Biography
Gerald Hinton’s debut performance as a vocalist was at the age of six. The venue was S. Mary’s Freewill Baptist Church in the small town of Apex, NC. Hinton was born there in 1954. He is one of eight children, and the only boy of three, who can hear and speak. He is also the only one of his siblings who chose to pursue a career in music. Hinton expresses great joy from the love and support of his large family.
When he was twelve, Hinton performed as lead vocalist with the group, Howard Thomas and the Pearly Gates. For nearly four years, the group, performed live on radio, with no musical accompaniment.. Wherever they performed, a collection was always taken up for the “Little Boy.”
Though he grew up predominantly listening to traditional gospel music, Hinton explored other genre. In high school, during the late seventies, He toured the east coast with an R&B band, The Liberators, after which, he conducted several choirs in his home area. Also while in high school, Hinton gained theatrical experience. After graduating, he attended Shaw University in Raleigh, NC, where he majored in Drama with a minor in music.
One of Hinton’s treasured memories from early in his career, is when he was asked to perform at the North Carolina Theatre. He had no way of knowing at the time, that playing the part of Brer Rabbit in “New Song in the South”, would lead to a performance before Vice- President Walter Mondale. The Democratic event was the Jefferson Jackson Day celebration.
In the early eighties, Gerald Hinton began singing with Johnny Holloway and The Gospel Jubilees. The group evolved into what is now widely known as, Gerald Hinton and The New Redeemers. The group recorded and released, “From Way Back” and “Groom Me.” The album “Groom Me” produced the hit, “It’s Me, O Lord,” which has aired on BET, the Word Network, the Dream Network and other national and local television outlets. In fact, “It’s Me, O Lord”, is the only local video to reach number one, on MBC’s Top Gospel Countdown.
In 2001, Hinton merged with Studio 25 Records and formed Davin Records. He is a versatile and innovative gospel artist, with just the right mix of traditional and contemporary, perfect, right in the middle. He has performed with many legends including, The Gospel Southernaires, Shirley Caesar, Lee Williams and the Spiritual QCs, John P. Kee, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Willie Neal and The Gospel Key Notes, and The Canton Spirituals. He has also collaborated with independent producers, Willie Hill, Craig Woolard, lead vocalist for the Embers, and Denver Wright.
Recently, Gerald completed his latest CD entitled, “You Don’t Know How Blessed You Are”. It was originally entitled, “He I Owe” and was intended to be a solo project. However, after his successful and stellar “Connection”, was borne of a collaboration with music producer Denver Wright, it seemed only appropriate to include the entire group. Denver Wright created the track “Connected” specifically for this CD.
“You Don’t Know How Blessed You Are” is a collection of works that can stir up movement in the limbs, praises from the heart, and great thoughts from the mind. Hinton ministers through songs, like the title track, “You Don’t Know How Blessed You Are” . It is a mild-tempo groove that affirms the need to count one’s blessings. “He I Owe,” is a haunting track that mimics the childhood song, “Old McDonald.” Hinton’s style is such an incredible blend of traditional and contemporary, that it has garnered him a broad audience appeal. He believes that God’s plan and timing for him are momentus.
There has been rumor lately of a new project that will take Gerald Hinton in a new direction, evidenced during several concerts from this year. There is talk of all-new material that leaves audiences and congregations crying ENCORE! Last year, a Raleigh, NC-based independent television station, interviewed Hinton. It was asked if another album from the critically acclaimed gospel phenom was “in the can”. Hinton would only say, “Anybody who knows…really knows Gerald Hinton, will tell you that I have ALWAYS got something up my sleeves! But as usual, I would rather SHOW you, than TELL you.”
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