Michael English (American Singer)
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Michael English (born April 12, 1962) is an American Christian singer and record producer. Initially, he was a member of his family's singing group, and later a member of The
Gaither Vocal Band The Gaither Vocal Band is an American southern gospel vocal group, named after its founder and leader Bill Gaither. On March 1, 2017, it was announced that the Gaither Vocal Band lineup consisted of Reggie Smith, Wes Hampton, Adam Crabb, Todd ...
. During his solo career, he recorded eight studio albums. English's highest-charting solo single was " Your Love Amazes Me", which reached No. 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1996.


Biography


Early years

Born in
Kenansville, North Carolina Kenansville is a town in Duplin County, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 770 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Duplin County. The town was named for James Kenan, a member of the North Carol ...
English was raised by parents Aubine and Grace English, in a town called North East, near
Wallace, North Carolina Wallace is a town in Duplin County, North Carolina, Duplin and Pender County, North Carolina, Pender counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 3,883 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Pender County portion o ...
. English performed in his family's singing group, The Singing Samaritans, from 1972 until 1980. After graduating from high school, he joined The Singing Americans, where he shortened his name to Mike English, later going back to Michael. He left the group in 1982 and joined The Goodmans. At about the same time he married his first wife Lisa Bailey and they had a daughter Megan who was born in late 1984. After that, he joined a regional group, The Gospel Couriers, for about six months until he rejoined The Singing Americans. It was then that he had his first big success in southern gospel music with the live recording of what would become his signature song, "I Bowed on My Knees (And Cried, Holy)". Although one of the Goodmans had brought him the song to sing and record while he was still there with them, the Singing Americans felt the song had not gone as far as it could while he sang with the group. This prompted English to record the track with the group, bringing the song its biggest success. His last album with the Singing Americans, ''Black and White'', was one of their most popular. It featured a single English was fairly well known for called "Welcome To Heaven", but the success of it was possibly stalled when he left the group in 1985 to join
The Gaither Vocal Band The Gaither Vocal Band is an American southern gospel vocal group, named after its founder and leader Bill Gaither. On March 1, 2017, it was announced that the Gaither Vocal Band lineup consisted of Reggie Smith, Wes Hampton, Adam Crabb, Todd ...
as their new lead singer, replacing Gary McSpadden, who moved to sing baritone. The change of groups introduced more people to the southern gospel genre. After rising to fame as a member of the Gaither Vocal Band,
Bill Gaither William James Gaither (born March 28, 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria; he is also known for performing as par ...
encouraged English to pursue a solo career. He signed his first solo recording contract with
Warner Alliance Warner Alliance was a contemporary Christian record label and a division of Warner Music Group. It was founded in 1989 with headquarters located in Nashville, Tennessee. Albums associated with the label are now controlled by Word Entertainment. ...
in 1991 while continuing to sing lead in the Gaither Vocal Band. His debut effort, ''Michael English'', was well received, ultimately winning two
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 ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee excep ...
in 1992 for Male Vocalist and New Artist. His first self-titled album was produced by Brown Bannister and featured major Christian radio hits in "Solid As The Rock", "Mary Did You Know" and "In Christ Alone" He left the Gaither Vocal Band in 1994. Michael was named GMA Male Vocalist of the Year in 1994. In addition to being named Male Vocalist of the Year, his single, "Holding Out Hope To You" won Inspirational Song of the Year and his 1994 recording, "Hope", was Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year.


Scandal

English's Christian music career abruptly came to a halt on May 6, 1994, just one week after the 25th GMA Dove Awards where he had received four
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 ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee excep ...
, including Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. English learned that Bonnie Keen, with whom he had an affair, was pregnant with his child. (Jordan sang with the group
First Call First Call was an American contemporary Christian music (CCM) group, consisting of Mel Tunney, Marty McCall, and Bonnie Keen. During their career spanning more than 30 years, the group worked with many noted producers and arrangers including D ...
; First Call and English had just completed a tour for unwed mothers.) Both English and Jordan were married to other people at the time. English was pressured by Warner Alliance to make a public apology, and he was eventually dropped by the label. Warner removed all promotions, marketing, which halted sales of English's records, and Christian radio stations pulled English's songs off the air. He also returned his Dove Awards to the
Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership c ...
. English and his wife Lisa, who were married for 11 years and had a daughter, divorced. English stayed with friends
Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsċ'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...
and
Wynonna Judd Wynonna Ellen Judd, known simply as Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964), is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country musicians in history. She has had 19 No. 1 s ...
during his recovery period, and did not perform gospel music for three years. In late 1994, English signed a record contract with
Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of M ...
to produce mainstream pop music. A duet with
Wynonna Judd Wynonna Ellen Judd, known simply as Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964), is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country musicians in history. She has had 19 No. 1 s ...
, titled "Healing" (a song English had originally recorded for his album "Hope"), introduced English to a secular audience when the song was featured in the 1994 movie ''
Silent Fall ''Silent Fall'' is a 1994 American psychological thriller film directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Linda Hamilton, John Lithgow, J. T. Walsh, and Liv Tyler in her debut role. The plot focuses on a boy with autism who is th ...
''.


Comeback

In September 1996, English released a pop album, ''Freedom''. The album's first single, "Your Love Amazes Me" (a cover of country music singer John Berry's 1994 hit), peaked at No. 10 on the
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
chart but only hit No. 105 on the main chart. At both the 1996 and 1997 Dove Awards, his co-production for album projects by
The Martins The Martins are a Christian music vocal trio composed of three siblings: Joyce Martin Sanders, Jonathan Martin, and Judy Martin Hess. Music career They were discovered by Michael English and Mark Lowry with Bill Gaither at the 1987 Nationa ...
won Southern Gospel Album of the Year. He also produced albums he had already started for The Stamps Quartet, The Gaither Vocal Band, and performed as a background singer on several artists' Christian albums, as well as demo work. In August 1996, southern gospel audiences re-accepted English after promoter/historian Charles Waller reunited English with Ed Hill,
Rick Strickland Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
, Dwayne Burke and Milton Smith as the
Singing Americans The Singing Americans were a Southern Gospel group based in Maiden, North Carolina. They are best known for being a stepping stone to popular singers, such as Mark Flaker (Florida Boys) Ivan Parker (Gold City), Danny Funderburk (the Cathedrals), ...
, before an audience of over 4,000 gospel music fans at the Grand Ole Gospel Reunion. J. D. Sumner also invited English to appear with the Stamps at the National Quartet Convention, as well as the Grand Ole Opry.
Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of M ...
released ''Gospel'', produced by English and featuring his own band with arrangements he had sung in his concerts over the past several years. This album was co-produced by long-time friend
Jay Demarcus Jay DeMarcus (born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr.; on April 26, 1971) is an American musician, vocalist, record producer and songwriter. He is a member of the country music band Rascal Flatts. Early life DeMarcus was born in Columbus, Ohio. He grad ...
of
Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...
.
Gary LeVox Gary LeVox (born Gary Wayne Vernon Jr., July 10, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist of the contemporary country music band Rascal Flatts, and his stage name was taken from the studio-console l ...
, the lead singer of Rascal Flatts, sang background vocals as well. In March 1999,
Bill Gaither William James Gaither (born March 28, 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria; he is also known for performing as par ...
invited English to appear at a recording of ''
Gaither Homecoming ''Gaither Homecoming'' is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither. Beginnings On February 19, 1992, the ...
''. Three videos were released from this taping, "Good News", "Harmony in the Heartland'", and "What a Time". In March 2000, English recorded a new album, ''Heaven to Earth'', which was released by Curb Records. Premiering his album on
Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN; legally Trinity Broadcasting of Texas, Inc.) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN solicits donations on its Web site, a ...
's Praise the Lord, English gave a testimony of what God had brought him through and shared his story about his addiction to painkillers and subsequent treatment and rehab. In addition to touring, English released his autobiography, ''The Prodigal Comes Home'', in April 2007. In 2009, English rejoined the Gaither Vocal Band—making it a quintet—singing lead.


2010–present

On March 4, 2010, English underwent surgery on the spinal column in his neck. While he was recovering, Marshall Hall came back to fill in for two months, and Reggie Smith filled in for one month. With an emotional concert return, English sang again with the vocal band on August 1, 2010. English was inducted into the
North Carolina Music Hall of Fame The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization and museum in Kannapolis, North Carolina that was created to honor musicians, composers and artists with ties to North Carolina that have made significant impact in the music indu ...
in 2011. In October 2013, it was announced that English would be leaving the Gaither Vocal Band to devote more time to his solo career. His departure was effective immediately. His final appearance with the group was performing "Alpha and Omega" at the 2013 Dove Awards. Since his Gaither Vocal Band departure Michael has appeared on numerous Gaither Vocal Band Reunion videos and has released three studio albums, a live album and a greatest hits recording: ''The Best of Michael English''.


Discography


With the Singing Americans

*1981: ''The Exciting Sounds of the Singing Americans'' (Victory Records) *1981: ''Hymntime'' (Halo Records; also released as ''Sing Hymns'') *1984: ''Something Old Something New'' (Mark Five Records) *1984: ''Live And Alive'' (Riversong Records) *1984: "I Bowed on My Knees And Cried Holy" (single) *1985: ''Black And White'' (Riversong)


With the Happy Goodmans

*1982: ''Goodman Greats'' (Canaan Records) *1982: ''Chosen'' (Canaan)


With the Gaither Vocal Band

:See Gaither Vocal Band discography *1986: ''One X 1'' *1988: ''Wings'' *1990: ''A Few Good Men'' *1991: ''Homecoming'' *1993: ''Peace of the Rock'' *1993: ''Southern Classics'' *2009: ''Reunited'' *2010: ''Greatly Blessed'' *2011: ''I Am a Promise'' *2012: ''Pure and Simple'' *2014: ''Hymns''


Solo albums

*1991: '' Michael English'' (Curb Records) *1993: ''Hope'' (Curb) *1996: ''Freedom'' (Curb) *1998: ''Gospel'' (Curb) *2000: ''Heaven to Earth'' (Curb) *2003: ''A Michael English Christmas'' (Curb) *2006: ''Greatest Hits: In Christ Alone'' (Curb) *2008: ''The Prodigal Comes Home'' (Curb) *2013: ''Some People Change'' (Curb) *2015: ''Worship'' (Daywind) *2017: ''Love is the Golden Rule'' (Daywind) Compilations *1995: ''Healing'' (Curb Records) (with 2 new tracks) *2006: ''Michael English Greatest Hits: In Christ Alone'' (Curb) (with 2 new tracks) *2021: ''Best of Michael English'' Live *2015: ''Live at Daywind Studios'' (DVD-CD) (Daywind)


Singles


Music videos


Accolades

GMA Dove Awards


References


External links

* * *
Billboard EntryCBN interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Michael 1962 births Living people 20th-century American male singers 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century American male singers 21st-century evangelicals American gospel singers Christians from North Carolina People from Kenansville, North Carolina Singers from North Carolina Southern gospel performers