Take 6

Take 6
Take 6 performs for U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush during a Black Music Month celebration at the White House on June 30, 2001
Background information
Origin	Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Genres	Gospel, urban gospel, jazz, R&B, pop
Instruments	Voice (vocal bass, vocal percussion, mouth trumpet)
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Warner Brothers, Take 6, Heads Up International
Associated acts	Stevie Wonder
Website	www.take6.com
Members	Alvin Chea Khristian Dentley Joey Kibble Mark Kibble Claude V. McKnight III David Thomas
Past members	Cedric Dent Mervyn Warren

Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group sings contemporary R&B style, integrating jazz influences with spiritual or inspirational lyrics. They have ten Grammy wins (in several categories in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, and 2002), as well as ten Dove Awards, one Soul Train Award and two NAACP Image Award nominations. They have collaborated with other artists such as Ray Charles, Nnenna Freelon, Gordon Goodwin, Don Henley, Whitney Houston, Al Jarreau, Quincy Jones, k.d. lang, Queen Latifah, Brian McKnight, Luis Miguel, Marcus Miller, Joe Sample, Ben Tankard, CeCe Winans, The Manhattan Transfer, and Stevie Wonder.

In 1980, Claude McKnight (older brother of R&B musician Brian McKnight) formed an a cappella quartet, The Gentlemen's Estates Quartet, at Oakwood College (now Oakwood University), a Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama, where he was a freshman. He auditioned fellow students for the hobby group. The Gentlemen were rehearsing in a campus bathroom (later said to be in Moran Hall), getting ready for a performance, when Mark Kibble heard them singing. He joined the harmonizing, adding a fifth part, and ended up singing with them onstage that very night. Mark later invited Mervyn Warren to join the group. The group performed under the moniker Alliance.