We affectionately called him The Maestro! Straight from the heart of Detroit, MI, Thomas Whitfield gave us songs right from the mouth of GOD! He stood among Detroit’s best gospel artists such as Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, Donald Vails, and Rev. Charles Nicks. His musicianship is yet to be compared.
Whenever you pull a Thomas Whitfield song out, it is sure to be a Gospel sing-a-long! From, “Oh, How I Love Jesus ” to “Let Everything Praise Him” it is sure to move you to your feet! No funeral is complete without a rendition of “Soon as I Get Home!” His music continues to stand the test of time.
Whitfield was asked by the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, to head the musical direction for her upcoming live recording “Amazing Grace“. In 1989, Aretha Franklin took home a GRAMMY Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female for “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism” and a Dove Award for Traditional Gospel Album of the Year – an album that featured musical and choral arrangements from the Maestro. Some of the album’s serious highlights include the moving opener of “Walk In The Light” and Aretha Franklin being serenaded by Whitfield’s entrancing piano accompaniment on “Ave Maria“.
My favorite Whitfield collab was with the incomparable Vanessa Bell Armstong. “Lift Those Hands and Bless Him” is my all-time favorite! Their vocal combat as they exhorted how sweet and wonderful God is, still sends me through the roof! Nobody can squall it like Vanessa!
