CECE WINANS Tells Why Gospel Music Heals The Soul And Lifts The Spirit

Jet, Oct 22, 2001

CeCe Winans says gospel is "God's words set to music."

The music is everlasting and can heal your soul and lift your spirit higher than you could ever imagine.

CeCe, whose new album, CeCe Winans, is riding the gospel charts, explained the healing effect of the music during a telephone interview with JET from her home in Nashville.

"I think gospel music heals the soul and lifts the spirit because it is food for the soul and the spirit," she explains.

"Gospel music is healing because it is the gospel. The message itself is always guaranteed to lift you up and is always guaranteed to give you what you need because it is always positive. Gospel music is always fresh and is always welcomed."

She adds, "It is always comforting because it is the good news; it is God's word set to music. So it is all about love; it is all about peace; it's all about joy; it's all about happiness. It's all about answers."

She notes the everlasting appeal of the music: "Gospel will always be around because, first of all, we are all more alike than we are different. And we all need love and joy. We need peace. Gospel music will always be around and will always be popular because it is a medicine."

She points out that gospel music also is simply entertaining and comes in various styles--traditional, contemporary, even R&B and hip-hop. "People can get entertained by it because it's simply good music. But when people really need something to hold on to and they really need to be ministered to or healed or just want to feel better, I think people turn to gospel music."

CeCe points out, "I've been singing gospel music for years, and I never get bored with singing it because even though I am a gospel singer, I go through bad times, too. I experience down times and rough trials as well. And a lot of times when I am ministering to people, I am also ministering to myself at the same time."

CeCe is soothing the soul of her fans with her new self-titled album that features the hits More Than What I Wanted and her latest Anybody Wanna Pray.

"This was written as a love song," she reveals of More Than What I Wanted. "When I heard it, it just moved me. I loved the beat; it's a happy song. I was like, `I've got to do this song!' And I'm not saying `baby' because this is what I feel about the Lord. He is more than what I wanted. He has been so good to me. I don't deserve how great He's been. For anyone who doesn't believe in God, I just don't believe you don't believe in Him. He's so great and He's so awesome and to have Him in your life and to know He's there for you is just more than what I wanted."

Referring to Anybody Wanna Pray, she notes, "Even though it has a strong beat going on ... I want them to get the message. We hope it spreads like fire and burns in the hearts of people and motivates people to really pray, realizing that God is the answer, the way out. Prayer really changes things."

CeCe's album, which is on her new record label, Wellspring Gospel, includes, R&B, urban, pop, Christian, gospel and inspirational-flavored tunes.

She points out, "I have something for everybody on this album. It is upbeat; it sounds like a celebration in some ways, and I think you also hear a lot of confidence and hopefully authority."

She orders the devil to get out of her home on Out My House: "The song comes from a place of encouraging people to stand up and realize who you are and stop letting the devil come in and destroy your family, your children, your spirit, your self-esteem. This song is about the authority of the believer. If we don't believe what God has in us, we'll let the devil beat us up all the time."

CeCe is involved in the Initiative Teen Organization, which focuses on teen suicide prevention. The powerful tune, It's Gonna Get Better, which she wrote with Tommy Sims, deals with the tragedy of suicide among young people. "We are losing a lot of people to suicide across the board, all colors, all nationalities, but especially our children. And when I heard that, it just broke my heart. It's Gonna Get Better is a very special song, and I'm praying the anointing of God upon it that it will save lives."

Other highlights include Say A Prayer, Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Come Fill This Place and Bring Back the Days Of Yea & Nay, which was previously recorded by her famous brothers, The Winans.

CeCe won fame with her brother BeBe Winans with the duo's self-titled major label debut on Capitol records in 1987 with the tunes, I.O.U. Me and Love Said Not So. They followed that success with their 1988 album, Heaven, featuring Heaven, Meantime, Lost Without You and Hold Up the Light with Whitney Houston. The hits continued and their 1991 album, Different Lifestyles, won the duo Grammy, Dove and Image Awards and two No. 1 R&B singles, I'll Take You There, with Mavis Staples and Addictive Love. In 1995, BeBe and CeCe embarked on highly successful solo careers.

CeCe and Donnie McClurkin kick off a national gospel tour this week, and it is already touted as "the gospel tour of the year." On the tour, sponsored by K-mart and World Vision, the two hot performers promise to heal the soul and lift the spirit of fans. "We come for no other reason than to praise God and to heal the soul and lift the spirit. It's not about Donnie, and it's not about me. It's just about two people who love the Lord. I love Donnie, and he shows through his ministry that it is not about him, but it is about the Lord. So I am excited to tour with him.