Thomas Whitfield

Thomas Anthony Whitfield (April 30, 1954 – June 20, 1992) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, choir director and producer best known for helping to shape the fabric of contemporary gospel music with his elaborate choral arrangements and the merging of musical styles ranging from jazz to classical into traditional gospel foundations.

This style earned him the respectable title of "Maestro" by many of his colleagues and supporters.

He was best known for organizing one of the popular contemporary gospel choirs of all time, the Thomas Whitfield Company, and for producing best-selling records for Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Adams, Douglas Miller, Keith Pringle, Paul Morton and for Aretha Franklin.

Thomas Whitfield, the eldest of five boys, was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Thomas and Jacqueline Whitfield.

He took to music at a very early age and was inspired by his great-grandmother to take piano lessons at the age of five and would advance to playing the organ by the age of ten.

His influences remained some of Detroit's greatest musicians including renowned organist Herbert Pickard and Timothy Beard.

After graduating from Detroit's Central High School, he attended the Detroit Conservatory of Music and ended up sharing his expertise and knowledge as a music instructor at Finney High School.

In 1977, along with his good friend Tyrone Hemphill, Whitfield established The Thomas Whitfield Company, a local music ministry featuring some of Detroit's finest singers and musicians.

This remarkable institution remained the apparent incubator for most of Whitfield's most popular creations and would forever be attached to his musical legacy and recording career.

Sound of Gospel, a local Detroit gospel music subsidiary of Westbound Records operated by music guru Armen Boladian, took notice in Whitfield's fresh sound and approach to gospel music and signed him and the group thereafter; resulting in the debut release of "Brand New" in 1978.

After getting local attention with the releases of "Brand New" and "Things That We Believe, Vol. I" and "Things That We Believe, Vol. II" during the years of 1978–1980, Whitfield recorded his first live recording session (a popular trend in modern gospel music) with the Company at the St. Paul Church of God In Christ in Detroit.

The album was finally released in 1983.

At the same time, Whitfield began his association with Onyx International Records (a black gospel subsidiary of Benson Records) and also released "Hold Me"; a solo project that seemed to be threatening towards SOG's current contract with the Whitfield Company.

While "Hold Me" was released on a more recognized label and was by far one of Whitfield's state-of-the-art productions to date, it also help increased the popularity and exposure of "Hallelujah Anyhow" and kept the album on Billboard's Gospel Music charts for over a year.

The understanding of the agreement with both music labels was that Whitfield recorded "Hold Me" as a solo entry while SOG was mainly interested in Whitfield being attached to the choir; feeling that his choir was the "selling card".

SOG continued to record them as: Min. Thomas Whitfield & the Thomas Whitfield Company.

Whitfield wrote most of the songs (except for "Soon As I Get Home" and "There's Not A Friend" – written by Roscoe Corner) and produced both projects.

Songs like "God Wants Our Praises", "There's Not A Friend", "Walk In The Light", the infectious arrangement of "Oh, How I Love Jesus" and the brilliant ballad "Hallelujah Anyhow" were standouts.

Whitfield began a line of notable achievements in producing for both established and fresh talent.

In 1984, Whitfield produced the historic debut project Peace Be Still, for a virtual unknown singer at the time by the name of Vanessa Bell Armstrong; earning him his first of three GRAMMY nominations.

That year, he also wrote "Time To Come Back Home" for Shirley Caesar's GRAMMY and Dove Award winning "Sailin" album.

Whitfield's popularity and demand continued to escalate – possibly pointing that he may have reached the beginning of his recording zenith.

Production on projects from the Soul Children of New Orleans, Keith Pringle, Douglas Miller, the Winans, the Michael Fletcher Chorale and Paul S. Morton followed.

In 1986, "I'm Encouraged" was released; a live recording session held at the Civic Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio.

The project climbed to the #1 spot on Billboard's Top Gospel Album charts.

During Whitfield's final years with Sound of Gospel, Whitfield discovered Texas native Yolanda Adams and produced her first project Just As I Am for the Detroit label in 1988 which skyrocketed up Billboard's Gospel charts.

An opportunity of a lifetime was awarded to Whitfield when the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin confronted him with the task to head the musical direction for her upcoming live recording – a project that the media labeled the sequel to her best-selling and award-winning "Amazing Grace" LP.

In 1989, Aretha Franklin took home a GRAMMY Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female for "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism" and a Dove Award for Traditional Gospel Album of the Year – an album that featured musical and choral arrangements from Thomas A. Whitfield.

Some of the album's serious highlights include the moving opener of "Walk In The Light" and Aretha Franklin being serenaded by Whitfield's entrancing piano accompaniment on "Ave Maria".

In 1989, Teresa Hairston (head of Benson Music Group's black gospel department) contacted Whitfield and expressed interest in signing him, along with the Whitfield Company to her label.

SOG released two successful projects ("The Annual Christmas Services", "...And They Sang A Hymn") in 1990, while Whitfield went into the studio to record "My Faith" for Benson.

The project contained the Edwin Hawkins' composition "Glorify The Lord" and featured musical appearances from Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Karen Clark-Sheard (from the renowned Clark Sisters).

In 1992, Benson released what would be Whitfield's last recording, "Alive And Satisfied".

The album, to so many gospel music historians, felt like a prophecy and a "love letter" to Whitfield's presence in the gospel music industry.

The album featured the moving praise-and-worship ballad "Precious Jesus", "Let Everything Praise Him" (which features the popular sampled vamp used in a number of recent gospel selections) and the reflective "We Remember (Medley)".

The medley featured some of Whitfield's most treasured classics strung together in one song.

By this time, Whitfield had already been contacted by Paramount Pictures to appear in the motion picture Leap of Faith, starring Steve Martin.

He eventually turned down the offer and began work with music mogul Quincy Jones' "Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration".

On June 20, 1992, after a lengthy choir rehearsal, Whitfield went with four of the choir members to Elias Brother's Big Boy; a popular local restaurant on Telegraph Road.

At the table, he started to clutch his chest and began to gasp for air.