Music Highlight: The Clark Sisters

80's

2009

There are no other singers in the world that I listen to more than The Clark Sisters! I absolutely love them. For one, they can sing their heads off and they live what they sing about! Each sister, Jacky, Twinkie, Dorinda, and Karen have distinctive sound that separates them from each other. They have been singing for over 35 years and released numerous albums in the mid eighties and early nineties.

DORINDA CLARK COLE

They are the daughters of Mattie Moss-Clark, the first gospel artist with a gold album and the creator of the three part harmony that choirs all across the world still use to this day. Clark-Moss took her daughters all around the country to sing at concerts, conventions, and churches. The Clark Sisters influences, including their mom, was Aretha Franklin, Shirley Ceaser, Ella Fitzgerald and many more.


THE CLARK SISTERS


As a group, they separated but each released solo albums and became gospel music's biggest singers. Twinkie, who wrote some of the Clark's biggest hits such as 'You brought the Sunshine', which is the first gospel song to be played on secular radio, 'Endow Me','Nothing to Lose', etc.., left the group and started her solo career. She was the first gospel artist to incorporate secular beats to her gospel songs. This paved the way for artist like Mary Mary, Kierra Sheard, Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and more to do more contemporary and urban gospel music. Karen Sheard left the group and launched her solo career in 1997 and released the much anticipated album 'Finally Karen'. This is the album that solifide her as one of the greatest vocalist of all time(Video's below). Dorinda Cole released her solo album in 2002 and won multiple awards. Jacky Chisholm, also released her solo album in 2005.

The Clark Family

In 2008, the Clark Sisters reunited as a singing group and won multiple rewards for their album titled 'One Last Time', which includes three grammy's. This is something that no other gospel artist has been able to do. These wonderful women have inspired multiple artist like Beyonce, Faith Evans, Mariah Carey, Kim Burrell, Fantasia, Missey Elliot, and the list continues. These sisters shows no evidence of slowing down any time soon and they have birthed a new generation of Clarks including Karen Clark-Sheard children, song writer and producer J. Drew, grammey nominated Kierra Sheard and their cousins, super producer J. Moss and singer and song writer Bill Moss.


KAREN CLARK-SHEARD