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Helen Baylor
has seen it all and knows what it means to be blessed. Baylor a
former addict with the help of a praying grandmother has been
delivered from drugs. Helen says, "It was a pathetic sight to see
someone smoking a joint and drinking wine and beer while reading
the Bible-but that is where I was."
She is a testimony of God's transforming power at work.
Helen is the oldest of seven
children, starting her musical career at 12-years-old, while
singing for a club manager. She has performed with such stars as
Aretha Franklin, B.B. King and Stevie Wonder. Her
career in music looked promising until life in the fast lane took
its toll.
Baylor became pregnant at the age of 16. After her son was
born, Helen went on the road at 17 touring with the Broadway
musical "Hair".
She was introduced to marijuana, snorting cocaine and popping
pills at this time. Everybody was doing it and Helen wanted to be
excepted. Baylor worked as a background singer with Captain
and Tenille and Chaka Khan after "Hair".
While touring with Rufus,
Helen met her husband James who was using and selling drugs. Her
drug addiction continued. Despite all her musical success, Baylor
turned to a life of substance abuse and broken relationships
during the 80s.
Slowly, her life was falling apart. It was a loving
grandmother who never gave up on Helen that made a big difference
in her life. She began to listen to her grandmother's advice.
Helen was watching a gospel TV show one night and began to cry
out to the Lord.
"Jesus, I'm tired and scared-please let me come back."
The following Sunday, Helen attended church and has never
turned back.
After much soul searching and a
determination to remain clean and sober Baylor joined the
Crenshaw Christian Center. After extensive classes and sessions
on the Bible, she decided once again to start her singing career.
She began performing solo spreading the message of God.
Her songs are written based on
her personal experiences from her hardships to finding God.
Baylor was blessed with a Christian record contract at the age of
35, an age when many artists careers are winding down.
She recorded her first gospel album, Highly Recommended
on Word Records. Her successful album, The Live
Experience, is one that made her a favorite on the gospel
music circuit. The album combines 11 of Helen's greatest hits.
The album was recorded live at a
Los Angeles concert with more than 6,500 people in attendance.
"God Is Able" reminds people that God is with them
through their trials. The song is a direct reflection of growing
up in a church setting.
"Look a Little Closer" is based on a personal
experience when Helen convinced a friend to turn to God for help.
Helen's songs relate to everyone which makes them so popular.
With a knack for bringing the message of God through contemporary
music, Baylor has touched the hearts of many. She combines the
sounds of jazz and rock with gospel creating songs that people
can listen to repeatedly.
In her collection album The Live Experience she
recreates the songs from her previous albums.
Helen has proven that God had a
calling for her life. She was a winner. This songbird went on to
win 4 Stellar Awards, 3 Dove Awards, a Soul Train Lady of Soul
Award and several Grammy nominations.
Eighteen years later, you will
find Helen and James Baylor working with young people. She says
America's youth is very important to her ministry. Helen Baylor
Ministries is a non profit organization that uses contemporary
music as a platform for inner-city evangelism, challenging youth
to turn from drugs and violence.
Baylor travels throughout the
country conveying the message of God's saving and healing power.
She describes her concerts and performances as "a church service
set to music." Her music ministry has taken her not only to
performing concerts but also to performing in prisons, women's
shelters and housing projects.
Several years ago, Helen and
her husband were six days away from signing divorce papers when
they decided to stick it out, no matter what. Here's why.
Q: What made you keep
your commitment?
Helen: When my marriage
fell apart, I didn't know what to do. Some people told me I
should divorce James and move on. But I knew that wasn't God's
plan. So I started really reading the Bible and realized I had to
forgive—and decide to make our relationship work, with God's
help.
Q: But it didn't happen
overnight.
Helen: Oh, no. We didn't
instantly get back together. It took another two months to work
through our hurts and build trust.
Q: How's your marriage
now?
Helen: We communicate
with each other! We laugh and have fun like never before. If we
hadn't gone through the hard things we did, we wouldn't be where
we are today.
Q: What do you like most
about yourself?
Helen: My willingness to
say, "Hey, I messed up. I'm sorry." And I have to say that a lot!
Helen just released her
much-anticipated new studio recording, her first in five years,
in January. My Everything is being marketed through a
unique partnership between sister labels Verity Records and
Diadem Music.
"Helen Baylor is an
extraordinary talent, but even more importantly, she has a heart
for God that speaks through her music and her life. The record
inspires me, and it is a privilege to be a part of her ministry,"
says George King, co-VP/general manager of Reunion Records, who
led A&R on the project.
My Everything released
to Christian retail through Provident Music Distribution and to
mainstream gospel markets through Verity Records and BMG.
"We are very excited to be working with Helen Baylor at
Diadem and also to be partnering with Verity Records in the
gospel market on her new project," says Benjie Gentry,
director of marketing for Diadem Music.
The latest album features a
duet with Marvin Winans (The Winans) on the album's title
song that mixes modern R&B with a traditional gospel vocal
ensemble. Baylor's funky workout on "Harambee" (with label
mate Bob Carlisle) and her cover of Marvin Gaye's
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" offers ample proof
that her reach as an artist extends across the spectrum of
popular music.
My Everything is Helen's
seventh full-length gospel album and combines the production
talents of Mark Baldwin (Kathy Troccoli), Bill Maxwell (Andrae
Crouch, BeBe & CeCe Winans) and Chris Harris (Jaci
Velasquez, Anointed).
Over the past decade, Helen
Baylor has proven herself to be one of gospel music's leading
ladies-receiving three Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, four
Stellar Awards and one Soul Train Lady of Soul Award. |
