Milton Brunson

Brunson was born on June 28, 1929,[1] in Chicago, Illinois.[2] His father was a stockyard worker, while his mother was a music and religion teacher.[2] After he graduated from McKinley High School,[3] he pursued a career in music by getting trained by Thomas A. Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson, and Robert Johnson, to hone his craft in the arts.[2] He eventually became an ordained minister in 1964, and founded, pastored, and was the music director at Christ Tabernacle Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois.[2]

His music career started in 1947, at the age of 18 by learning his craft from Thomas A. Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson, and Robert Johnson.[2] After this mentoring process, he started the Thompson Community Singers (nicknamed, "The Tommies"),[3] that appeared on many episodes of the Jubilee Showcase.[2] They even played Grant Park during the Chicago Gospel Music Festival and at the Apollo Theater and at Madison Square Garden in New York City.[2] This got them enough recognition to play in England, Italy, and many other countries around the globe.[2] Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers released twenty-two musical projects, and a few of those were released posthumously.[4] Ten albums got charted on the Billboard Gospel Albums chart, with five of them achieving the top spot on the chart.[5] They received numerous accolades ranging from a nomination for the Best Gospel Album, Group or Choir at the 1988 Soul Train Music Awards and for Best Gospel Album at the 1993 Soul Train Music Awards.[2] In addition, they won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards, while they were nominated two other times.[2] The Thompson Community Singers boasts some notable alumni particularly, Darius Brooks, Ricky Dillard, and Jessy Dixon.[2]

Brunson died at his residence in Chicago, Illinois on April 1, 1997.[1][2] He is interred at Oakridge Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.[1]