Vickie Winans was literally born into the gospel scene and hasn't left since. One of the most popular gospel singers of today's contemporary scene, Winans has seen a road of changes but has stuck with her most inspiring role -gospel singer.Born Viviane Bowman as the seventh of 10 children in Detroit, she first knew she could sing in the bathtub. As a teenager she moved from soapy waters to the International Gospel Center but didn't start thinking about a professional career in music until her second husbands' group, The Winans, was becoming successful. Winans husband, Marvin, asked her to join his new group Winans Part II, but after two of its valuable members left, Winans decided to simply pursue a solo career. With the help of her husband and his record label Light, Winans was signed and recorded her debut album, Be Encouraged, released in 1985. The album hit huge on the gospel charts and continued to play on the gospel stations. By the time her sophomore effort, Total Victory, was ready for release, Light Records was going under and the album got little press.When a crossover route seemed possible, her gospel sound was getting lost in all the hoopla going around the Geffen Records sell to Universal. Winans was working with MCA and her nine-track 1991 release The Lady never even heard the name Jesus once. MCA pushed her even further, having her perform on the Stellar Awards TV broadcast with dancers, which shocked the Christian world. After her apology to fans worldwide, MCA dropped her from the label.Three years later, she got another recording contract with Interscope who just happened to be launching a black gospel music division. She recorded more award-winning gospel albums over the years, including 2002's Woman's Journey and 2006's Woman to Woman Songs of Life.
