James Cleveland

In 1950, Cleveland joined the Gospelaires, a trio led by Norsalus McKissick and Bessie Folk. His arrangements modernized such traditional standards as "(Give Me That) Old Time Religion" and "It's Me, O Lord". After the trio disbanded, an associate of the group, Roberta Martin, hired him as a composer and arranger. The song that brought Cleveland tremendous fame was his rendition of "Peace Be Still".

Cleveland went to work with childhood friend Albertina Walker, founder of The Caravans, as a composer, arranger, pianist, and occasional singer as well as a narrator.[3]

The Caravans became the launching pad for today's gospel legends. Besides Cleveland, the group counted among its membership several gospel luminaries including Shirley Caesar, known as the First Lady of Gospel; Cassietta George, who co-wrote some of the group's best hits; Delores Washington; Josephine Howard, mother to R&B artist Miki Howard; Inez Andrews, whose song "Mary, Don't You Weep" became a staple in the industry; Dorothy Norwood, known as Gospel's Greatest Storyteller; James Heron; Loleatta Holloway, who became a legendary dance recording artist in the late 1970s; and several others.

In November 1954, Walker provided Cleveland the opportunity to do his very first recording. By staying out of the studio for a while, she convinced States Records to allow him to record with her group. He continued to record with The Caravans until States closed down in 1957.[4] Cleveland would later reunite with Walker in the late 1970s with two album releases: Reunion, released in 1977, and the iconic classic Please Be Patient With Me, released in 1979 with the Trinity All Nations Choir of Chicago. This album earned Walker her first gold record.

In 1959, he recorded a version of Ray Charles' hit "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" as a solo artist. By 1960, Cleveland, who had incorporated blues riffs in his work – and what Anthony Heilbut described as "sheer funkiness" – had become associated with a new tenor in gospel music. He became known by more than just the professionals within gospel music with his version of the Soul Stirrers' song, "The Love of God", backed by the Voices of Tabernacle from Detroit. The success and sensation of the song's recording led to a record contract with an historic label that would change his life forever.

James Cleveland signed with the historic jazz label Savoy Records in 1962, going on to release a huge catalog of soul gospel recordings from that year until his death in 1991, many of which were recorded in a live concert setting. The live concert recording staple started with Reverend Lawrence Roberts, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Nutley, New Jersey, home of the famous Angelic Choir. Roberts liked the idea of capturing worship in song live on a recording where the listeners can feel and become of a part of the service. Working with Savoy's executive producer Fred Mendelsohn, Cleveland and the Angelic Choir of Nutley released two albums before recording the iconic masterpiece, Peace Be Still, in September 1963, which sold thousands of copies at that time and garnered Cleveland his first gold album. Peace Be Still also stayed on the Billboard charts for at least fifteen years after its release.

Cleveland moved to Los Angeles to become Minister of Music at Grace Memorial Church of God in Christ, where he attained even greater popularity working with keyboardist Billy Preston and the Angelic Choir of Nutley, New Jersey. He returned to touring with the newly organized James Cleveland Singers, which included Odessa McCastle, Georgia White, Eugene Bryant, and Billy Preston, among others. In 1964, Cleveland re-organized The James Cleveland Singers, which included Odessa McCastle, Roger Roberts, and Gene Viale (who was the first Latin-American to integrate soul gospel and sing with the Cleveland Singers).

In 1965, Cleveland added Clyde Brown and Charles Barnett to his group, which by then was traveling extensively throughout the United States and abroad into the late 1960s, performing in all major venues. This collaboration produced such recordings as "Heaven That Will Be Good Enough For Me", "Two Wings", and "The Lord Is Blessing Me Right Now".

Other singers were added in later years, including Marva Hines and renowned soprano soloist, Cleo Kennedy. They were mainstays until Cleveland's death in 1991.

Cleveland capitalized on his success by founding his own choir, the Southern California Community Choir. After being nominated numerous times in previous years, James won his first Grammy Award with the Southern California Community Choir in 1975, for his 1974 album, In the Ghetto.

He recorded several albums with SCC between the years of 1970 and 1990. Their most successful albums were the 1979 Grammy-nominated release, It's a New Day, featuring the industry's signature staple, "God Is"; and their 1981 release, Where Is Your Faith; among many others. His final Grammy Award was issued posthumously after his passing in 1991, for his final album with SCC, Having Church, which features Cleveland's iconic rendition of Tramaine Hawkins' signature "What Shall I Do?", written and composed by Quincy Fielding.

