Reverend Donald Raymond Vails, Jr. (December 25, 1948 – September 10, 1997), was an American

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

ian and pianist. He started his recorded music career in 1977, with the release, ''Donald Vails Choraleers'' on Savoy Records. Vails released sixteen albums with two labels, Savoy Records and Sound of Gospel. He released five albums that charted on the ''Billboard'' magazine Gospel Albums chart: ''He Promised a New Life'' in 1984 with Savoy Records, 1986's ''Yesterday, Today and Forever'' with Sounds of Gospel, 1987's ''Until the Rapture'' again with Sounds of Gospel, ''In Jesus Christ I Have Everything I Need'' in 1990 also with Sounds of Gospel, and 1994's '' A Sunday Morning Songbook'' with Savoy Records. The album, ''He Decided to Die'', was a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-nominated release, and it was certified as a gold album by the

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/o ...

Early life

Vails was born on December 25, 1948, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, as Donald Raymond Vails, Jr., whose parents sent him to a nursery school at Gospel Choral Union, and this instilled in him a love of

and the piano. He was reared in the church in his hometown at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. He was leading a choir by age twelve, and after high school, he relocated to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

to pursue a degree in engineering at

Detroit Institute of Technology The Detroit Institute of Technology was a private four-year technical college in Detroit, Michigan that closed operations in 1981. History First called the Association Institute, the private school was founded in 1891 as a YMCA evening schoo ...

and formed The Choraleers in 1969. Vails relocated to Washington, D.C., in 1985 to attain a master's degree in Music at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. During this time, he became a member of Ebenezer AME Church located in

Fort Washington, Maryland Fort Washington is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It borders the Potomac River, situated 20 miles south of downtown Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 census, it had a popul ...

, and this caused the church's choir to grow from 40 to 175 participants in a few months. Valis also established the Salvation Corporation, an 80-member interdenominational choir.

Music career

Vails began his recorded music career in 1977, with the release of ''Donald Vails Choraleers'' on Savoy Records. His sixteen albums made the ''Billboard'' magazine Gospel Albums chart, for five of those releases: ''He Promised a New Life'' in 1984 with Savoy Records at No. 32, No. 17 for ''Yesterday, Today and Forever'' with Sound of Gospel in 1986, 1987's ''Until the Rapture'' at No. 11 with Sound of Gospel, ''In Jesus Christ I Have Everything I Need'' again with Sound of Gospel in 1990 peaking at No. 26, and 1994's ''A Sunday Morning Songbook'' at No. 33 with Savoy Records. They would achieve a gold album certification by the RIAA and a

nomination for their 1978 album, ''He Decided To Die'', with Savoy Records.

Personal life

Vails was married to Janine Vails (''née'', Anderson) when he died from a lengthy illness in Clinton, Maryland, on September 10, 1997. He was survived by two children, Brian and Carmen.

Discography

References

External links

''Cross Rhythms'' Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vails, Donald 1948 births 1997 deaths African-American songwriters African-American Christians Musicians from Atlanta Musicians from Detroit Musicians from Washington, D.C. Musicians from Maryland Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Songwriters from Maryland Songwriters from Michigan Songwriters from Washington, D.C. American male songwriters 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American songwriters