Celebrating the legacy and lives of some of Gospel's greatest song birds. Hear music and see video clips of the great Clark sisters here online! Twinkie Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Jackie Clark-Chisolm, Karen Clark-Sheard, and the Late Dr. Mattie Moss-Clark.
The Clark Sisters were born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. They each began singing at an early age and by the late 1960s they were all performing together in church services, usually singing songs written and arranged by their mother. A few years later, Dr. Mattie Moss Clark turned over control of the group to Twinkie, who would then go on to write, arrange, conduct and produce all of the Clark Sisters recordings. In 1973, the sisters recorded their first album, Jesus Has A Lot To Give, on their uncle's local label Billmo Records.[1] The following year, Dr. Mattie Moss Clark Presents The Clark Sisters was released, and people around Detroit began to take notice of the group. The Clark Sisters signed to Sound of Gospel Records in 1974. Under this association, the group released albums such as Unworthy, Count It All Joy, and He Gave Me Nothing to Lose. It was not until the early 1980s that The Clark Sisters began to become the phenomenon that they are now. Their popularity soared with the release of the live recording Is My Living In Vain. The album topped the Billboard gospel charts for more than a year and yielded now famous songs such as the title track and "Expect Your Miracle." Their next release You Brought the Sunshine would prove to be a monster hit as the title track, reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster (Jammin')," became a hit in church houses and on dance floors.[2] "Sunshine" was picked up from its original independent gospel record label Sounds of Gospel and distributed by both Westbound Records and Elektra Records. In 1983, the song peaked at #16 on the Black Singles chart, #27 on the Club Play Charts, and #80 on the Hot R&B Charts[3] driving the album to Gold sales. The sisters delivered another progressive effort in 1982, Sincerely, which included "Name It And Claim It" and the politically-charged "World." After this release, sister Denise left the group to become a minister and start a family. After a four-year gap between releases, the sisters would continue as a foursome, signing with Rejoice Records, a division of Word. This new deal yielded the Grammy-nominated Heart & Soul (1986) featuring the mainstream single "Time Out." Next would appear another studio release Conqueror (1988) and the live album Bringing It Back Home (1991). [edit] Emerging solo artists Following their last Word Records release, Twinkie resumed her calling as a minister and recorded the independent solo album Comin' Home in 1992. Jacky, Dorinda, and Karen stayed behind and performed as a trio, signing with Sparrow Records and delivering one album Miracle in 1994 produced largely by BeBe Winans. Later that year, their mother died of diabetes-related complications.[4] Forging on in the face of their great loss, Twinkie Clark re-appeared in 1996 with a pair of albums to her credit: the solo studio release The Masterpiece for Ben Tankard's Tribute Records label and the live project Twinkie Clark-Terrell presents FAMU Gospel Choir. The latter released on CD, VHS, & DVD featured The Clark Sisters on a showstopping remake of their own hit "Nothing To Lose." Karen delivered her much-anticipated solo debut Finally Karen in 1997. The album, featuring star turns from The Clark Sisters, Faith Evans, and daughter Kierra Sheard, was nominated for a Grammy in addition to winning a Soul Train Lady of Soul award. She has since released three more solo albums: 2nd Chance, The Heavens Are Telling, and It's Not Over. Dorinda and Jacky released their first solo efforts, Dorinda Clark Cole and Expectancy, respectively in 2002 and 2005. Dorinda has also released two solo albums: "Live in Houston" and the most current release "Take It Back". The Clark Sisters have all contributed in various capacities to each other's albums, whether they sang or wrote lyrics.
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