In November 1970, Cleveland founded his own ministry and church, Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church, in Los Angeles which grew from ten to thousands of members throughout the remainder of his life. His first album with the church choir, The Voices of Cornerstone, was released in 1980, which featured a wonderful rendition by Cleveland of "Jesus, Lover of My Soul", and the title track, "A Praying Spirit", written by Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark and recorded by The Clark Sisters. The church choir's second album, My Expectations, was released in 1981 to moderate acclaim. By the time of his death the church membership was over 7,000.

From the 1970s until 1990, Cleveland would bring together a number of artists to back him on appearances and records. He also continued to introduce, appear, and record with some of the most notable gospel choirs and independent artists of the time – many of whom became legends in their own right including The Donald Vails Choraleers (Detroit); The Harold Smith Majestics, with whom he recorded the classic "Lord, Help Me to Hold Out"; The Los Angeles Gospel Messengers, the last choir to record with Cleveland before he passed; New Jerusalem Baptist Church Choir from Flint, Michigan; Henry Jackson; The Craig Brothers; The Salem Inspirational Choir from Omaha, Nebraska, with whom he recorded the iconic staple "I Don't Feel Noways Tired"; Richard "Mr. Clean" White; Bishop Albert Jamison & the Triboro Mass Choir; Issac Whittmon; Marva Hines; Debbie Austin; The Fourth of May; Quentella Caldwell; Sara Jordan Powell; The Philadelphia Mass Choir; The Houston Mass Choir; The New Jersey Mass Choir; and the award-winning Charles Fold Singers, from Cincinnati , Ohio, with whom Cleveland recorded five albums, including the Grammy-winning 1979 release, Make Me an Instrument.

Additionally, Cleveland himself backed other acts, contributing to the recordings of well-known artists such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Elton John.

Cleveland also moved to Detroit in the 1960s to take a position as music director at the famed New Bethel Baptist Church, where C. L. Franklin, father of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, was pastor. In 1972, James collaborated with Aretha on her historic Grammy-winning and multi-million-selling album Amazing Grace, which is known as the Greatest Gospel Album of All Time. Recorded live at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in Los Angeles, with his Southern California Community Choir,[5] his feature on the album and Aretha's success as a pop artist made the album a historic landmark in gospel, and is still selling to this day, with a special CD re-release of The Complete Recordings (the unedited album recording session of the Amazing Grace project).

This historic recording was also filmed by director Sydney Pollack for an intended documentary release, but due to a technical issue of not using a clapperboard to synchronize the audio with the video, the film was deemed unusable, and was left shelved for the next 47 years.[5] Before he died, Pollack authorized producer Alan Elliott to try to complete the film.[5] Initially unaware of the sound synchronization problem, Elliot mortgaged his own house to buy the film negative from Warner Brothers, but was able to use modern technology to bring audio and video together successfully.[5] The completed documentary was finally released in April 2019, playing in select theaters across the world, with a premier at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church itself.[5]

The historic documentary film Gospel, released in 1983, features James Cleveland for the first time on the motion picture screen, along with the Southern California Community Choir, Walter Hawkins & the Family, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Shirley Caesar, and The Clark Sisters. The film was directed by David Leivick and Frederick A. Ritzenberg. Excerpts from the film soundtrack was released on Savoy Records and became a top seller, with Cleveland having the majority feature on side two of the album.

Following Cleveland's death in February 1991, a number of controversies arose surrounding his estate, which at the time was estimated to be worth between $4 and $6 million.[13][14]

In October 1991, music producer Andre M. Cleveland (then aged 34) filed suit against James Cleveland's estate, claiming to be Cleveland's adopted son.[13]

Also in October 1991, Jean Ervin, a member of the Cleveland-founded Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church, claimed that she was the mother of Cleveland's only biological child, daughter LaShone Cleveland (b. 1965).[13] Ervin also said that she believed that Andre M. Cleveland was not adopted as he claimed, but was merely one of the many "homeless" children that the late-singer took into his home over the years.[13]

In February 1992, Cleveland's then-foster son, Christopher Harris (formerly Christopher Harris Cleveland), filed a lawsuit against Cleveland's estate, claiming that Cleveland allegedly sexually abused him over a period of five years and infected him with the HIV virus, which he claims Cleveland contracted through same-sex liaisons. The case was settled with undisclosed terms.[9][10][11][15][16] According to Heilbut (2012), Cleveland was widely recognized as gay in the gospel circuit.[17]