Wintley Augustus Phipps, Sr. (born January 7, 1955) is a Trinidadian-American singer, songwriter, record producer, and minister, and founder of the U.S. Dream Academy, Songs of Freedom Publishing Company, and Coral Records Recording Company. He features a booming bass-baritone voice, usually singing inspirational gospel music. He is an ordained

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

minister.

Biography

Phipps was born in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, but at an early age moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He attended Kingsway College in

Oshawa, Ontario Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Gr ...

, Canada, a Seventh-day Adventist academy, and later Oakwood College, a Seventh-day Adventist college (university since 2007) in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in ...

, where he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in Theology. Phipps would go on to earn a Master of Divinity degree from

Andrews University Andrews University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship universi ...

, a Seventh-day Adventist university in

Berrien Springs, Michigan Berrien Springs is a village in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,800 at the time of the 2010 census. The village is located within Oronoko Charter Township. History Berrien Springs, like Berrien County, is na ...

. Wintley Phipps served as senior pastor to several churches in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, including the Capitol Hill and Seabrook Seventh-day Adventist Churches. He currently serves as pastor of th
Palm Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church
in

Palm Bay, Florida Palm Bay is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 119,760 at th2020 United States Census making it the most populous city in the county and the largest by land mass. The historic section of the city lies on the ...

. Wintley is married to Linda Galloway, whom he met at Oakwood. They have three sons: Wintley II, Winston Adriel, and Wade Alexander.

Notable performances

He has performed for American presidents

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, National Prayer Breakfast for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

in 1994,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

at several

National Prayer Breakfast The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide. The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has ...

events and his 2013 Inaugural Prayer Service and other celebrations. He performed for the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

Democratic National Conventions, Rosa Parks' 77th Birthday gala at the Kennedy Center,

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, and former South African President Nelson Mandela. He has appeared on programs such as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. television special, Dr. Robert Schuller's ''Hour of Power'' Telecast,

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

Crusades, the Vatican, as guest soloist at Diana Ross's wedding ceremony in Switzerland, ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'', '' Soul Train'', ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

'', and the 2013 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. Wintley Phipps' performances also include

voice over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

work (or

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

) with ''Breathe

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

''."Wintley Phipps, The Voice of Peter"
BreatheBible.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. On July 27, 2020, he sang an emotionally-charged version of "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" as Rep.

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

lay in state in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, and sang "

How Great Thou Art "How Great Thou Art" is a Christian hymn based on an original Swedish hymn entitled "" written in 1885 by Carl Boberg (1859–1940). The English version of the hymn and its title are a loose translation by the English missionary Stuart K. Hine ...

" at Colin Powell's funeral on November 5, 2021.

U.S. Dream Academy, Inc.

In 1998, Phipps founded the U.S. Dream Academy, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a values-based, interactive, tutorial and remedial education program targeting children and at-risk youth through community Family Learning Centers located in various states. Phipps wanted something to help break the cycle he saw played out so many times in his own family. Wintley formed the U.S. Dream Academy to help children who have had a family member behind bars. The program provides mentoring, academic tutoring, and exposure to computers and the Internet. Phipps says, "Just the computers themselves are not going to transform the lives of these kids," and "The most important part of our program is really the caring, loving adults who surround them." The Academy has garnered praise from Oprah Winfrey and former president

Awards

* Excellence in Mentoring for Program Leadership Award, MENTOR * Oprah's Angel Network $100,000 "Use Your Life" Award. * Grammy Award nominations in 1988 and 1989 * 2005 MMP Fall Leadership, $100,000 * Philanthropist of the Year, National Center for Black Philanthropy, Inc.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''I Give You My Life'' (1979) * ''The Neo-Gospel Experience'' (1982) * ''Lord, You Are My Music'' (1984) * ''I Give You My Life'' (1984) * ''I Choose You Again'' (1984) * ''We Are One'' (1985) * ''The Great Controversy'' (1985) * ''It's Christmas Time'' (1986) * ''Wintley Phipps'' (1987) * ''A Love Like This'' (1988) * ''Sun Will Shine Again'' (1990) * ''The Power of a Dream'' (1995) * ''Favorite Hymns '' (1996) * ''Favorite Spirituals'' (1996) * ''Songs of Christmas'' (2000) * ''Out of the Night'' (2001) * ''Heal Our Land'' (2001) * ''Favorite Hymns of Billy Graham'' (Discovery House, 2005) * ''Spirituals: A Symphonic Celebration'' (Discovery House, 2006) * ''No Need for Fear'' (Discovery House, 2007) * ''The Classics'' (Discovery House, 2008) * ''O Holy Night!'' (Discovery House, 2009) * ''My Greatest Romance'' (Coral Records, 2010) * ''To God Be the Glory'' (Discovery House, 2011) * ''Near the Cross: Wintley Phipps Sings the Beloved Hymns of Fanny Crosby'' (2013) * I Surrender All (Discovery House, 2015) * Amazing Grace (The Best of Wintley Phipps) (2018)

Live albums

* ''Wintley Phipps Live'' (2000)

Compilations

* ''Christmas in Vienna - Diana Ross'' (1993) * ''Don't Let Me Walk This Road Alone'' (Duet with Melissa Manchester from the album ''If My Heart Had Wings'') (1995) * ''Saviour: The Story of God's Passion for His People'' (1996) * ''Millennium Chorus: The Greatest Story Ever Sung'' (2000) * ''Gospel Gold (Bellmark)'' (2000) * ''Spirituals: Songs of the Soul'' (Discovery House, 2004)

Videos

* ''No Need to Fear'' (Discovery House) * ''Spirituals: A Symphonic Celebration'' (Discovery House, 2008) * ''Favorite Hymns of Billy Graham'' (Discovery House, 2008)

References

Bibliography

* *Phipps, Wintley; James Lund (2015), ''Your Best Destiny: Becoming the person you were created to be''. Tyndale Publishers *Phipps, Wintley, ''Perfecting Me: Becoming the person you were created to be''. Songs of Freedom Publishing

External links

Palm Bay SDA Church

Capitol Hill SDA Church

Images of Wintley Phipps

Wintley Phipps Regales MMP

Phipps Helps Youth Hum a Different Tune - Wintley Phipps' U.S. Dream Academy - Interview

PBS Religion & Ethics Article - April 10, 2009
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phipps, Wintley 1955 births Living people 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers Oakwood University alumni American performers of Christian music Andrews University alumni American gospel singers American Seventh-day Adventist ministers Trinidad and Tobago Seventh-day Adventists Chapel Records artists Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to Canada