Wintley Augustus Phipps, Sr. (born January 7, 1955) is a

Trinidadian-American Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans (also known as Trinidadian Americans, Tobagonian Americans and Trinbagonian Americans) are people with Trinidadian and Tobagonian ancestry or immigrants who were born in Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tob ...

singer, songwriter, record producer, minister, and founder of the U.S. Dream Academy, Songs of Freedom Publishing Company, and Coral Records Recording Company. He features a booming bass-baritone voice, usually singing inspirational gospel music. He is an ordained

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

minister.

Biography

Phipps was born in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, but at an early age moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He attended Mount Royal High School in Town of Mount Royal. He attended Kingsway College in

Oshawa, Ontario Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

, Canada, a Seventh-day Adventist academy, and later Oakwood College, a Seventh-day Adventist college (university since 2007) in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, where he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in Theology. Phipps would go on to earn a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree from

Andrews University Andrews University (Andrews) is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flag ...

, a Seventh-day Adventist university in

Berrien Springs, Michigan Berrien Springs is a village in Berrien County, Michigan, Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,910 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The village is located within Oronoko Charter Township, Mi ...

. Wintley Phipps served as senior pastor to several churches in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, including the Capitol Hill and Seabrook Seventh-day Adventist Churches. He currently serves as pastor of th
Palm Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church
in

Palm Bay, Florida Palm Bay is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 119,760 at the 2020 United States census, up from 103,190 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous city in the county and the largest by land mass. T ...

. Wintley is married to Linda Galloway, whom he met at Oakwood. They have three sons: Wintley II, Winston Adriel, and Wade Alexander.

Notable performances

He has performed for

American presidents The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive branch ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, National Prayer Breakfast for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

in 1994,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

at several

National Prayer Breakfast The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide. The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has ...

events and his 2013 Inaugural Prayer Service and other celebrations. He performed for the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Democratic National Conventions, Rosa Parks' 77th Birthday gala at the Kennedy Center,

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, and former South African President

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

. He has appeared on programs such as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. television special, Dr. Robert Schuller's ''Hour of Power'' Telecast,

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...

Crusades, the Vatican, as guest soloist at

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

's wedding ceremony in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featu ...

'', ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'', and the 2013 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. Wintley Phipps' performances also include

voice over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non-d ...

work (or

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...

) with ''Breathe

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

''."Wintley Phipps, The Voice of Peter"
BreatheBible.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. On July 27, 2020, he sang an emotionally-charged version of "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

" as Rep.

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

lay in state in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, and sang "

How Great Thou Art "How Great Thou Art" is a Christian hymn based on an original Swedish hymn entitled "" written in 1885 by Carl Boberg (1859–1940). The English version of the hymn and its title are a loose translation by the English missionary Stuart K. Hine f ...

" at

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

's funeral on November 5, 2021.

U.S. Dream Academy, Inc.

In 1998, Phipps founded the U.S. Dream Academy, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a values-based, interactive, tutorial and remedial education program targeting children and at-risk youth through community Family Learning Centers located in various states. Phipps wanted something to help break the cycle he saw played out so many times in his own family. Wintley formed the U.S. Dream Academy to help children who have had a family member behind bars. The program provides mentoring, academic tutoring, and exposure to computers and the Internet. Phipps says, "Just the computers themselves are not going to transform the lives of these kids," and "The most important part of our program is really the caring, loving adults who surround them." The Academy has garnered praise from

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

and former president

Awards

* Excellence in Mentoring for Program Leadership Award, MENTOR * Oprah's Angel Network $100,000 "Use Your Life" Award. * Grammy Award nominations in 1988 and 1989 * 2005 MMP Fall Leadership, $100,000 * Philanthropist of the Year, National Center for Black Philanthropy, Inc.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''I Give You My Life'' (1979) * ''The Neo-Gospel Experience'' (1982) * ''Lord, You Are My Music'' (1984) * ''I Give You My Life'' (1984) * ''I Choose You Again'' (1984) * ''We Are One'' (1985) * ''The Great Controversy'' (1985) * ''It's Christmas Time'' (1986) * ''Wintley Phipps'' (1987) * ''A Love Like This'' (1988) * ''Sun Will Shine Again'' (1990) * ''The Power of a Dream'' (1995) * ''Favorite Hymns '' (1996) * ''Favorite Spirituals'' (1996) * ''Songs of Christmas'' (2000) * ''Out of the Night'' (2001) * ''Heal Our Land'' (2001) * ''Favorite Hymns of Billy Graham'' (Discovery House, 2005) * ''Spirituals: A Symphonic Celebration'' (Discovery House, 2006) * ''No Need for Fear'' (Discovery House, 2007) * ''The Classics'' (Discovery House, 2008) * ''O Holy Night!'' (Discovery House, 2009) * ''My Greatest Romance'' (Coral Records, 2010) * ''To God Be the Glory'' (Discovery House, 2011) * ''Near the Cross: Wintley Phipps Sings the Beloved Hymns of Fanny Crosby'' (2013) * I Surrender All (Discovery House, 2015) * Amazing Grace (The Best of Wintley Phipps) (2018)

Live albums

* ''Wintley Phipps Live'' (2000)

Compilations

* ''Christmas in Vienna - Diana Ross'' (1993) * ''Don't Let Me Walk This Road Alone'' (Duet with Melissa Manchester from the album ''If My Heart Had Wings'') (1995) * ''Saviour: The Story of God's Passion for His People'' (1996) * ''Millennium Chorus: The Greatest Story Ever Sung'' (2000) * ''Gospel Gold (Bellmark)'' (2000) * ''Spirituals: Songs of the Soul'' (Discovery House, 2004)

Videos

* ''No Need to Fear'' (Discovery House) * ''Spirituals: A Symphonic Celebration'' (Discovery House, 2008) * ''Favorite Hymns of Billy Graham'' (Discovery House, 2008)

References

Bibliography

* *Phipps, Wintley; James Lund (2015), ''Your Best Destiny: Becoming the person you were created to be''. Tyndale Publishers *Phipps, Wintley, ''Perfecting Me: Becoming the person you were created to be''. Songs of Freedom Publishing

External links

Palm Bay SDA Church

Capitol Hill SDA Church

Images of Wintley Phipps

Wintley Phipps Regales MMP

Phipps Helps Youth Hum a Different Tune - Wintley Phipps' U.S. Dream Academy - Interview

PBS Religion & Ethics Article - April 10, 2009
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phipps, Wintley 1955 births Living people 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago singers Oakwood University alumni American performers of Christian music Andrews University alumni American gospel singers American Seventh-day Adventist ministers Trinidad and Tobago Seventh-day Adventists Chapel Records artists Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to Canada