The biggest names in gospel music, including Yolanda Adams, Mary Mary and BeBe Winans, come together for an exclusive tribute honoring the life and achievements of gospel legend Bishop Walter Hawkins. There will be limited commercial interruption. Catch the Walter Hawkins Faith & Fame on Sunday at 6 pm et, followed by the special tribute concert at 8, only on gmc. Sunday - 8 pm et
Remembering Walter Hawkins (Gospel Artists Remember the Man Who Inspired Them)
"I did a concert with him last November and that was the first time I had a chance to talk with him in depth. He talked about his illness and I couldn't believe it when he performed that he could sing so high, so long and so well after all these years. It was amazing for him to be ill and to still be able to pull it like that. There's no way I'd be doing what I am doing if it weren't for him. When I got all the texts yesterday, I felt like I lost a friend. There's a big hole left in gospel." -Maurette Brown-Clark
"The gospel music industry has lost a great legend. When we got the news, all we could think of were the times we spent on stage together. The sisters and the Hawkins family were so close..." - Dorinda Clark-Cole
"My mother - first noticing my interest in gospel, bought me the record, Jesus Christ Is the Way. That literally - more than any other thing as long as I've been alive - changed my life. I was 14 and my mother used to have to make me stop listening to it. Every single day. All day long. There is not a bigger Hawkins fan than me. Donnie (McClurkin) and I have fights about it. Those are voices that literally drew me to Christ. I met him for the first time at the Hawkins seminar. I couldn't stand up, my knees were shaking. Every time I was around him, it was like, 'Oh my God, it's Walter Hawkins.' To this day, 'Jesus Christ Is the Way' is my favorite song. The biggest full circle moment of my life was when I produced Tramaine Hawkins' last album, I Never Lost My Praise. He was at the recording and he said 'no one could have done that project like you.'" - Kurt Carr
"I'm so devastated. He was a major influence in my life and my music ministry. A gospel giant has fallen. His music was infectious, uplifting, fresh and anointing - no one could do it like Walter. I worked with him with Mississippi Mass, but more than that we were friends. He was just such a warm and down-to-earth, true friend. As famous as he was, he was so 'Walter' in every sense of the word. He was someone I looked up to and tried to model myself musically and it's devastating to know that one who will never be replaced is now gone." - Milton Biggham, Georgia Mass Choir
"What a loss. Any time anyone passes who has made a contribution like he has to this community, it leaves a great loss. We just pray that some of the greatness Walter Hawkins provided for us will maintain itself through the spirit in which he gave it to all of us. He was one of the 'revolutionizers' because of his musical talent and the refinement of his presentation. I first met him in Nashville after I started my program on BET and it was an exciting moment for me to know that these gentlemen were the utopia of the gospel music industry. He was very stoic...not very conversational. But he was always there. I saw him in Washington D.C. a month ago and I was astonished that he looked so good. He teased me about the distinction I make between him and Edwin. 'I know you like Edwin better than me,' he'd say." - Bobby Jones
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SOURCE: Gospel Music Channel
Lisa Collins
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