Luther Barnes

Luther Barnes has earned recognition as a gospel singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger, and choir director whose career has brought multiple honors. Across decades he has guided several ensembles and issued more than thirty albums while sharing stages or sessions with leading gospel figures such as Shirley Caesar, Kirk Franklin, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and the Mighty Clouds of Joy. Inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame, he serves as senior pastor of the Restoration Worship Center and leads its choir. His velvety smooth baritone favors refinement over flamboyance. Early attention arrived through his role as lead singer of the best-selling gospel quartet the Sunset Jubilaires and later through his direction of the Red Budd Gospel Choir. Among his numerous recordings stand 1990’s charting Still Holdin’ On and 1993’s Enjoying Jesus, both with the Sunset Jubilaires; 1998’s God’s Promise with the Red Budd Gospel Choir; the 2002 solo project Come Fly with Me; and 2016’s The Favor of God, his first release fronting the Restoration Worship Center Gospel Choir.

Born in North Carolina in 1954 as one of four sons of Bishop Faircloth C. Barnes, the later pastor and gospel musician whose 1983 single “The Rough Side of the Mountain” became a gospel standard, Barnes grew up inside an extended family rich with musicians and vocalists. He attended the Nash-Rocky Mount Schools System and turned professional at age nine by joining the Barnes Juniors, the group his father had started that also featured Luther’s brothers and uncles. After high-school graduation he assumed lead vocals for the successful gospel quartet the Sunset Jubilaires, whose debut album God Gave Us All He Had in 1983 launched a sustained run of gospel hits.

He completed a degree in Music Education at St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina, and in 1985 organized the Red Budd Gospel Choir while continuing with the Sunset Jubilaires. Although both outfits achieved strong results, the Sunset Jubilaires posted consistent chart success with singles including “I’m Still Holding On,” “So Satisfied,” “Spirit, Fall Fresh,” “That Other Shore,” “Somehow Someway,” and “Matter How High I Get,” the last written by Bobby Womack. The two groups maintained parallel award-winning careers that overlapped for more than twenty-five years. Standout Sunset Jubilaires releases encompass the 1985 album Oh My Lord, 1993’s Enjoying Jesus, and 2000’s Wherever I Go. Drawing on his training, Barnes taught music at his former junior high and high schools, offered private piano and vocal instruction, served as minister of music at his church, and directed the On the Rise Youth Choir. His first solo album, Come Fly with Me, arrived in 2002; its single entered the Gospel Top 40. In 2005 Luther Barnes and the Sunset Jubilaires received induction into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

In 2006 he added preaching to his duties as music minister and choir director, extending the path his father had followed. His ministry carried him nationwide and accumulated honors that include a Vision Award, a Stellar Award, a GWMA Excellence Award, a Grammy nomination, and a Gospel Heritage Award. The Sunset Jubilaires issued their final album, Another Level, in 2012, placing it inside the Top 50 on digital gospel charts.

Barnes and his brother Melvin established the Restoration Worship Center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in 2014 and formed the Restoration Worship Center Choir, drawing many members from Red Budd Gospel Choir alumni. Following two years of rehearsals, Sunday services, and appearances at churches and festivals, the ensemble signed with Shanachie Entertainment and released its debut album The Favor of God in 2016. The project reached number eight on the Top Gospel Albums chart; the title-track single climbed to number eight on the Hot Gospel Songs chart and remained in the Top Ten for seventeen weeks. In 2020 Luther Barnes & the Restoration Worship Gospel Choir delivered the follow-up Look to the Hills.