Kelly Willard (born on August 18, 1956) is a

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

ian best known for her praise and worship recordings. She was featured as a soloist on projects from

Integrity Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Inte ...

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, and

Maranatha! Music Maranatha! Music is a Christian music record label which was founded as a nonprofit ministry of Calvary Chapel in 1971. The label is distributed by Capitol Christian Music Group, a division of Universal Music. Background In the early 1970s Calv ...

. In addition she sang duets and background vocals with such artists as

Dion DiMucci Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known simply as Dion, is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues. Initially as the lead singer of Dion and t ...

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Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

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, Steve Green,

Fernando Ortega Juan Fernando Ortega Work ID No. 332498534 (born March 2, 1957) is a singer-songwriter in contemporary Christian music. He is noted both for his interpretations of many traditional hymns and songs, such as " Give Me Jesus", "Be Thou My Vision" ...

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, Jim Cole and many others. Kelly has also recorded nine solo projects, currently offered through her website. Willard was born in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making i ...

. She began playing the piano at the age of five and composing her own songs at the age of thirteen. She accompanied the church choir, playing and singing in nursing homes, and traveling with a part-time gospel group on weekends. At the age of sixteen Willard moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, where she accompanied The Jake Hess Sound on piano. She later moved to

Panorama City, California Panorama City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. It has a generally young age range as well as the highest population density in the Valley. Ethnically, more than half of its population was born a ...

, where she joined the popular CCM group

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural settin ...

, and then on to

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, where she joined the group Seth. She credits her vocal development to Jonathan David Brown and Harlan Rogers. Willard married at 18, joined Harlan Rogers & Friends, and traveled the mid-west until 1977, when she moved to Southern California to be a part of the then current flow of 'Jesus Music' artists who were ministering and recording there. She played keyboards and sang background vocals on projects for artists including Bob Bennett and

Roby Duke Roby Duke (December 6, 1956 – December 26, 2007) was a contemporary Christian musician and songwriter from Greenwood, Mississippi. He was noted for his blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of ...

before

approached her in 1978 to record her own solo project. After the birth of her children, she took periodic sabbaticals,

homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

through the 1980s, 1990s, and later taking care of her mother, who was suffering with

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

. In 2004, both her parents died, her 29-year marriage came to an end, and her 18-year-old daughter Haylie committed suicide after a struggle with severe depression. Willard later referred to the period in an interview as "the worst year of my life." Willard moved to

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, and became part of a church support community there. Her latest album, recorded in 2000, titled ''Paga'', features then 18-year-old son Bryan on bass guitar, and 15-year-old Haylie in a duet on the song "Beautiful Jesus". Kelly explains, "The Old Testament priests who would take incense into The Holy of Holies and burn it unto The Lord. This is called ''Paga'' in Hebrew, and it means "to make intercession". When Jesus became our sacrifice ... He made the way for our prayers, praises, worship and intercession to become like that incense unto the Lord, a sweet-smelling savor ... Even with all that I have been through, nothing has changed my relationship with The Lord or the call that He placed on my life at a young age. If anything, I have gained more wisdom through the things (even mistakes) that I have suffered, and am more dependent on Him than ever before. I can testify of God's ultimate faithfulness to His children, and His unwavering commitment to conform us into the likeness of His dear Son, Jesus Christ. And, I plan to keep on singing about it until the very end." Willard is currently living in

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the st ...

, and is writing and recording a new "duo" project with long-time friend, Rene Stamps.

Discography

*1978 ''Blame It on the One I Love'' *1980 ''Willing Heart'' *1983 ''Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs'' *1986 ''Message from a King'' *1991 ''Lookin' Back '77-'86'' *1991 ''Garden'' *1993 ''Bless My Little Girl'' *1996 ''My First Christmas'' *1996 ''Homesick for Heaven'' *2007 ''Paga'' *2012 ''Message from a King''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willard, Kelly 1956 births Living people American performers of Christian music Performers of contemporary Christian music People from Winter Haven, Florida Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida