Vickie Winans

From an early age the singer Vickie Winans, born Viviane Bowman, launched her path in music by joining relatives on stage. The seventh child in a family that continued to expand, she grew up in Detroit, Michigan, surrounded by relatives who combined strong musical traditions with deep religious conviction. At roughly eight years old she first performed at the family church, leaving listeners astonished by the power of her voice. Success later connected her to the well-known Winans family after she married Marvin Winans and became part of their gospel ensemble.

Her initial solo album appeared in 1985 and introduced the track that would serve as her signature piece, “We Shall Behold Him.” The same debut release earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, a Stellar Award for Album of the Year, and an Excellence Award for Best Female Contemporary Artist, signaling the achievements that lay ahead.

From the second half of the 1980s through the following decade she issued multiple award-winning projects that consistently placed in the upper ranks of Billboard’s gospel chart. The recordings spanned traditional gospel and contemporary Christian styles, frequently blending both approaches. Among the most recognized songs from those years were “Daddy Can’t Sing,” “First Trumpet Sound,” “The Diet Medley,” “Boyfriends,” “Its Yo Thang,” “Give It One More Try,” “Sweeter Than the Honeycomb,” and “Little Timmy.” Outside the studio she maintained an active performance schedule, often appearing on stage roughly two hundred nights annually. Television viewers encountered her on programs including Oprah, the Grammy Awards, Arsenio Hall, Queen Latifah, and The Pat Sajak Show, while stage credits included Broadway productions such as Don’t Get God Started.

Winans sustained her output through the 2000s and 2010s, releasing material on CGI, Verity, and her own Destiny Joy imprint. The album Bringing It All Together, which featured work with her son Mario Winans, reached listeners in 2003; Woman to Woman: Songs of Life followed in 2006; and the Grammy-nominated How I Got Over arrived in 2009, with each project ascending to the top of the gospel chart. She also issued several comedic recordings.