The Rance Allen Group, named for its lead vocalist, Bishop Rance Allen, was a gospel music group created in Monroe, Michigan, and based in Toledo, Ohio.
Vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and songwriter Rance Allen (b. Monroe, Michigan) founded the band with his brothers Tom (drums) and Steve (bass guitar); another brother, Esau (percussionist), was a part-time member.
256 They caught the attention of one of the judges, record promoter Dave Clark, who worked for Stax Records, while performing at a gospel talent contest in Detroit, Michigan.
255–256 The band was the first to be signed to Stax’s Gospel Truth imprint, and they recorded for the label throughout the 1970s. 256 Wattstax, a documentary film about the group, was released in 1972.
Rance Allen, Was A Gospel Music
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270 Following their visit, the National Association of Television and Radio Announcers named the group “Best Religious Group” (NATRA).
272 David Porter penned the autobiographical song “Just Found Me” for the group’s 1975 album A Soulful Experience, which he co-produced.363
The group’s incorporation of rock and soul into traditional black gospel music foreshadowed Amy Grant, Andrae Crouch, and The Winans’ crossover success.
The quartet had a Top 30 R&B success with “I Belong to You” in 1978.
In the spring of 2000, the band released “Miracle Worker,” one of their most well-known tracks.
The phenomenon, the group’s 1991 album, garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album at the 34th Grammy Awards.
God Has Been So Good, his most recent CD, features hip-hop pioneer Glenn “Sweety G” Toby, producer Bernard Jackson, and young gospel performer Madison.
Allen, Rance
Rance Allen (November 19, 1948 – October 31, 2020), the creator and leader of the Rance Allen Group, was an American Bishop, Minister, and gospel musician.
Allen became known as the main lead vocalist and the leader of the influential ensemble due to his incredibly broad vocal range and powerful singing voice.
Since its founding in July 1985, he has served as the senior pastor of the New Bethel Church Of God In Christ in Toledo, Ohio.
Rance Allen was ordained as a Bishop in the Church of God in Christ for the Michigan Northwestern Harvest Jurisdiction in November 2011.
Allen was born in Monroe, Michigan, in 1948 to Thomas and Emma Pearl Allen, into a family with African American, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Latino American ancestry.
He was the youngest of eleven siblings, including six sisters and five brothers. In 1969, Allen and his brothers Thomas and Steve created the Rance Allen Group in Detroit.
Ellen Marie wife
Ellen Marie Allen (née Groves) was Allen’s wife. On December 1, 1970, the two married. There were no offspring between the two of them.
Andrae Crouch, Marvin Winans, Bebe and Cece Winans, the Clark Sisters, Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, John P. Kee, Fred Hammond, Tye Tribbett, Shirley Caesar, Donnie McClurkin, Bernard Jackson Jr., and Mary McLaurine Glover were among the gospel musicians Allen and his group had performed with across the country.
He was also nominated for five Grammy Awards and performed for President Barack Obama at a White House Celebration of Gospel Music.
Allen passed away on October 31, 2020, as a result of complications following a recent medical treatment. He was 71 years old at the time.
Discography
• Rance Allen Group (Rance Allen) (1972)
• It’s All About the Truth (1972)
• Siblings (1973)
• Consecrated (1975; UK-only compilation)
• A Soulful Adventure (1975; 1981 released as Ain’t No Need To Cry)
• Tell My Friend (1977; reissued 1979 as The Way It Is)
• Directly from the Heart (1978; reissued on CD with bonus tracks in 1994)
• Make a happy face (1979)
• I’m tempted to continue (1980)
• Listen to My Voice (1983)
• I surrender myself to you (1984)
• The Rance Allen Group’s Best (1988) (Stax Records)
• Phenomenon is a term used to describe a phenomenon (1991)
• Ahead of My Head (1995 compilation)
• You have the ability to make me want to dance (1995)
• Allow the music to penetrate your soul (1997; vault release)
• Worker of Miracles (2000)
• The Rance Allen Group’s Soulful Truth (2001; UK-only compilation)
• All the Way Through (2002)
• Wattstax (box set; multiple musicians) (2003)
• The Live Observation (2004)
• The Person Who Is My Closest Friend (2007)
• The Second Life Experience (2011)
♥ Grace abounds (2012)
• Have a good time (2014)
• From San Francisco, live (2016)
• God Is Good (2020)
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