Sandi Patty

Sandra Faye "Sandi" Patty (born July 12, 1956) is an American Christian music singer, known for her wide soprano vocal range and expressive flexibility.

Patty was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, into a family of musicians; her father was a minister of music, and her mother served as the church pianist.

She first performed at the age of two when she sang "Jesus Loves Me" for her church, Phoenix First Church of God.

First growing up in Phoenix, then San Diego, she and her brothers joined their parents in a performing group known as "The Ron Patty Family", and sang at churches nationwide during summer holidays.

After graduating from Crawford High School in San Diego, she attended San Diego State University and Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana, where she studied voice with soprano Greta Dominic, but graduated with an emphasis in conducting.

While studying at Anderson University, she worked as a studio musician for area recording studios, singing background vocals and recording commercial jingles, including one for Juicy Fruit gum.

Her reputation as a performer and studio singer grew during the late 1970s, and it was during this time that she initiated contact with legendary Christian musician Bill Gaither.

Patty recorded her first album, For My Friends, an independent effort, that landed in the hands of executives at Singspiration!

records.

In 1979, she was signed to Singspiration!

and released her first professional record, Sandi's Song.

According to the FAQ section on her website, the name on her birth certificate is Sandra Patty.

A printer's error on the labeling listed her name as Sandi Patti, and she used this moniker as her stage name for the next fifteen years, before correcting it to Sandi Patty.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she averaged over 200 concerts a year and supported a staff of over 30 that managed her career.

During this period of time Patty was noted, often critically, as the highest-paid singer in the Christian music industry averaging over $100,000 per appearance, largely due to massive touring and high-profile public appearances.

Patty's career expanded after she won her first two GMA Dove Awards in 1982 and began singing backup for Bill Gaither and the Bill Gaither Trio.

She headlined her first national tour in 1984 and reached national acclaim after her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was included during the ABC Statue of Liberty re-dedication broadcast on July 6, 1986.

She was invited to sing the national anthem at the Indianapolis 500 in 1987–88, 1990–92, and once again in 2013.

In 1990, Patty's inspirational single release, "I'll Give You Peace", written by Constant Change aka Dawn Thomas and Thomas Yarbrough, was released on one of her most popular records, entitled, Another Time...Another Place, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Christian Albums charts.

At the peak of her career, Patty's concerts were so heavily attended that she performed in often sold-out mainstream arenas and concert halls across the United States.

The reason for the split was later revealed to be infidelity, which subsequently stalled her career in the mid 1990s.

It was later reported that during her marriage she had an extramarital affair with her backup singer, Don Peslis, who was also married at the time.

In 1992, the news of Patty's divorce from manager John Helvering shocked the gospel music industry.

Patty divorced Helvering in 1993 and married Peslis in August 1995.

Confronted with rumors of the affair just two weeks into her marriage with Peslis, Patty made a full confession to her church congregation.

During this time, Patty received support from Charles Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip.

He referenced her in a comic strip, and Patty is quoted in a recent spiritual biography of Schulz as having been touched by the gesture.

This exposure led to multiple mainstream television appearances including The Tonight Show, Christmas in Washington, Walt Disney's Fourth of July Extravaganza, and the 1998 Pepsi 400; the clip was frequently used on television sign-offs for the remainder of their existence.

Patty slowly rebuilt her career by expanding her musical appeal, which included pop concert performances with symphony orchestras including the New York Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops, and the Dallas Symphony as well as headlining and hosting the Yuletide Celebration with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2015 under the direction of Maestro Jack Everly.

In 2000, Patty had a guest singing appearance at the end of a 7th Heaven episode (season 4, episode 20).

In 2004, Patty was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and in 2007 was awarded the GMA Music in the Rockies Summit Award.

She appeared in the 2006 annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

A televised performance of Sandi Patty's Yuletide Special was filmed for syndication in 2006, with other performers—including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the U.S. Air Force Reserve Band.

In May 2008, Patty released her 30th studio recording, Songs for the Journey, in which she covers classic hymns of the church and other modern gospel classics.

2008 also saw the release of five separate compilation recordings of past songs taken from previous albums.

In 2009, Patty received two GMA Dove Award nominations: Female Vocalist of the Year, and Inspirational Album of the Year (Songs for the Journey).

Simply Sandi, an acoustic album, is the first solo project to be released on her own record label, Stylos Records (a label with three artists—Sandi, Ben Utecht, and Heather Payne).

It was released on May 5, 2009.

Patty again hosted the extravaganza in December 2017 and 2021.

In both interviews and in her autobiography, Broken on the Back Row, Patty expressed remorse and took full responsibility for her past actions, revealing the steps she took in seeking forgiveness from those that her actions most affected.