Karen Valencia Clark Sheard ( née Clark; born November 15, 1960) is an American

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 pr ...

–winning

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 ...

singer, musician, songwriter, and businesswoman. Clark-Sheard is the wife of the current Church of God in Christ Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard and she serves as the current First Lady of the COGIC denomination. Clark–Sheard is the youngest member of gospel group

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 ...

. She is also the mother of

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 prim ...

singer and actress

Kierra "Kiki" Sheard Kierra Valencia "Kiki" Sheard-Kelly (born June 20, 1987) is an American gospel singer. She is the daughter of gospel singer Karen Clark-Sheard (member of gospel singing group the Clark Sisters) and granddaughter of gospel choral director Mattie ...

. She has released five solo albums, seventeen with the Clark Sisters, and collaborated with her son J. Drew Sheard II and her daughter

Kierra Sheard Kierra Valencia "Kiki" Sheard-Kelly (born June 20, 1987) is an American gospel singer. She is the daughter of gospel singer Karen Clark-Sheard (member of gospel singing group the Clark Sisters) and granddaughter of gospel choral director Mattie ...

. During the hiatus of the Clark Sisters, Clark–Sheard recorded her critically acclaimed solo album ''

Finally Karen '' Finally Karen '' is the debut solo album of gospel singer Karen Clark Sheard of The Clark Sisters, released on November 4, 1997. The live portion of the album was recorded at Bailey Cathedral in Detroit, Michigan. The album was Grammy-nomina ...

'', which spawned her hit, "Balm in Gilead" (a re-recording of a song she originally recorded as part of the Clark Sisters in the 1980s for their ''Heart & Soul'' album) the R&B-flavored "Just For Me" and "Nothing Without You" – a contemporary duet with R&B diva

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al ...

. ''Finally Karen'' became one of the most successful gospel albums of 1998 earning Sheard a Grammy nomination and a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for "Best Female Vocalist". After her debut album and touring, Clark–Sheard was hospitalized in 2001 after a blood vessel burst during a cosmetic procedure, resulting in doctors giving her a 2% chance of survival. The experience inspired the title for her second album, '' 2nd Chance'', released in 2002. Clark–Sheard recorded two more live albums, including ''

The Heavens Are Telling ''The Heavens Are Telling'' is an album by the multiple Grammy and Stellar award-winning gospel singer Karen Clark Sheard, released on November 4, 2003. In the USA, the album peaked at #3 on the '' Billboard'' Top Gospel Charts, #11 on the Bill ...

'' and '' It's Not Over'' (which featured some studio recordings), before releasing '' All in One'', Clark–Sheard's first all-studio-recorded album in 13 years. The album debuted at #2 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Gospel Chart and #98 on ''Billboards Top 200 albums chart, while its first single "Prayed Up" peaked at #9 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Gospel Songs chart. Singers Beyoncé and Mariah Carey count Karen Clark-Sheard as one of their vocal influences.

Biography

Early life and education

Clark–Sheard was born Karen Valencia Clark on November 15, 1960, in

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 ...

, the youngest child of Reverend Elbert Clark and Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, a gospel choral director. The youngest of six children, Clark–Sheard's siblings are Leo, Jacky, Denise, Elbernita "Twinkie" and Dorinda. Clark–Sheard began singing gospel with her sisters at age 5 in what became known as

. For high school, Clark-Sheard attended

Mumford High School Samuel C. Mumford High School is a public high school located on the near-northwest side of Detroit, Michigan. It was operated by the Detroit Public Schools, and had been operated by the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan (EAA). DPS r ...

in Detroit, Michigan, graduating in 1978.

Career

The Clark Sisters

Debut album

Clark–Sheard's involvement in the Island Inspirational All Stars' " Don't Give Up" in 1996 (along with Donald Lawrence,

Hezekiah Walker Bishop Hezekiah Walker (born December 24, 1962) is a popular American gospel music singer and artist and pastor of prominent Brooklyn New York Pentecostal megachurch, Love Fellowship Tabernacle. Walker has released several albums on Benson Recor ...

, and

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) ...

) led to her signing with Island Records. Clark–Sheard's solo career began with the release of her debut album ''

'' in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. The album, consisting of half studio recordings and half live recordings, was nominated for a

for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 1998, won Clark-Sheard the Lady of Soul award for Best Gospel Album that same year and peaked at #28 and #2 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and U.S. ''Billboard'' Gospel Albums charts respectively.

''2nd Chance''

After

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 ...

, Clark-Sheard became the 2nd gospel artist to sign to Elektra Records. She released her Elektra debut album '' 2nd Chance'' in 2002 (so named because of the "second chance" she was given by

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

after her near-death experience – which is referenced in her daughter Kierra's song " You Don't Know"). The album was led off by the single "Be Sure". The album reached #82 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, #27 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart (her highest chartings on those charts to date) and #2 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Gospel Albums.

''The Heavens Are Telling''

The 2003 followup ''

'' (exactly six years after her heralded debut album ''Finally Karen'') came when Elektra Records was being dissolved into Atlantic Records, and failed to match the commercial success of Clark-Sheard's previous albums, peaking 106 places below ''2nd Chance'' at #188 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 – though it managed to reach #44 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, a high #3 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Gospel Albums chart and was her first album to chart on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Christian Albums chart, where it peaked at #11.

''It's Not Over''

In 2005, after a bidding war with several labels, Clark-Sheard signed with Word Records and issued '' It's Not Over'' (originally titled ''Finally Karen Returns''), the sequel to her 1997 debut album ''

'' was set to be released November 15, 2005, Clark-Sheard's 45th birthday, but was delayed and released the following year. Most of ''It's Not Over'' was recorded in 2005 at Karen's home church in Detroit, Michigan, while the last three tracks were studio-recorded. It was Clark-Sheard's first solo album not to feature guest vocals from her daughter (Kierra Sheard) and was the first to include production from

Israel Houghton Israel Houghton (; born May 19, 1971) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, producer and worship leader. He is usually credited as Israel & New Breed. Musical career Houghton produced an album by Michael Gungor, ''Big ...

– who handled the majority of the project. It charted at #124 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and #4 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. As the songwriter, on February 10, 2008, Clark-Sheard won the

Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song The Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the gospel music genre. Honors in sev ...

for "Blessed & Highly Favored" sung by

Karew Records, 5th album and present

In early 2009, Clark-Sheard and her husband, J.Drew Sheard, partnered together and launched a new record label entitled Karew Records (Karew being a combination of both their forenames: Karen and Drew, pronounced: Kuh-rue); Distribution is via EMI Gospel. The Clark Sisters' Christmas album – which was released in October 2009 – was the first project to be released from Karew Records. On January 31, 2010, Clark-Sheard won the

Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance The Grammy Award for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards descr ...

for ''Wait on the Lord'' which she was featured with

Donnie McClurkin Donald Andrew "Donnie" McClurkin, Jr. (born November 9, 1959) is an American gospel singer and minister. He has won three Grammy Awards, ten Stellar Awards, two BET Awards, two Soul Train Awards, one Dove Award and one NAACP Image Awards. ...

. On April 6, 2010, Clark-Sheard released her fifth album (and first on her newly founded own record label – Karew Records) titled '' All in One'', which features additional vocals from her daughter Kierra Sheard, son J. Drew Sheard II, sister Dorinda Clark Cole, niece Angel Chisholm and cousin J. Moss. Her first all-studio-recorded album since her 2002 release '' 2nd Chance'', '' All in One'' debuted and peaked at #98 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 (her second highest charting on that chart to date) and #3 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Gospel Albums chart, while the album's lead single – "Prayed Up" – peaked at #9 and stayed over 22 weeks on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Gospel Songs chart. Clark-Sheard released her latest single " Sunday A.M" in 2014, which is nominated for the Best Gospel Song in the

57th Annual Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time ...

