Tribute Records (Ben-Jamin' Universal Music) is 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 ...

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

established in 1990. The label was co-founded by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician and former pro basketball player Ben Tankard and George King. King owned Nashville based Diadem Music Group which produced

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

. Diadem's signature artist

Bob Carlisle Robert Mason Carlisle (born September 29, 1956) is an American Contemporary Christian singer and songwriter. He performed with several bands, most notably Allies and Billy Thermal, before launching a solo career where he received a Grammy Award a ...

is best known for his hit song " Butterfly Kisses". Tribute became the

urban contemporary gospel Urban/contemporary gospel, also known as urban gospel music, urban gospel pop, or just simply urban gospel, is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the gen ...

(black gospel) division of Diadem and home to several gospel music stars, most notably Tankard (a keyboardist whose solo albums were instrumental releases),

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albu ...

Twinkie Clark Elbernita "Twinkie" Dionne Clark (born November 15, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, organist, record producer, and evangelist. Often called the " Mother of Contemporary Gospel Music", she is best known as the chief s ...

The Clark Sisters The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group originally consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm (born 1948), Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford (born 1953), Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born 1954), Dorinda Clark-Cole (born 1957), ...

and others. Tankard was executive producer and music producer on most of the early Tribute releases and his vision was to develop artists and pioneer a new smooth genre of music he coined as "gospeljazz". He featured Yolanda Adam's jazzy vocals on the album and concept video single " You Bring Out The Best In Me " on his 1994 release "Play Me In Your Key". The jazzy collaborations of Tankard and Adams produced major crossover success and brought the name of Tribute Records to the forefront. Office Depot produced a gospel style " Taking Care Of Business " commercial national ad campaign that was centered on Tribute Records, Tankard, and Adams and ran from 1994-1996. Though the Tribute Label (Ben-Jamin' Universal Music) imprint remained with Tankard, the label contracts were later absorbed by

Benson Records Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, ...

and later by

Zomba Music Group The Zomba Group of Companies (sometimes referred to as Zomba Music Group or just Zomba Group) was a music group and division owned by and operated under Sony Music Entertainment. The division was renamed to Jive Label Group in 2009 and was place ...

, the gospel conglomerate

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 ...

circa 1996. With all the mergers and moves that had taken place with Diadem/Tribute artists and projects, Tankard put the vision for Tribute Records on hold in 1998 and was bought out of his Vice President of A & R / Producer position with Diadem/Benson when the companies were relocated to New York City by

. Tankard accepted the buy-out and put all his emphasis (and money) on his own solo career. Under a long term artist contract with

he recorded eight addition instrumental studio albums over the next decade becoming the world's bestselling gospel/jazz artist. Tankard's

contract expired with the release of his 2009 album ''Mercy,Mercy,Mercy'' which won the 2010 Stellar Award." Tankard's sixteenth studio album, ''Ben Tankard / Full Tank'' was released on June 5, 2012 on his revamped Tribute Records (Ben-Jamin' Universal Music & Film) label. It featured music from legendary producer-songwriters,

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with var ...

, and special guest appearances by Mark Kibble /

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as D ...

, &

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright (born August 30, 1957) is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for the albums ''24/7 (Gerald Albright and Norman Brown album), 24/7'' in 2012 and ''Slam Dunk'' in 2014 and was nominated for ''New Beginnings (Gerald Albr ...

. The lead single from this release, "Sunday Vibes", featuring Tim Bowman on guitar, was released on May 20 and quickly became the No. 1 most played song on

Watercolors (Sirius XM) The following is a list of channels on Sirius XM and Sirius XM Canada. There are over 150 full-time channels on Sirius XM, over 140 of which are on Sirius XM Canada. Not included are channels that are specifically used for live sports programmin ...

. The CD debuted its first week on the Billboard and Amazon.com top sellers charts in three categories: Jazz, Gospel and Southern Gospel, a first for Tankard in that genre. In September 2012, ''Ben Tankard / Full Tank'' was nominated by the

Soul Train Music Awards The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards ceremony which honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the production company of '' Soul Train'', the program from which it takes its name, and ...

for Best Contemporary Jazz Artist and the

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

for Best Urban Contemporary Performance. Tribute/Ben-Jamin' imprint label is also the home to several TV and Film projects Tankard has in development including, " Thicker Than Water: The Tankards ", a new reality show that showcases Tankard's family life, music career, business ventures, passion for aviation, and his role as a motivational speaker with the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). When asked how will the reality show will look, Ben responded: "It is a cross between Bill Cosby and Run's House , with a twist". Other music releases include: Gospel/Soul singer "Shelly", Urban Praise ensemble "Tribe of Benjamin", and SBM (Sunday's Best Musicians), which is a collection of some the top "under exposed" gospel musicians in America.

Notable 1990s Tribute Releases

* Ben Tankard: ''Keynote Speaker'' (1990) * Yolanda Adams: ''Through the Storm'' (1991) * Ben Tankard: ''Keys to Life'' (1991) * Ben Tankard: ''An Instrumental Christmas'' (1991) * New Jersey Mass Choir: ''Hope of the World''(1992) * Ben Tankard: ''Sunday Drivin' '' (1993) * Yolanda Adams: ''Save the World'' (1993) * Alabama State Mass Choir ''Have Thine Own Way'' (1993) * Ben Tankard: ''Play Me In Your Key'' (1994) * Yolanda Adams: ''More Than a Melody'' (1995) * Yolanda Adams: ''Live In Washington'' (1996) * Twinkie Clark: ''The Masterpiece'' (1996) * Ben Tankard: ''Instrumentally Yours'' (1996) * Ben Tankard & Tribe of Benjamin: ''Git Yo Prayze On'' (1997) ---- Tribute Records (Ben-Jamin' Universal Music & Film) Releases * TV Show: "Thicker Than Water: The Tankards" Season II 2014/2015 * Album: Ben Tankard ''Full Tank'' 2012 (Featuring Gerald Albright, Tim Bowman, Cynthia Jones, and Mark Kibble (Take 6). * Album: Shelly ''Upside Down'' 2013 * Album: Ben Tankard ''Full Tank'' 2.O 2015 * Album : Tribe of Benjamin ''Tribute to Sounds of Blackness' 2016 * Album : ''Sunday's Best Musicians'' (collection) 2016 (Online Contest with winners appearing on CD) * Radio Show: ''Smooth Vibes w/ Ben'' * Social Documentary: "Why Women Try to Change Men" TBA

References

{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1990 Record labels disestablished in 1996 Christian record labels

Notable 1990s Tribute Releases

See also

References