Frederick William Hammond (born December 27, 1960) is an American

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

singer,

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

player, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most popular figures in contemporary gospel music. He is known for using a variety of different styles in his music such as R&B,

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, and

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

Musical career

Hammond has been active both as a member of the gospel performing group Commissioned, and as a solo artist (currently for

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 * D ...

). He is a multiple

Grammy 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 a ...

Dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

, and Stellar award winner and nominee as a performer, producer, and writer. Hammond first gained recognition while playing bass guitar for the gospel group

The Winans The Winans are an American gospel quartet from Detroit, Michigan, consisting of brothers Marvin, Carvin, Michael and Ronald Winans. Members ''Please refer to the Winans family page for more detail on the individual members.'' About: Origins ...

. By 1985, he was one of the six original members of the group Commissioned, participating in 10 of the group's 12 albums. After his time with Commissioned ended, he regained fame in the gospel community after selling millions of albums with his musical group Radical For Christ. In 2002, Hammond returned to the group Commissioned (now with members Keith Staten, Marvin Sapp, Mitchell Jones, Karl Reid, Michael Williams, and Marcus Cole) to produce the ''Commissioned Reunion Live'' album. Hammond produced "Make Me Like the Moon", a gospel ballad co-written by

Chanté Moore Chanté Torrane Moore (born February 17, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, television personality, and author. The first signee with record executive Louis Silas, Jr.'s Silas Records, she rose to prominence with her debu ...

and Kenny Lattimore for their 2006 double-CD of

and R&B love songs entitled ''Uncovered/Covered'' (released October 10, 2006, by LaFace/ Verity/ Zomba Music Group). He also performs with

Sean Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...

on the unreleased album, ''Thank You''.

Discography

Albums

Notable singles

Billboard chart history

Albums

Awards

Award wins

Award nominations

Personal life

Hammond has two children who have appeared on his 2009 album, '' Love Unstoppable''. Hammond divorced his wife of 18 years, Kim, in 2004, and he currently resides in Cedar Hill, Texas. Hammond revealed on the ''Donnie McClurkin Show'' that his mother confessed to him three months before she died that she tried to get an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

when she was pregnant with him, and the procedure, done in 1960, before abortions were legal, failed. Hammond's mother returned for a second attempt but decided against the procedure; Hammond was later born in December 1960. According to Fred Hammond in an interview with Tim Ross, his father is Bishop Charles Watkins (now deceased), a former gospel artist and a former full bishop in the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. (Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana) One of Hammond's nephews is

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

Emmanuel Mudiay.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Fred 1960 births Living people African-American guitarists American gospel singers Urban contemporary gospel musicians Singers from Detroit People from Cedar Hill, Texas 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians