NEW YORK – The Rev. Timothy Wright, the Grammy-nominated gospel singer and composer known for his up-tempo praise songs and powerful mass choir sound, has died. He was 61.
NEW YORK – The Rev. Timothy Wright, the Grammy-nominated gospel singer and composer known for his up-tempo praise songs and powerful mass choir sound, has died. He was 61.
Wright, who was seriously injured in a car crash that killed his wife and grandson, died early Thursday at the Bronx Veterans Hospital, music agent Will Bogle said.
Timothy Wright was the pastor at Grace Tabernacle Christian Center Church of God in Christ, located in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. He released more than a dozen gospel recordings, writing many of the songs. His latest album, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus," came out in 2007.
In 1994, his record "Come Thou Almighty King," with the New York Fellowship Mass Choir, made the Billboard Top 20 charts for gospel albums and was nominated for a Grammy for best traditional soul gospel album.
He got another nomination in that category in 1999 for "Been There Done That," recorded with the B/J Mass Choir and featuring Myrna Summers.
"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" features the New York Fellowship Mass Choir. The title track, written by Wright and his wife and recorded live at a Church of God in Christ convocation, expresses the plight of a woman displaced during Hurricane Katrina. She encourages herself and others by calling the name of Jesus. Among the other songs on the album were “You Must Come In At the Door.”
According to the book "Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Encyclopedia," by Bil Carpenter, the Brooklyn-born Wright began playing piano for his local church at age 12 and also began composing at a young age.
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