Pop Winans

His father, Carvin Winans (April 16, 1902 – February 1, 1992), denied paternity of David.

When he grew up, David changed his surname from Glenn to Winans at the request of his grandfather.

At the age of 18, Winans began singing with The Nobelaires, a soul group in Detroit.

David Glenn Winans Sr. (April 20, 1934 – April 8, 2009 ), better known to the general public as "Pop" Winans, was an American gospel music singer and band manager.

Winans was born David Glenn on April 20, 1934, in Detroit.

His parents never married and he was raised by his mother, Laura Glenn, a singer with the Zion Congregational Church of God in Christ.

However, Winans was brought up in Detroit's Mack Avenue Church of God in Christ, of which his paternal grandfather, Isaiah Winans, was the pastor.

Delores Ransom was born on September 22, 1936, in Detroit.

Her father was a baker and her mother was a homemaker.

She has one sister.

As a youth, Delores learned how to play the piano and as an adolescent began piano playing for the Lucille Lemon Gospel Chorus.

Ransom was the chorus' pianist for ten years.

Winans played the saxophone and the clarinet and joined the Lucille Lemon Gospel Chorus in 1950.

However, after his children were born, Winans put aside his singing career and would not sing professionally again for the next 30 years.

In 1950, Ransom and Winans met for the first time.

The two soon began to date and were married at Zion Congregational COGIC on November 21, 1953.

The couple's eldest child, David Winans Jr., now an engineer, was born on September 24, 1954.

Winans even had a job working for the main assembly plant of the Dodge Automobile Company in Detroit during the 1960s.

Six more sons; Ronald, Carvin II, Marvin (fraternal twins), Michael, Daniel and Benjamin "BeBe", were born before the Winans' first daughter Priscilla Marie (CeCe Winans) was born on October 8, 1964.

Reportedly, Winans first got the call to preach in 1964, but ignored it and waited a few years.

Winans preached his first sermon at the Detroit Pentecostal Church of Hope where family friend Bishop Ramey was the preacher.

Ramey was saved by Winans great-uncle Fred Winans in Mississippi.

His first sermon was from the book of Isaiah chapter 55.

Sons Ronald, Carvin II, Marvin, and Michael began singing at young ages in church.

Two more daughters; Angelique "Angie" (born 1968) and Debbie (born 1972), were born to David and Delores completing the set of ten children born to the couple.

Over the next few years, Winans worked various dead end jobs to financially support his family.

Those jobs included work as a car salesman, taxi driver, barber and janitor.

Pop Winans began to preach in Detroit churches in 1969.

Winans was best known as the manager of the gospel group The Winans during its early years in the 1980s and as the patriarch of the Winans family.

In the early 1980s, the boys were discovered by gospel legend Andraé Crouch.

Soon after, the boys, performing under the name "The Winans", were signed to Light Records.

Pop Winans soon became involved with the group becoming the boys' personal manager.

Their first record, Introducing The Winans was produced in 1981.

Pop Winans also had a solo career in music, releasing a CD of gospel music with his wife Delores "Mom" Winans called Mom & Pop Winans in 1989.

The CD was nominated for a Grammy Award.

They performed vocals in This Is America, Charlie Brown's segment "The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad" in 1989.

Their style was noted for its crossover efforts and received airplay on R&B radio.

The group's last recording was in 1995, but they have subsequently been involved in various Winans family projects where they are credited as "The Winans" (e.g. November 2000's Christmas: Our Gifts To You which Winans sang on).

Son Benjamin and daughter Priscilla began singing together around the same time The Winans released their first album.

Winans himself received a gospel nomination for best traditional gospel album for his solo album Uncensored in 2000.