The Gospel Music of Hall Announces its 2025 Inductees and Special Award Recipients During Black Music Month with More than 100 Recording-Breaking Inductions including Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, The Clark Sisters with Elbertina “Twinkie” Clark, Karen Clark Sheard, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Jacky Clark-Chisholm; Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell, Warryn Campbell, Dr. Jekalyn Carr,
Dr. Ricky Dillard ‘The Choir Master,’ Tye Tribbett, Rickey Smiley, Vanessa Bell-Armstrong, Deitrick Haddon,
Lisa Page-Lockhart and Other Gospel Greats
Posthumous Inductees included Dr. Whitney Houston,
Dr. Cissy Houston, Inez Andrews, Former Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson, Harold Lashaun Martin, and Al “The Bishop” Hobbs, Among Others
(St. Louis, MO – June 5, 2025) – As we celebrate the 46th Anniversary of Black Music Month, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (GMHOF) today announces its 2025 Induction Gala Ceremony and Expo, the two-day event is scheduled during Gospel Music Heritage Month on Friday, September 5, and Saturday, September 6, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the St. Louis Convention Center, 701 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO.
With a record-breaking number of inductions totaling more than 100 individuals, this year’s Gospel Music Hall of Fame event will be one for the records. “Through the power of Gospel music, we not only celebrate our rich heritage but also unite hearts and souls in faith, hope, and joy,” says Dr. Monica R. Butler, founder of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, headquarters in St. Louis. Butler is also a career radio and television broadcaster and filmmaker. “Let us preserve and promote the timeliness messages of love and redemption, inspiring future generations to carry the light of the Gospel forward.”
The 4th Annual Gospel Music Hall of Fame Honorary Inductees and the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award recipients will include multiple Grammy, Stellar, and Gospel Music Associations’ Dove Award winners and recording artists including Kirk Franklin (20-time Grammy Award winner); Yolanda Adams (four-time Grammy Award winner); The Clark Sisters with Elbertina “Twinkie” Clark (two-time Grammy Award winner), Karen Clark Sheard (four-time Grammy Award winner), Dorinda Clark-Cole (two-time Grammy Award winner), and Jacky Clark-Chisholm (two-time Grammy Award winner); Erica Campbell (six-time Grammy Award winner), Tina Campbell (four-time Grammy Award winner), Warryn Campbell (five-time Grammy Award winner), Dr. Jekalyn Carr (one-time Grammy Award winner), and Dr. Ricky Dillard, “The Choir Master” (eight-time Grammy-nominated recording artist).
Other double award recipients include legends of the Gospel music industry including Claude Lataillade, who is the co-founder of Gospo Centric Records, Lilly Mack Publishing, and co-owner of Central South Distribution. Vicki Mack Lataillade is the business partner and wife of Claude Lataillade. She revolutionized the Gospel Music industry. Billboard magazine named her record label, Gospo Centric, the No. 1 Gospel label in America with sales of more than 30 million units. Her efforts in the music industry have resulted in sales of more than 100 million records. She founded Gospo Centric Records and Lilly Mack Publishing in 1992. She has grown her publishing company to a catalog of more than 1,200 songs with music from Kirk Franklin, Walter Hawkins, Kurt Carr, Byron Cage, Hezekiah Walker, and many more. D3 Entertainment Group is a premier marketing agency that oversees multi-media campaigns for music, film, and television projects, as well as faith-based institutions and initiatives, under the leadership of its co-founders Kelvis “Clyde” Duffie, Michelle S. Duffie, Kendall J. Duffie. Melanie Few is the founder and long-term executive producer of the now renamed The Super Bowl Soulful Celebration. Vy Higginsen is a playwright, theatrical producer, theater director and broadcast legend. She is best known on Broadway and New York Theater circles as the co-creator of the musical, MAMA, I WANT TO SING! and its subsequent MAMA theatrical brands. For more than ten years, Higginsen hosted radio shows on both WBLS-FM and WWRL-AM.
The other double award recipients conclude with Dr. Pat Houston, an author, global ambassador, entrepreneur, creative visionary, producer, and executive producer. With more than forty years of marketing, branding, and management experience, she is the president and CEO of WhitNip Inc., the executor of The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, The Estate of Emily Houston, and the president of The Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation. Dr. Cheryl Jackson is an author, public speaker, business strategist, consultant, and multi-million-dollar social entrepreneur. She is the Power of Action advocate that equips people around the world with tools to empower them to act for their life and accelerate their career. Oprah said, “Cheryl is relentless.” Debbie May is a leading consultant for live concerts and stage production. She works as a stage manager, tour manager, production manager, floor director, live producer and talent coordinator. Celebrating more than 20 years in Gospel music and ministry, Rosie Trenia Moore is a consultant advisory strategist and the founder of RTM Group Services. Her company offers services in marketing, promotions, corporate events, project management, audio/video productions, media buys for television and radio, website/graphics, public relations, social media, artist development, radio tracking, branding, image consultant and more. Gwendolyn Quinn is a global award-winning publicist and media/marketing strategist, content creator, broadcast producer and an entertainment consultant. A Stellar Award-winning Gospel Radio Announcer Meta Washington is a radio host and program director of SiriusXM’s Kirk Franklin’s Praise channel. Rev. Joseph L. Williams is the senior pastor of Salem Bible Church of Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Harvey Watkins, Jr. is the lead singer of the world-renowned Canton Spirituals.
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame Posthumous Inductees
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame will posthumously inductee several legends who have been instrumental in the Gospel Music industry. Celebrating 40 years in music and entertainment, Dr. Whitney Houston began singing Gospel music at the age of five. She recorded several Gospel Music projects, which made a significant impact on the music industry. On tour, she always performed two-three Gospel tunes on all of her worldwide concert dates. Known globally as “The Voice,” with more than 220 million combined albums, singles and videos sold worldwide and counting, Whitney Houston has established a benchmark for superstardom. She is also the first Black recording artist to receive three RIAA Diamond-certified albums. Born Emily Drinkard in Newark, NJ, and globally known as Dr. Cissy Houston, two-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist Cissy Houston led a successful career as a solo and performing artist. She recorded one album with The Drinkard Singers, four albums with The Sweet Inspirations, more than ten solo albums, four compilations albums, five collaborative recordings, and numerous reissues projects have been released. As a first-call backup vocalist, she recorded and performed with a wide range of artists across multiple genres. The late Inez Andrews was a member of the iconic Gospel group, The Caravans, Andrews known around the world for her soaring contralto and vocal deliver on many songs including “Mary, Don’t You Weep.” The Grammy Award-nominated and multiple Stellar Award winner also received the Ambassador Bobby Jones Legend Award. Bishop Michael Alan Brooks was a founding member of the legendary Gospel group, Commissioned. Known for his multifaceted talents as a musician, songwriter, and producer, he helped to craft the signature sound of the Grammy-nominated and Stellar Award-winning group. He also founded the all-female contemporary gospel group Witness, with his then future wife Lisa Page who was a member. Years later, the group also included his daughter, BET’s Sunday Best winner Tasha Page-Lockhart. Ruby Summerville-Dickson was a well-known gospel radio personality and singer in the St. Louis community. Affectionately known as Mother Ruby, she was the single most beloved person in the Gospel community. She toured with Gospel greats such as Mahalia Jackson, Rev. James Cleveland, The Caravans, and The Mighty Clouds of Joy, among numerous others. She was also the president of the St. Louis Chapter of the American Gospel Quartet Convention.
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame posthumous inductees conclude with Al “The Bishop” Hobbs, a visionary who started his career in Gospel music as a radio announcer. He was Vice Chairman of the Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA). He also co-founded the Gospel Announcers Guild within the GMWA. Former Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was a lawyer and U.S. Representative serving Texas’ 18th Congressional District of Houston. She also worked closely with Gospel music executive Alvin V. Williams to help establish Gospel Music Heritage Month in June 2008. Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson was a Grammy Award-nominated and seven-time Stellar Award gospel singer-songwriter who released more than ten career albums that successfully charted on Billboard Gospel charts. Harold Lashaun Martin was a multi-genre artist, producer, and songwriter. He was a winner of numerous Grammy Awards and Stellar Awards and is best known for his production work with Kirk Franklin. He also collaborated with other artists including Erykah Badu, Snarky Puppy, Chaka Khan, Fred Hammond, Timberland, Tamela Mann, Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell, Tasha Page-Lockhart, and God’s Property, just to name a few. Both Edgar O’Neal (pianist) and Edward O’Neal (vocalist) were known as The O’Neal Twins and were trailblazers in the then popular quartet sound with such classics as “Jesus Dropped The Charges,” “Throw Out The Lifeline,” and “Power In The Blood.”
More Gospel Music Hall of Fame Inductees
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame Inductees include a variety of music and entertainment artists, executives and entrepreneurs across the United States who are legends in a wide-ranging number of fields and careers including Bishop Bruce V. Allen, Vanessa Bell-Armstrong, Gene Andrews Jr., Monica Bacon, Dr. Percy Bady, Evangelist Lemmie Battles, Toya Beasley, Rev. Dr. Jerome Allen Bell, Dr. Laval W. Belle, Sheilah Belle, Tracey Bethea, Dr. Liz Black, Dr. Kevin Bond, Lisa Page-Brooks, Charlotte B. Brown, Phyllis Caddell, Congresswoman Erica Lee-Carter, Reggie Chandler, Dennis Cole, Jarvis E. Cooper, Neily Dickerson, Destiny Diggs, Keith Dobbins, Rodney East, Chuck Flowers, Neiko Flowers, Eboni Funderburk, Richard Gibbs, GRIFF, Deitrick Haddon, Carlos Hale, Aulsondro Hamilton, Debra Renee “Snoopy” Hanna, Dr. Steven Harris, Bernie Hayes, Dr. Debroah E. Holmes, Dr. Lonnie V. Hunter, Reverend Dr. Stephen Hurd, Hasan James, Roderick Jemison, Charles Edward Johnson, Benita Bellamy-Kelley, Kevin Kelley, Min. Michael J. Latchison, Doc Lewis, Greg “Uncle G” Lyons, Rev. Dr. Manfret McGhee, Gina Water Miller, Willie Mae McIver, Kymberlee Norsworthy, Min. Joseph Price, Johnny Sanders, Bishop Leonard Scott, Jerry Smith, Tia A. Smith, Rickey Smiley, Damien Sneed, Renee Spearman, Pastor Angela Spivey, Damon Stewart, Dr. Spencer Taylor Jr., Tammy Taylor, Walter P. Thomas, Dr. Leonard Thompson III, Tye Tribbett, Bishop Larry D. Trotter, Eric C. Tyler, Evangelist Gloria Jean Vann, and Adrian Warren. To view biographical information on all the inductees, please visit www.mogospel.com.
For more information on tickets and the two-day Gospel Music Hall of Fame weekend, visit www.mogospel.com.
ABOUT THE GOSPEL MUSIC HALL OF FAME
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame (GMHOF) is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich legacy of Gospel music while inspiring future generations. Through education centers, performance halls, and historical exhibits, GMHOF honors the genre’s pioneers and fosters the development of emerging talents. Its comprehensive approach includes state-of-the-art recording studios, wellness initiatives, and community-focused spaces, making it a cultural cornerstone for Gospel music’s past, present, and future.
THE GOSPEL MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Gospel Music Hall of Fame Honorary Inductees and the Presidential Lifetime
Achievement Award Recipients
• Kirk Franklin
• Yolanda Adams
• Elbertina “Twinkie” Clark (The Clark Sisters)
• Karen Clark Sheard (The Clark Sisters)
• Dorinda Clark-Cole (The Clark Sisters)
• Jacky Clark-Chisholm (The Clark Sisters)
• Erica Campbell
• Tina Campbell
• Warryn Campbell
• Dr. Jekalyn Carr
• Dr. Ricky Dillard, “The Choir Master”
• Claude Lataillade
• Vicki Mack Lataillade
• Dr. Spencer Taylor Jr.
• Kelvis “Clyde” Duffie (D3 Entertainment Group)
• Michelle S. Duffie (D3 Entertainment Group)
• Kendall J. Duffie (D3 Entertainment Group)
• Melanie Few
• Vy Higginsen
• Dr. Pat Houston
• Dr. Cheryl Jackson
• Debbie May
• Rosie Trenia Moore
• Gwendolyn Quinn
• Meta Washington
• Rev. Joseph L. Williams
• Dr. Harvey Watkins, Jr.
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame Posthumous Inductees
• Dr. Whitney Houston (also known as Whitney Houston)
• Dr. Cissy Houston (also known as Cissy Houston)
• Inez Andrews
• Bishop Michael Alan Brooks
• Ruby Summerville-Dickson
• Al “The Bishop” Hobbs
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame Posthumous Inductees (Continued)
• [Former] Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
• Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson
• Harold Lashaun Martin
• Edgar O’Neal (also known as The O’Neal Twins)
• Edward O’Neal ((also known as The O’Neal Twins)
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame Inductees
• Bishop Bruce V. Allen
• Vanessa Bell-Armstrong
• Gene Andrews Jr.
• Monica Bacon
• Dr. Percy Bady
• Evangelist Lemmie Battles,
• Toya Beasley
• Rev. Dr. Jerome Allen Bell
• Dr. Laval W. Belle
• Sheilah Belle (also known as “The Belle”)
• Tracey Bethea
• Dr. Liz Black
• Dr. Kevin Bond
• Lisa Page-Brooks
• Charlotte B. Brown
• Phyllis Caddell
• Congresswoman Erica Lee-Carter
• Reggie Chandler (also known as “The Bishop of Comedy”)
• Dennis Cole
• Jarvis E. Cooper (also known as “B.B. Jay”)
• Neily Dickerson
• Destiny Diggs
• Keith Dobbins
• Rodney East
• Chuck Flowers
• Neiko Flowers
• Eboni Funderburk
• Richard Gibbs
• GRIFF
• Deitrick Haddon
• Carlos Hale
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame Inductees (Continued)
• Aulsondro Hamilton (also known as “Emcee N.I.C.E.)
• Debra Renee “Snoopy” Hanna
• Dr. Steven Harris (also known as “Bro. Steve Harris”)
• Bernie Hayes
• Dr. Debroah E. Holmes
• Dr. Lonnie V. Hunter
• Reverend Dr. Stephen Hurd
• Hasan James
• Roderick Jemison
• Charles Edward Johnson (also known as “Pastor CeJay”)
• Benita Bellamy-Kelley
• Kevin Kelley
• Min. Michael J. Latchison
• Doc Lewis
• Greg Lyons (also known as “Uncle G”)
• Rev. Dr. Manfret McGhee
• Gina Water Miller
• Willie Mae McIver
• Kymberlee Norsworthy
• Min. Joseph Price
• Johnny Sanders
• Bishop Leonard Scott
• Jerry Smith
• Tia A. Smith
• Rickey Smiley
• Damien Sneed
• Renee Spearman
• Pastor Angela Spivey
• Damon Stewart
• Dr. Spencer Taylor Jr.
• Tammy Taylor
• Walter P. Thomas
• Dr. Leonard Thompson III
• Tye Tribbett
• Bishop Larry D. Trotter
• Eric C. Tyler (also known as “Snoopy”)
• Evangelist Gloria Jean Vann
• Adrian Warren
