Vanessa Bell Armstrong

Vanessa Bell Armstrong (née Bell; born October 2, 1953)^[1] is an American R&B and gospel singer who released her debut album Peace Be Still in 1983. She is a seven-time Grammy Award nominee, Stellar Award winner, and she won a Soul Train Award. She has worked with many in the industry including Mattie Moss Clark (who helped Armstrong with her career), Daryl Coley, The Clark Sisters, Rance Allen, James Cleveland, and many others.^[2] Armstrong (a Detroit native), has an honorary doctorate degree in theology from Next Dimension University, received at the West Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles in 2017.

When I started out, I was a contemporary vocalist however the late Thomas Whitfield mixed it up with a traditional feel and since then I never went far from that... I love the contemporary and I love the traditional... to me the time-honored sounds of Gospel music is our medicine... it gives us hope... it encourages, but the contemporary-up tempo stuff is what lifts us up. It all works together.

— Vanessa Bell Armstrong^{[citation needed]}

Her father was the minister at Greater Mount Everett Church of God in Ferndale south of Royal Oak, Michigan. Vanessa directed the choir and sang in it.^[3]

Vanessa Armstrong made her solo debut on Onyx/Muscle Shoals Sound Records in 1983 with the album Peace Be Still. The title track became one of Armstrong's signature songs. Her second album Chosen was number one on the US Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart.^[4] She performed on the 1st Annual Soul Train Awards ceremony.^[5] Her 1986 album Following Jesus won a Soul Train Music Award for Best Gospel Album – Solo in 1988. She is also a seven time Grammy Award-nominee.

Armstrong enjoyed a bit of mainstream success in the late 1980s. Her self-titled 1987 Jive Records debut had the Billboard-charting hit "You Bring Out The Best in Me," as well as the club favorite "Pressing On."^[4][6] In the next year a follow-up album Wonderful One featured a cover of the Labi Siffre anti-Apartheid anthem "Something Inside So Strong." Armstrong along with Shirley Caesar, Fred Hammond, Tramaine Hawkins, Yolanda Adams, and other gospel artists remade the song in 1995 as a tribute to Rosa Parks, the civil rights activist. The song was sent to radio stations to play on the 40th anniversary of Parks' arrest. Armstrong appeared on Broadway in 1991 in a production of Don't Get God Started.^[7] "Always," a Marvin Winans composition which is a key song in the play, appeared on Armstrong's 1987 self-titled album. The Broadway role lead to a cameo appearance in the Oprah Winfrey TV special The Women of Brewster Place. Armstrong was chosen to record the theme for the popular 1980s NBC sitcom Amen. Armstrong took a three-year self-imposed hiatus from recording before releasing A Brand New Day under a new deal with Tommy Boy Gospel in 2001.^[8] She was presented with a lifetime achievement award during 2004's Gospel Superfest.^[9]

Her 2007 album, Walking Miracle, is her first release in 6 years, and blends traditional gospel fare like "So Good To Me" (produced by Smokie Norful) with contemporary songs such as "Til The Victory's Won" (produced by Fred Jerkins III) and the title track (produced by Rodney Jerkins). The latter song was inspired by Armstrong's son who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at about the same time of the album's release.^[10]

Armstrong recorded a stand out duet "Choose Ye" with gospel act The Winans on their major label debut Let My People Go for Qwest Records. She also sang the theme song for the 1980s NBC sitcom Amen. She was a frequent musical guest of the early projects of John P. Kee & The New Life Community Choir, and her voice is featured on several classics which include "We Walk By Faith" and "We Glorify".

Grammy Nominations^[11]

• Best Soul Gospel Performance – Female for Peace Be Still (1983)
• Best Soul Gospel Performance – Female for Chosen (1985)
• Best Soul Gospel Performance – Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus for "Choose Ye" (1986)
• Best Soul Gospel Performance – Female for "Pressing On" (1988)
• Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album for The Truth About Christmas (1991)
• Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album for Something On the Inside (1993)
• Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album for The Experience (2009)

Armstrong has five children.^[12]

• Vanessa Bell Armstrong at AllMusic
• Official MySpace Page
• Official Vanessa Bell Armstrong site on EMI Gospel
• Flashback Friday – Vanessa Bell Armstrong – Chosen