Tribute Records (Ben-Jamin' Universal Music) is an American gospel music

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

established in 1990. The label was co-founded by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musician and former pro basketball player

Ben Tankard Ben Tankard (born January 10, 1964) is an American gospel/smooth jazz musician, producer, and arranger. Biography Tankard's father was a minister and his mother a missionary. In church, he played drums at an early age. He played tuba in school ...

and George King. King owned Nashville based Diadem Music Group which produced Contemporary Christian music. Diadem's signature artist

Bob Carlisle Robert Mason "Bob" Carlisle (born September 29, 1956) is an American Contemporary Christian singer and songwriter. He performed with several bands, most notably Allies and Billy Thermal, before launching a solo career where he received a Grammy ...

is best known for his hit song " Butterfly Kisses". Tribute became the

urban contemporary gospel Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched prima ...

(black gospel) division of Diadem and home to several gospel music stars, most notably Tankard (a keyboardist whose solo albums were instrumental releases),

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums ...

Twinkie Clark Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born November 15, 1954) is an American gospel singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, musician, and evangelist. Clark is best known as a member of the American gospel singing group the Clark Sisters. Clark is k ...

The Clark Sisters The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm (born 1948), Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford (born 1953), Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born 1954), Dorinda Clark-Cole (born 1957), and Karen Cla ...

and others. Tankard was executive producer and music producer on most of the early Tribute releases and his vision was to develop artists and pioneer a new smooth genre of music he coined as "gospeljazz". He featured Yolanda Adam's jazzy vocals on the album and concept video single " You Bring Out The Best In Me " on his 1994 release "Play Me In Your Key". The jazzy collaborations of Tankard and Adams produced major crossover success and brought the name of Tribute Records to the forefront. Office Depot produced a gospel style " Taking Care Of Business " commercial national ad campaign that was centered on Tribute Records, Tankard, and Adams and ran from 1994-1996. Though the Tribute Label (Ben-Jamin' Universal Music) imprint remained with Tankard, the label contracts were later absorbed by

Benson Records Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, R ...

and later by

Zomba Music Group The Zomba Group of Companies (sometimes referred to as Zomba Music Group or just Zomba Group) was a music group and division owned by and operated under Sony Music Entertainment. The division was renamed to Jive Label Group in 2009 and was place ...

, the gospel conglomerate

Verity Records Verity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label, founded in 1994. The Gospel group operated by Provident Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Artists * 21:03 * Crystal Aikin * Deitrick Haddon * DeW ...

circa 1996. With all the mergers and moves that had taken place with Diadem/Tribute artists and projects, Tankard put the vision for Tribute Records on hold in 1998 and was bought out of his Vice President of A & R / Producer position with Diadem/Benson when the companies were relocated to New York City by

. Tankard accepted the buy-out and put all his emphasis (and money) on his own solo career. Under a long term artist contract with

he recorded eight addition instrumental studio albums over the next decade becoming the world's bestselling gospel/jazz artist. Tankard's

contract expired with the release of his 2009 album ''Mercy,Mercy,Mercy'' which won the 2010 Stellar Award." Tankard's sixteenth studio album, ''Ben Tankard / Full Tank'' was released on June 5, 2012 on his revamped Tribute Records (Ben-Jamin' Universal Music & Film) label. It featured music from legendary producer-songwriters,

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

, and special guest appearances by Mark Kibble /

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as Dove ...

, &

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009. Biography Born in Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its ...

. The lead single from this release, "Sunday Vibes", featuring Tim Bowman on guitar, was released on May 20 and quickly became the No. 1 most played song on Watercolors (Sirius XM). The CD debuted its first week on the Billboard and Amazon.com top sellers charts in three categories: Jazz, Gospel and Southern Gospel, a first for Tankard in that genre. In September 2012, ''Ben Tankard / Full Tank'' was nominated by the

Soul Train Music Awards The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of '' Soul Train'', the p ...

for Best Contemporary Jazz Artist and the

Stellar Awards A Stellar Award is an award presented by SAGMA to recognize achievements in the gospel music industry.Sagma
The Stell ...

for Best Urban Contemporary Performance. Tribute/Ben-Jamin' imprint label is also the home to several TV and Film projects Tankard has in development including, " Thicker Than Water: The Tankards ", a new reality show that showcases Tankard's family life, music career, business ventures, passion for aviation, and his role as a motivational speaker with the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). When asked how will the reality show will look, Ben responded: "It is a cross between Bill Cosby and Run's House , with a twist". Other music releases include: Gospel/Soul singer "Shelly", Urban Praise ensemble "Tribe of Benjamin", and SBM (Sunday's Best Musicians), which is a collection of some the top "under exposed" gospel musicians in America.

Notable 1990s Tribute Releases

* Ben Tankard: ''Keynote Speaker'' (1990) * Yolanda Adams: ''Through the Storm'' (1991) * Ben Tankard: ''Keys to Life'' (1991) * Ben Tankard: ''An Instrumental Christmas'' (1991) * New Jersey Mass Choir: ''Hope of the World''(1992) * Ben Tankard: ''Sunday Drivin (1993) * Yolanda Adams: ''Save the World'' (1993) * Alabama State Mass Choir ''Have Thine Own Way'' (1993) * Ben Tankard: ''Play Me In Your Key'' (1994) * Yolanda Adams: ''More Than a Melody'' (1995) * Yolanda Adams: ''Live In Washington'' (1996) * Twinkie Clark: ''The Masterpiece'' (1996) * Ben Tankard: ''Instrumentally Yours'' (1996) * Ben Tankard & Tribe of Benjamin: ''Git Yo Prayze On'' (1997) ---- Tribute Records (Ben-Jamin' Universal Music & Film) Releases * TV Show: "Thicker Than Water: The Tankards" Season II 2014/2015 * Album: Ben Tankard ''Full Tank'' 2012 (Featuring Gerald Albright, Tim Bowman, Cynthia Jones, and Mark Kibble (Take 6). * Album: Shelly ''Upside Down'' 2013 * Album: Ben Tankard ''Full Tank'' 2.O 2015 * Album : Tribe of Benjamin ''Tribute to Sounds of Blackness' 2016 * Album : ''Sunday's Best Musicians'' (collection) 2016 (Online Contest with winners appearing on CD) * Radio Show: ''Smooth Vibes w/ Ben'' * Social Documentary: "Why Women Try to Change Men" TBA

References

{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1990 Record labels disestablished in 1996 Christian record labels

Notable 1990s Tribute Releases

See also

References