Michael English (singer)
| Michael English | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 12, 1962 Kenansville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Origin | Wallace, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Genres | Southern gospel, pop, contemporary Christian |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, record producer |
| Instruments | Voice |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Labels | Warner Alliance, Curb |
| Associated acts | The Singing Samaritans, Singing Americans, The Happy Goodman Family, Gaither Vocal Band |
| Website | www |
Michael English (born April 12, 1962) is an American Christian singer and record producer. Initially, he was a member of his family's singing group, and later a member of The Gaither Vocal Band. During his solo career, he recorded eight studio albums. English's highest-charting solo single was "Your Love Amazes Me", which reached No. 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1996.
Born in Kenansville, North Carolina English was raised by parents Aubine and Grace English, in a town called North East, near Wallace, North Carolina. English performed in his family's singing group, The Singing Samaritans, from 1972 until 1980. After graduating from high school, he joined The Singing Americans, where he shortened his name to Mike English, later going back to Michael. He left the group in 1982 and joined The Goodmans. At about the same time he married his first wife Lisa Bailey and they had a daughter Megan who was born in late 1984. After that, he joined a regional group, The Gospel Couriers, for about six months until he rejoined The Singing Americans. It was then that he had his first big success in southern gospel music with the live recording of what would become his signature song, "I Bowed On My Knees (And Cried Holy)".
Although one of the Goodmans had brought him the song to sing and record while he was still there with them, the Singing Americans felt the song had not gone as far as it could while he sang with the group. This prompted English to record the track with the group, bringing the song its biggest success.
His last album with the Singing Americans, Black and White, was one of their most popular. It featured a single English was fairly well known for called "Welcome To Heaven", but success of it was possibly stalled when he left the group in 1985 to join The Gaither Vocal Band as their new lead singer, replacing Gary McSpadden, who moved to singing baritone. The change of groups introduced more people to the southern gospel genre. After rising to fame as a member of the Gaither Vocal Band, Bill Gaither encouraged English to pursue a solo career. He signed his first solo recording contract with Warner Alliance in 1991 while continuing to sing lead in the Gaither Vocal Band.
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