Priscilla Winans Love
(born on October 8, 1964) and known professionally as CeCe Winans
, is an American Gospel singer and winner of numerous Grammy Awards and Stellar Awards.
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Early life
CeCe Winans was born in
Detroit, Michigan to David and Delores ("Mom" and "Pop")
Winans. She's the eighth of ten children, and the oldest of three girls.
Musical career
BeBe & CeCe
Around time that Winans had been accepted to college, the television show "
The PTL Club" (now known as "
Praise the Lord") took interest in her and her brother Benjamin (
BeBe) as potential background vocalists for the show. They were accepted after going to
North Carolina to audition. BeBe and CeCe moved to the
PTL campus in North Carolina, and were on the show for about five years. It was during this time that CeCe met her husband, Alvin Love, Jr. who was also from Detroit. During their time on The PTL Club, BeBe & CeCe recorded
Lord Lift Us Up
on PTL's label following popular demand on the show. The success yielded another effort, "Feels Like Heaven (With You)". Eventually the success warranted another effort: a full length album.
BeBe and CeCe left PTL to pursue their singing career and recorded four more albums including
Heaven
,
Different Lifestyles
,
First Christmas
, and
Relationships
. In 1995, BeBe and CeCe split up to pursue solo careers and other interests. However CeCe Winans' official website indicates that the two will release a reunion album in 2008.
BeBe & CeCe performed their classic song "Hold Up The Light" with one of CeCe's former background vocalists,
Melinda Doolittle, on the 2007
American Idol
finale. Winans co-hosted the 2008
Stellar Awards alongside
Kirk Franklin and
Byron Cage in January 2008.
[1]
Solo career
CeCe began her solo career with the
Gold certified album
Alone in His Presence
. It was released in 1995 and earned her a
Grammy Award and 2
Dove Awards including the Female Vocalist of the Year, an award she earned again in 1997. Winans' next release,
Everlasting Love
was released in 1998 and featured Winans biggest Billboard charting singles to date "Well Alright" & "Slippin". The song "On That Day" from the album was written and produced by
R&B singer
Lauryn Hill. Later that year, Winans released
His Gift
a holiday album.
In 1999, Winans started her own recording company, "
PureSprings Gospel". Her first album on the label was
Alabaster Box
in 1999. Some production of the disc was done by Gospel singer and musician,
Fred Hammond. It included a guest appearance by
Take 6. In
2000 Cece released a concert VHS titled
Live At The Lambs Theater in New York
. The concert contained songs from her previous albums. Winans released her next album, the self titled
CeCe Winans
, in 2001. The single "Anybody Wanna Pray" included a guest appearance by
GRITS. The second single, "Say A Prayer" crossed over into the
CCM market.
Winans took a two year break from releasing albums and returned in 2003 with
Throne Room
. The first 1,000 copies were issued with a bonus CD that contained exclusive interviews with the artist, the making of the CD, some touring footage, and the music video "More Than What I Wanted" (which came from the 2001 release). In 2004, the 25 city tour
Throne Room
featured free admission and was followed with a DVD release of the concert recorded in Tennessee near CeCe's place of residence.
Live In the Throne Room
contained tracks from all of Winans' albums. Around September 2004, Winans experienced what she thought was a flu but turned out to be a serious stomach infection and was hospitalized immediately for surgery. Due to the extended recovery time, the second half of the
Throne Room Tour
was postponed to early 2005.
[2]
Winans' 7th album
Purified
was released in 2005. Producers on board for the project were longtime BeBe & CeCe collaborator Keith Thomas, and CeCe's nephew
Mario Winans. Winans' son Alvin III also co-writes several songs on the album and younger sisters Angie and Debbie Winans make an appearance as well.
CeCe's collection of Top Ten R&B radio hits include "
Count on Me", her duet with
Whitney Houston, from the
Waiting to Exhale soundtrack. The single was certified
Gold in the U.S. and reached #8 on the
Billboard Hot 100, #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #8 on the
Billboard R&B Singles charts.
