The Winans
Detroit based brothers Ronald, Marvin, Carvin and Michael Winans, aka The Winans shook up the world with their fresh Urban Contemporary Gospel sound laced with secular beats and Bible-based/inspirational lyrics from 1981 through 1995. They were among the second wave of Gospel artists pushing their way into mainstream after contemporary Gospel legends Andrae Crouch and Edwin Hawkins paved the way in the ’60s and ’70s.
Andrae Crouch was instrumental in the group getting its first record deal with Light Records. And in 1981 they released their first album, Introducing the Winans featuring the church song that became a cross-over hit, “Tomorrow,” “Trust In God” and “Uphold Me.” This marked the beginning of their cross-over success in Gospel and R&B sales and at mainstream radio.
When the group signed with Quincy Jones’ mainstream label, Warner Bros. distributed Qwest in the late 1980s, it opened the doorway to a wider audience and a whole new world of success and celebrity for the Grammy Award-winning. They became Gospel superstars.
When Gospel artists were rarely heard on Urban radio except for on Sundays, The Winans were getting consistent airplay with songs like “Ain’t No Need To Worry (featuring Anita Baker),” “The Question Is,” “Let My People Go,” and “Millions,” (one of Oprah’s favorite songs). The Gold selling album, Return which contained the very Urban “It’s Time,” produced by and featuring R&B producer, Teddy Riley was one of their most successful projects, but it also got them in hot water with traditionalist for working with a secular producer and artist.
Their strategic pairings with top R&B artists and producers helped propelled them to millions in sales and Gold record success.
And with that came more Urban radio airplay. The Winans became Gospel pioneers, breaking ground that would pave the way for artists such as Kirk Franklin and MARY MARY. The brothers stopped recording together officially as The Winans after 1995, but continue to record on other projects.
