Witness (Gospel quartet)

Witness
Origin Detroit, Michigan
Genres Urban contemporary gospel, Traditional black gospel
Years active 1986 (1986)–2006
Labels PolyGram, A&M, Tyscot, Compendia, CGI, Intersound, Axiom
Past members Lisa Page Brooks
Marvie Wright (1986-1987)
Tina Brooks(1986-1990)
Yolanda Harris (1986-1990)
Diane Campbell (1986-1996)
Lizz Lee (1991-1992)
Lou Ann Stewart (1991-1996; 2003-2006)
Laeh Jones (1992-2006)
Candace Smith (1997-1999)
Ayana Thomas (1997-1999)
Tasha Page-Lockhart (2003-2004)

Witness was a contemporary gospel group from Detroit, Michigan. Often called the female version of Commissioned, an all-male contemporary gospel group, they were the brainchild of and chiefly produced by Michael A. Brooks, an original member and producer of Commissioned.

Lineup Changes and Accolades

The group hailed from Detroit, Michigan and was originally formed as a quintet consisting of Lisa Page Brooks, Tina Brooks, Yolanda Harris, Diane Campbell and Marvie Wright. The group was signed to the CGI label in 1986 where they produced their debut album Keep Looking Up. After the release of "Keep Looking Up" Wright would depart the group. After the release of their fourth album Mean What You Say Tina Brooks and Yolanda Harris left the group. In the years between Mean What You Say and the release of Standard, LouAnn Stewart joined the group. Gospel singer Lizz Lee briefly joined the group before being replaced by Lisa's sister Laeh Page. After the release of A Song In the Night, Campbell and Stewart left the group. Detroit singers Ayana Thomas and Candice Smith would join the group for Love Is An Action Word, but left the group when it went on hiatus in 1999. When the group returned in 2003, Tasha Page-Lockhart, future Sunday's Best winner and daughter of Lisa Brooks, and LouAnn Stewart had returned for 2003's An Appointed Time.

Their albums We Can Make a Difference and Standard received three star reviews from AllMusic, yet their albums Mean What You Say and Love Is an Action Word got four star reviews from the publication.[1] Their best reviewed album was He Can Do the Impossible, which was awarded four and a half stars.[1] Over at Cross Rhythms, they rated Mean What You Say a four out of ten, while giving A Song in the Night a nine out of ten.[2] An Appointed Time was awarded a seven out of ten, and Speak to the Generations was rated an eight out of ten.[2] Witness has also experienced Billboard success with their albums He Can Do The Impossible, We Can Make A Difference, Love Is An Action Word, A Song In The Night and Standard..[3] Witness was nominated for a Grammy in 1991 for Best Group/Duo, and were awarded the 1991 GMWA Excellence Award for Best Group and the 1993 Stellar Award for Best Performance Group/Duo.

Discography

Albums

Release date Album title[4] Label RIAA certification
1987 Keep Looking Up Tyscot Records
1989 I've Come Too Far Tyscot Records
1990 We Can Make a Difference Polygram Records
1991 Mean What You Say CGI Records
June 22, 1993 Standard A&M Records
September 13, 1994 He Can Do the Impossible CGI Records
April 16, 1996 A Song in the Night CGI Records
June 2, 1998 Love Is An Action Word CGI Records
November 25, 2003 An Appointed Time Axiom Records
July 19, 2005 Speak To The Generations Axiom Records

Compilations

Release date Album title[5] Label RIAA certification
1999 The Best Of Witness CGI Records

References

  1. 1 2 AllMusic. "Witness Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Cross Rhythms. "Witness Artist Profile". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Witness Chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  4. ↑ http://www.gospelflava.com/articles/witness-discography.html
  5. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-witness-mw0000667928

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