John P. Kee
Encyclopedia
John P. Kee is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 singer and pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....

.

Early life

John P. Kee was born the 15th out of 16 children in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...

. At an early age he began to develop his musical talent both instrumentally and vocally. He attended the North Carolina School of the Arts
North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...

 in Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...

 and at 14, he and his brothers Wayne and Al moved to California where he began attending the Yuba College Conservatory School of Music in Marysville, California
Marysville, California
Marysville is the county seat of Yuba County, California, United States. The population was 12,072 at the 2010 census, down from 12,268 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area, often referred to as the Yuba-Sutter Area after the two counties, Yuba and...

. During this time, he began playing with various groups such as Cameo
Cameo (band)
Cameo is an American soul-influenced funk group that formed in the early 1970s. Cameo was initially a 13-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo to avoid a lawsuit from Ohio Players, another group from that era. Since then, Cameo has recorded several...

 and Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...

 and the Blackbyrds. After having a hard time adjusting in California, he left and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

 only to find himself living in a part of the city known for its violence and drug activities. After watching one of his friends being murdered in a drug deal gone bad, he rededicated his life back to God during a visitation to a revival meeting
Revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...

.

Ministry

Kee says that it was during a trip to Michigan with his choir that he received a calling from God to be a preacher. Kee was in his mid-twenties when he became an ordained minister. In 1995, while ministering in Ohio, he received a prophetic vision and went forward with the building of a Fellowship Center in Charlotte which could minister to the people in the community. He officially founded the New Life Fellowship Center where he became and remains the senior pastor. The church is located in the same area where he had once led a life of crime and drugs.

Musical career

In the mid-1980s, Kee formed a community choir in Charlotte known as the New Life Community Choir or "NLCC." Over time the choir grew in popularity and has continued to travel throughout the area. The choir also includes some of Kee's own children.

In 1990, Kee founded the Victory in Praise Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir, or "V.I.P." in order to fellowship with various ministries, song writers, musicians and choir directors from all over the country.

Kee has been active for more than 20 years in the music field. He is primarily known for mixing traditional gospel with modern contemporary gospel and for having a soulful husky voice. His current cd entitled "The Reunion," released on December 5, 2005, features some of the old members of New Life Community Choir.

In 2007 Kee was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame. He also has an album, Nothing But Worship, which features the smash hit Right Now Praise.

In 2011, Kee released another solo album "The Legacy Projects" which consists of many Gospel singers such as Rance Allen and Fred Hammond

Kee is also known as "The Prince of Gospel Music".

Personal life

In December 1995, he married Felice Sampson, and they are the parents of nine children. His son Chris Kee was recently selected to join Sean P. Diddy Combs' live band as a drummer for his upcoming tour for the "Last Train to Paris". A few of his sons sang back vocals on the song, "Harvest", from the album, The Color of Music.

Kee's Personal Discography

| The Legacy Project
| Released: 2011
| Format: CD

| Rain on Us
| Released unknown
| Format : Cd
|Praise God
DJ

Kee's Choir Discography

Nothing But Worship (featuring New Life Community Choir)
| Released 2007
| Format: CD

Live In Miami (featuring Victory In Praise Choir)
| Released: 2008
| Format: CD
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK