Kitty Parham

Kitty Parham was a world renowned gospel singer and choir director. She was a great showman, known for her gripping stage presence and is considered a true gospel pioneer and one of the genre's most celebrated voices during the Golden Age era. Born on November 16, 1924 in Thomasville, Georgia and raised in Trenton, New Jersey. She sang her first song in church at age 8, standing before the congregation of St. James Baptist Church in Woodbury, where her father was pastor. Parham directed choirs as a teenager and after high school moved to New York, where she sang with groups including the Charles Taylor Singers. Her fiery solo caught the ear of Clara Ward and Gertude Ward one night, and Parham was asked to join the group thereafter. She accepted the invitation in 1952 and she joined the Ward Singers who recorded "Packing Up," "We Shall Be Changed," and their first gold record, "Surely, God is Able.” Kitty delivered soul-stirring solos on the Ward groups records such as "Every Day Will Be Sunday" and "I Feel the Holy Spirit.” Parham traveled around the world with the Ward Singers but departed the group in 1958. Disagreements over financial matters split the group, and Parham and several other members, including famed singer Marion Williams, left to form a new group they named The Stars of Faith. The gospel ensemble performed internationally, including appearances in the Langston Hughes Christmas musical, "Black Nativity" for which Parham sang lead on "Most Done Traveling" for the soundtrack LP. Parham was part of command performances often performing before Pope Paul IV, Pope John XXIII, and before kings, queens, and royalty in Africa, Australia, Europe and South America. She led the Stars of Faith on songs such as "Let Jesus Lead You," "One Touch From Jesus" and "We Shall Be Changed. She was a pioneering figure within the International Music Department of the Church Of God In Christ. She was the long-standing Church Clerk and Minister of Music for Philadelphia's Holy Temple COGIC for over 55 years, and the Jurisdictional Minister of Music for the Historic Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Jurisdiction under the leadership of the Late Bishop O.T. Jones, Jr. She founded the West Philadelphia District Choir and produced an album with the Holy Temple COGIC youth choir in the early 1960s. On 1994's "He'll Bring You Out" project by the International Mass Choir, Parham's strong vocals are featured on “Surely God Is Able.” Madame Kitty Parham whose long career as a member of two iconic gospel groups, singing, choir directing, and international tours died of heart disease and heat stress June 27, 2003 at her home in West Philadelphia at age 78. Among her many awards and citations are: Grammy, Academy and Stellar awards; Hall of Fame in Cincinnati, OH; Music Walk of Fame in Philadelphia; African-American Museum in Philadelphia and in Memphis, TN; City of Philadelphia, Mayor Ed Rendell; Mayor's Office, City of Trenton; Philadelphia City Council; Sen. Roxanne Jones, Philadelphia; Philadelphia Councilwoman Augusta Clarke and Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm.