Reverend Donald Raymond Vails, Jr. (December 25, 1948 – September 10, 1997), was an American

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

ian and pianist. He started his recorded music career in 1977, with the release, ''Donald Vails Choraleers'' on Savoy Records. He would release sixteen albums with two labels, Savoy Records and

Sound of Gospel Sound of Gospel Records was founded in Detroit, Michigan, United States in 1969 by Armen Boladian. It is a gospel subsidiary record label of Westbound Records, where Boladian was also its former president. Sound of Gospel signed up well-known go ...

. Vails released five albums that charted on the ''Billboard'' magazine Gospel Albums chart, ''He Promised a New Life'' in 1984 with Savoy Records, 1986's ''Yesterday, Today and Forever'' with Sounds of Gospel, 1987's ''Until the Rapture'' again with Sounds of Gospel, ''In Jesus Christ I Have Everything I Need'' in 1990 also with Sounds of Gospel, and 1994's '' A Sunday Morning Songbook'' with Savoy Records. The album, ''He Decided to Die'', was a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-nominated release, and it was certified as a gold album by the RIAA.

Early life

Vails was born on December 25, 1948, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, as Donald Raymond Vails, Jr., whose parents sent him to a nursery school at Gospel Choral Union, and this instilled in him a love of

and the piano. He was reared in the church in his hometown at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. He was leading a choir by age twelve, and after high school, as an eighteen-year-old relocated to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

to pursue a degree in engineering at

Detroit Institute of Technology The Detroit Institute of Technology was a private four-year technical college in Detroit, Michigan that closed operations in 1981. History First called the Association Institute, the private school was founded in 1891 as a YMCA evening school ...

. While he was doing this, he formed The Choraleers in 1969. Vails relocated to Washington, D.C. in 1985 to attain a Master's Degree in Music at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

. During this time, he became a member of Ebenezer AME Church located in

Fort Washington, Maryland Fort Washington is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It borders the Potomac River, situated 20 miles south of the downtown Washington, DC. As of the 2020 census it had a popul ...

, and this caused the church's choir to grow from 40 to 175 participants in the span of a couple of months. He established, Salvation Corporation, during his time in D.C., which was an 80-member interdenominational choir.

Music career

He began his recorded music career in 1977, with the release of ''Donald Vails Choraleers'' on Savoy Records. His sixteen albums made the ''Billboard'' magazine Gospel Albums chart, for five of those releases. Those releases are the following; ''He Promised a New Life'' in 1984 with Savoy Records at No. 32, No. 17 for ''Yesterday, Today and Forever'' with

in 1986, 1987's ''Until the Rapture'' at No. 11 with Sound of Gospel, ''In Jesus Christ I Have Everything I Need'' again with Sound of Gospel in 1990 peaking at No. 26, and 1994's ''A Sunday Morning Songbook'' at No. 33 with Savoy Records. They would achieve a gold album certification by the RIAA and a

nomination for their 1978 album, ''He Decided To Die'', with Savoy Records.

Personal life

Vails was married to Janine Vails (''née'', Anderson) at the time of his death on September 10, 1997, from a lengthy illness in Clinton, Maryland. He was survived by two children, Brian and Carmen.

Discography

References

External links

''Cross Rhythms'' Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vails, Donald 1948 births 1997 deaths African-American songwriters African-American Christians Musicians from Atlanta Musicians from Detroit Musicians from Washington, D.C. Musicians from Maryland Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Songwriters from Maryland Songwriters from Michigan Songwriters from Washington, D.C. American male songwriters 20th-century male musicians 20th-century African-American people