Beverly Renae Crawford (born ''Beverly Renae Camps''; August 31, 1963) is an American

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

who is best known for singing with the New Life Singers on '' Bobby Jones Gospel'' on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) and for having well-known songs such as "Praise Jehovah", "Run to the Water", "He's Done Enough", and most recently "It's About Time For A Miracle".

Early life

Born on August 31, 1963, in Gainesville, Florida, Beverly is the sixth of seven children born to the late Bishop Walter Camps and his Late wife Nellie Camps . She began singing at the age of three and joined her sisters as part of the Camp Sisters. Her siblings are Walter. Jr, Alfred, Marilyn, Belinda, Terrilyn, and Evelyn.

Career

In the late 1980s, her husband, Todd Crawford, recorded a homemade video of her and her sisters singing and submitted copies to several gospel companies, with ''Bobby Jones Gospel'' the only one responding. Being impressed with the sisters, Bobby Jones invited them to sing on his show, and after about a couple of visits, he invited Beverly to join his group, New Life. New Life, were a group of women by the name of Emily Harris, Angela Primm, Nuana Dunlap, Franchine Smith, later Roberta Higgs joined the group and Beverly herself. Beverly continued with Dr. Jones, until 1997. Beverly stayed on the show from 1990-1997, where she was a favorite every week. She began her solo career in 1995 with the release of ''Jesus, Precious King'' on Warner Alliance Records (now defunct), followed three years later with ''Now That I'm Here'', which includes the hit title song and "Just As Soon (I'll Be Shouting)". The latter album was nominated for a Grammy in 1999. In 2001, Crawford released a studio album (except for one live song) entitled ''Beverly'' on Dexterity Records (the label of the prominent minister

Bishop T.D. Jakes Thomas Dexter Jakes (born June 9, 1957), known as T. D. Jakes, is an American bishop, author and filmmaker. He is the bishop of The Potter's House, a non-denominational American megachurch. Jakes's church services and Evangelistic sermons are b ...

) and in 2003 returned to the live church setting with ''Live Family and Friends'' which includes "Higher in the Lord" and "Hold On", and featured guest such as Bobby Jones, Shirley Murdock, Melvin Williams of

the Williams Brothers The Williams Brothers featuring Andy Williams were a singing quartet formed in the mid 1930s. They initially entertained on radio stations and later appeared in four musical films in the 1940s. After recording with Bing Crosby led to a nightc ...

, and her daughter Latrina Crawford. In 2007, she released her fifth album, ''Live from Los Angeles'', on the LA-based JDI label, which contained the number one hit "He's Done Enough". The song stayed on the top ten lists for over a year. In January 2009, Crawford won her first Stellar Gospel Music Award for "Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year" for her 2007 release. On September 19, 2009, she recorded her second album with JDI, live from Los Angeles at Faithful Central Church. It's entitled ''Live from Los Angeles - Volume 2'' and will feature guests, including Shirley Murdock. It was released on September 14, 2010, and includes the hit single "It's About Time for a Miracle". In 2012, she won her second Stellar Gospel Music Award for "Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year" for this record. Her current release is "Thank You For All You've Done", which was released in May 2014 on JDI. It debuted at #1 on the Gospel Music Billboard Charts. It contains the hit "Sweeping Through The City".

Personal life

In November 1982, Beverly married her husband Todd Eugene Crawford and they have two children Latrina (b.1983) and a son Todd Jr. (b.1995). Beverly & Todd are co-pastors of her fathers church, The Landmark Holy Temple of God, INC,. Her father married Wilma Reid in 1988 following the passing of his first wife, Mrs. Nellie Mae McCloud. In December 2007, her father Bishop Walter Camps passed away from a long battle of illness.

Discography

Albums

* ''Jesus, Precious King'' (1995) * ''Now That I'm Here'' (1998) * ''Beverly'' (2001) * ''Live: Family and Friends'' (2003) * ''Live From Los Angeles'' (2007) * ''Live From Los Angeles, Vol. 2'' (2010) * ''Choo Choo: Beverly's Testimony'' (2010) * ''Churchy Christmas/Joy To The World'' (2012) * ''Thank You For All You've Done'' (2014)

References

External links

Beverly Crawford Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Beverly Living people 1963 births American gospel singers Musicians from Gainesville, Florida African-American Christians American evangelists Women evangelists American Pentecostals Members of the Church of God in Christ Singer-songwriters from Florida African-American women singer-songwriters 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers