Up Where We Belong" sung as a duet, with lyrics changed for Christian audiences. In 1984, CeCe and Bebe released their first album, '' Lord Lift Us Up'', for PTL Records. They achieved crossover success, eventually releasing nine Gold and Platinum recordings, billed as BeBe & CeCe Winans. Winans left PTL in 1984 just before getting married. Her brother left in 1985. They released their second album in 1987: ''BeBe & CeCe Winans''.

Solo career

Winans began her solo career with the album ''Alone in His Presence'', released in 1995. It sold more than a million copies, and earned her a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

and two Dove Awards, including the Female Vocalist of the Year. Winans's next release, the Gold-certified ''Everlasting Love'', was released in 1998 and featured Winans' highest-charting solo singles: "Well Alright" and "Slippin". The song "On That Day" from the album was written and produced by R&B singer

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

. Later that year, Winans released ''His Gift''; a holiday album. In 1999, Winans started her own recording company, PureSprings Gospel. Her first album on the label was '' Alabaster Box'' in 1999. Some production of the disc was done by Gospel singer and musician Fred Hammond. It included a guest appearance by Take 6. In 2000 Winans released a concert VHS titled ''Live at the Lambs Theater in New York''. The concert contained songs from her previous albums. Winans released her next album, the self-titled ''CeCe Winans'', in 2001. The single "Anybody Wanna Pray" included a guest appearance by

GRITS Grits are a type of porridge made from boiled cornmeal. Hominy grits are a type of grits made from hominy – corn that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization, with the pericarp (ovary wall) removed. Grits are o ...

. The second single, "Say A Prayer" crossed over into the

CCM CCM may refer to: * Cubic centimetre (''ccm''), metric unit of volume * Climate change mitigation (''CCM''), climate change topic Biology and medicine * Calcium concentration microdomains, part of a cell's cytoplasm * Photosynthesis#Carbon ...

market. Winans took a two-year break from releasing albums and returned in 2003 with ''

Throne Room A throne room or throne hall is the room, often rather a hall, in the official residence of the crown, either a palace or a fortified castle, where the throne of a senior figure (usually a monarch) is set up with elaborate pomp—usually raised, ...

''. The first 1,000 copies were issued with a bonus CD that contained exclusive interviews with the artist, the making of the CD, some touring footage, and the music video "More Than What I Wanted" (which came from the 2001 release). In 2004, the 25-city tour ''Throne Room'' with the group

Anointed Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or o ...

featured free admission and was followed with a DVD release of the concert recorded in Tennessee. ''Live in the Throne Room'' contained tracks from all of Winans's albums. Around September 2004, Winans experienced what she thought was a flu but turned out to be a serious stomach infection and was hospitalized immediately for surgery. Due to the extended recovery time, the second half of the ''Throne Room Tour'' was postponed to early 2005. Winans's seventh album '' Purified'' was released in 2005. Her nephew

Mario Winans Mario Mendell Winans ( Brown; born August 29, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his 2004 song " I Don't Wanna Know", which reached number 2 in the United States and number 1 in the United Kingdom. Wina ...

was one of four producers. Her son Alvin III co-wrote several songs on the album, and her younger sisters Angie and Debbie performed. Winans' collection of Top Ten R&B radio hits include " Count On Me", her duet with

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

, from the '' Waiting to Exhale'' soundtrack. The single was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

in the US and reached No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and No. 8 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. Winans released her eighth album, ''

Thy Kingdom Come Thy Kingdom Come may refer to: *" Thy kingdom come", a phrase in the Lord's Prayer in the Bible * ''Thy Kingdom Come'' (CeCe Winans album), 2008 * ''Thy Kingdom Come'' (Seyi Vibez album), 2023 * ''Thy Kingdom Come'' (film), a 2018 short film * ' ...

'' on April 1, 2008, featuring the single "Waging War". On October 6, 2009, a BeBe & CeCe reunion album named ''Still'' was released by Malaco Records, and features collaborations with Marvin Winans and contemporary gospel sister duo Mary Mary. On December 23, 2010, Winans along with Bebe and Mary Mary, featuring the West Angeles Choir, performed on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ' ...

''. From 2012 to 2014, Winans was a judge on BET's gospel singing competition, '' Sunday Best'', along with her brother Bebe. In 2017, Winans released a tenth album, '' Let Them Fall in Love'', for which she won two Grammy Awards for Best Gospel Performance/Song and Best Gospel Album. In 2021 Winans released her first live worship album, ''Believe for It'', which won her three additional Grammy Awards (including Best Gospel Album) in April 2022.

Books

Winans has authored three books: ''On A Positive Note'', a memoir released August 1, 2000; ''Throne Room: Ushered Into the Presence of God'', a devotional released January 1, 2004, and co-authored with Claire Cloninger; and ''Always Sisters: Becoming the Princess You Were Created to Be'', released on July 17, 2007, co-written with Claudia Mair Burney.

Personal life

Winans now resides in Brentwood, Tennessee, a suburb of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, with her husband Alvin Love II. She has two children, a son and a daughter. Winans was the best friend of

and godmother to her daughter,

Bobbi Kristina Brown Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown (March 4, 1993 – July 26, 2015) was an American reality television personality. She was the daughter and only child of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. Her parents' fame kept Brown in the public eye, a ...

. On February 18, 2012, Winans performed "Don't Cry for Me" and "

Jesus Loves Me "Jesus Loves Me" is a Christian hymn written by Anna Bartlett Warner (1827–1915). The lyrics first appeared as a poem in the context of an 1860 novel called ''Say and Seal'', written by her older sister Susan Warner (1819–1885), in which t ...

" at Houston's funeral, at New Hope Baptist Church in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

Discography

:''See also BeBe & CeCe Winans discography'' * ''Alone in His Presence'' (1995) * ''Everlasting Love'' (1998) * ''His Gift'' (1998) * '' Alabaster Box'' (1999) * ''

CeCe Winans Priscilla Marie Winans Love, known professionally as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans; before launching an acclaimed solo career. Winans has been ...

'' (2001) * ''

'' (2003) * '' Purified'' (2005) * ''

'' (2008) * ''Songs of Emotional Healing'' (2010) * '' Let Them Fall in Love'' (2017) * ''Something's Happening'' (2018) * '' Believe for It'' (2021)

Videography

Concert

Music videos

*1996: " Count On Me" (

& Winans) *1998: "Well Alright" *1998: "The River" *2001: "More Than What I Wanted" *2017: "Dancing in the Spirit" *2018: "It's Christmas" *2020: "Never Lost"

Television appearances

:''This list does not include interviews or musical performances.'' *1994: ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aus ...

'' (episode: "Go Tell It on the Martin") *1997: ''

Living Single ''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who shared personal and profess ...

'' (episode: "Oh, Solo Mio") *1997–99: ''CeCe's Place'' (on the Odyssey Channel) *2002: '' 7th Heaven'' (episode: "The Known Soldier") *2002: ''

Doc DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

'' (episode: "The Price of a Miracle") *2003–: '' Praise the Lord'' (occasional guest host) ;Other

Awards and nominations

Winans has received 15

s (out of 31 nominations), 28 Dove Awards and 16

Stellar Awards A Stellar Award is an award presented by SAGMA to recognize achievements in the gospel music industry.Sagma
The Stell ...

(as well as numerous nominations).Gospel Music Association
Past winners : CeCe Winans
doveawards.com, USA, retrieved May 8, 2021 She has also been awarded 6 BET Awards, 7 NAACP Image Awards, 1 Soul Train Lady of Soul Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Nashville Music City Walk of Fame, and is one of the inaugural inductees into the

Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame The Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, located in Atlanta, Georgia, started in January 2021, to honor African Americans, and Black people internationally, with a monument for their achievements in entertainment. The walk of fame is located ...

, and many more to her credit.

References

Works cited

* Winans, CeCe: ''On a Positive Note'' (August 1, 2000)

External links

*
August 2008 Cece Winans Interview (BlackGospel.com)
*
CeCe Winans discusses On the Move curriculum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winans, Cece 1964 births Living people 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century African-American women singers American gospel singers American performers of Christian music Atlantic Records artists Singers from Detroit Grammy Award winners Performers of Christian contemporary R&B music Urban contemporary gospel musicians 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers Pentecostals from Michigan Winans family 21st-century African-American women singers