She has also released her 8th Album Thy Kingdom Come on April 1st, to feature the single "Waging War."[5][1] The first single released from the album "Thy Will Be Done," was released digitally on iTunes on April 1, 2008
Upcoming releases
It has been confirmed on her website that a reunion album with BeBe is scheduled for release in early 2009.
[3] In early 2006, Winans stated that she would follow
Purified
with a holiday album.
[4]
Books
CeCe has authored three books:
On A Positive Note
, a collection of her memoirs released
August 1,
2000; and
Throne Room: Ushered Into the Presence of God
, a devotional released
January 1,
2004 and co-authored with Claire Cloninger.
Always Sisters: Becoming the Princess You Were Created to Be
, released on
July 17,
2007 and co-written with Claudia Mair Burney.
In 2009, CeCe announced her support for a multicultural Christian education curriculum from Abingdon Press, entitled "On the Move: God's Grace from Place to Place."
Personal life
CeCe now resides in
Forest Hills, Tennessee [5] (a suburb of
Nashville) with her husband Alvin Love and two children, Ashley and Alvin III. CeCe's children were featured in the BeBe & CeCe Winans music video "If Anything Ever Happened to You". Alvin III also appeared in the music video for "Well, Alright." They attend Born Again Church in Nashville, where CeCe is on the worship team and her kids are involved in the drama ministry.
CeCe is a good friend of
Whitney Houston as well as godmother to her child, as well as best friends with Co-Pastor of New Light Christian Center (Houston, Austin, Beaumont, Texas) Dr. Bridget E. Hilliard.
[6]
Discography
;Albums with BeBe Winans
See BeBe & CeCe Winans Discography
;Solo albums
;Other Albums
----
;Guest appearances & Soundtracks
- BeBe & CeCe Winans with Vince Gill and Wynonna Judd: "Right Now (We Need Another)" (Zomba Recording, 2008)
- Patti LaBelle: "Walking Away (featuring CeCe Winans)" (Umbrella, 2006)
- CeCe Winans: "He Set My Life To Music" She Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool
(BNA, 2006)
- BeBe Winans: "Tonight Tonight (featuring CeCe Winans)" (Motown, 2000)
- Various Artists: "Humanity" The Prince of Egypt Soundtrack
(Dreamworks, 1998)
- CeCe Winans: "The River" The Prince Of Egypt: Inspirational
(Dreamworks, 1998)
- CeCe Winans: "All Is Well Tonight" God With Us: A Celebration Of Christmas Carols...
(Sparrow, 1997)
- CeCe Winans: "Take Me Back" Tribute: The Songs Of Andrae Crouch
(Warner Alliance, 1996)
- CeCe Winans & Whitney Houston: "Count on Me" (Arista, 1996)
- CeCe Winans: "Rest In Me" Coram Deo II: People Of Praise
(Sparrow, 1994)
Videography
;Concerts
----
;Music Videos
- "Count on Me" (Whitney Houston & CeCe Winans) (1996)
- "Well Alright" (1998)
- "More Than What I Wanted" (2001)
- "Purified" (2006) [9]
;Television Appearances
List includes acting appearances only, not interviews and/or performances
- CeCe's Place (aired on the Odyssey Channel)
- 7th Heaven [10]
- Touched By an Angel [11]
- Living Single
- Doc
- Martin
;Other
----
Awards
CeCe has received 10 Grammy Awards, 21
Grammy Award nominations, 20
Dove Awards and numerous
Stellar Awards.
See also
- CeCe Winans albums
- BeBe and CeCe Winans albums
- The Winans Family
References
- Stellar Awards Homepage
- Purified by Fire
- CeCe Winans Official Homepage
- CeCe Winans Q&A
- At Home with CeCe Winans
- On A Positive Note
- CeCe Winans Albums Chart History
- CeCe Winans Singles Chart History
- The Official 22nd Annual Stellar Award Winners (2007)
- CeCe Winans Official Biography
- At Home With CeCe Winans Part 2- Ebony Magazine