. As of 2019, Clark-Sheard is in talks to play Kitty Parham, a member of the Famous Ward Singers in Aretha Franklin's upcoming biopic '' Respect''. Karen was portrayed by her daughter,

in the

Lifetime TV Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

biopic ''The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel'', released April 11, 2020.

Personal life

Marriage and family

Clark-Sheard married Bishop J. Drew Sheard, a Detroit-based minister, on June 16, 1984. Clark-Sheard serves as the First Lady of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in

Detroit 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 t ...

, where her husband is senior pastor. In March 2021, Bishop Sheard was elected to serve as the Presiding Bishop of the COGIC denomination, thus making her the First Lady of the COGIC denomination at-large as well. Together they have two children: Kierra "Kiki" Sheard-Kelly (1987) and John Drew "J. Drew" Sheard II (1989). Another pregnancy ended in a stillbirth. Kiki is also a gospel recording artist, with four albums, plus various projects to her credit. J. Drew is a musician and producer who often plays drums for

Health

In 2001, Clark-Sheard was faced with a life-threatening crisis when a

blood vessel The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away ...

burst during a scheduled

bariatric Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity. Terminology The term ''bariatrics'' was coined around 1965,Dictionary.com, based on Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House (2006)R ...

surgery. Her doctors only gave her a 2% chance of survival due to her complications. After the

blood clot A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of ...

was surgically removed, Clark-Sheard fell into a coma. The coma lasted 6 months , but Clark-Sheard says she made a miraculous recovery.

Tours and concerts

*(1989) The Clark Sisters: Bringing It Back Home *(1997) Finally Karen *(2007-2008) The Clark Sisters: Live One Last Time Tour *(2016-2017) Festival Of Praise *(2016-2017) McDonald's Celebration of Gospel * (2020) The Clark Sisters Virtual Experience

Filmography

*1983 ''Gospel'' (documentary) *2009 "

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

" (

) *2010 ''Blessed & Cursed'' (movie) *2010 "

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

"(All Star) *2010 " Trumpet Awards" (

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 ...

) *2011 "

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

" (

tribute) *2011–2012 '' Church Girl'' (stage play) *2012 ''

For Richer or Poorer ''For Richer or Poorer'' is a 1997 American slapstick comedy film directed by Bryan Spicer starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley as a New York socialite couple who decide to end their spoiled relationship. The supporting cast includes Jay O. Sande ...

'' (stage play) *2012 " BMI Urban Music Awards" ( Mariah Carey tribute) *2013 " The Sheards" *2013 " BET Celebration of Gospel" *2014 " The BET Honors" *2017 " Xscape: Still Kickin It" ( Xscape Rocks the Stage, Episode 4) *2020 '' The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel'' (movie) *2021 ''Miracles Across 125th Street'' *2021 ''Song and Story: Amazing Grace''

Discography

Compilations

*2011: '' The Ultimate Collection – compilation

Studio albums

*Jul. 2002: '' 2nd Chance'' *Nov. 2003: ''

'' *Jan. 2006: '' It's Not Over'' *Apr. 2010: '' All in One''

Live albums

*Nov. 1997: ''

'' *Jul. 2015: '' Destined to Win''

Awards

BET Awards

The

are awarded annually by the Black Entertainment Television network. Karen Clark Sheard has received 3 nominations.

Dove Awards

The

Dove Awards A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Award ...

are awarded annually by the

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...

. The Clark Sisters have won 2 awards from 8 nominations.

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

. Karen Clark Sheard has won 4 awards from 12 nominations.

NAACP Image Awards

The

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

are awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP). Clark Sheard has won 2 awards from 4 nominations.

Soul Train Awards

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 ...

are awarded annually. Karen Clark Sheard has won 1 award from 5 nominations. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/karen-clark

Stellar Awards

The

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

are awarded annually by SAGMA. Karen Clark Sheard has received 9 awards and 1 honorary award.

References

External links

Official website of the Clark Sisters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheard, Karen Clark Grammy Award winners Singers from Detroit 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers 1960 births Living people American gospel singers African-American women singers Members of the Church of God in Christ American Pentecostals African-American Christians 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers