UNITED KINGDOM: Donnie McClurkin - the first gospel singer in history to sign a publishing deal with Disney

Record ID: 705580

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Donnie McClurkin - the first gospel singer in history to sign a publishing deal with Disney
  • Date: 3rd October 1999
  • Summary: (PERFORMANCE CLEARANCE) MCCLURKIN PERFORMING
  • Embargoed: 18th October 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: CROYDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVA5BP7NMUVRRNBXV2M0YDL5DZRG
  • Story Text: The first gospel singer in history to sign a
    publishing deal with Disney, Donnie McClurkin, had people
    dancing in the aisles when he performed live for a London
    recording.

    Grammy nominated and two time Stellar Award winning
    gospel artist, Donnie McClurkin landed a publishing deal with
    Disney after wooing Disney's top man, Michael Eisner, at a
    chance meeting at the Disney studios in Los Angeles.

    Since turning to the church as a child as a result of a
    dysfunctional family - a drug addict for a mother and an
    alcoholic father - McClurkin has managed to see the light in
    even the most desperate of circumstances.

    Encouraged by his aunt who sang for the great gospel singer
    Andrae Crouch, McClurkin says he was hooked from the
    beginning, finding solace in gospel and God.

    An associate pastor at Marvin Winan's Perfecting Church in
    Detroit today, McClurkin admits his path to happiness and
    health has been a rocky one but that there is only one reason
    for his success, The Lord.

    Crouch encouraged McClurkin to study piano and regularly
    sent him postcards from his travels, recommending Scriptures.

    When he was playing piano for his church's youth choir at
    fourteen, he formed the McClurkin Singers with his sisters and
    later the New York Restoration Choir which performed
    frequently at prisons and on the streets.

    He joined Marvin Winans' church in 1989 but was shortly
    afterwards diagnosed with leukemia.After consulting doctors,
    he asked to be given the opportunity to seek the help of
    someone else, God, before going ahead with treatment, but
    within two months all traces of the disease had disappeared
    and McClurkin was back to his normal healthy self.He calls it
    a miracle.The traumatic experience only served to confirm his
    religious beliefs and strengthen his ties with the church.

    In 1992, McClurkin was approached to sing at the White
    House for President Bush but it was in 1996 when a friendship
    with a Warner Alliance executive resulted in his signing to
    the label for his self-titled LP.The album stayed in the
    Billboard charts for a staggering 200 week period and is still
    selling today.

    He performed on the Dreamworks soundtrack to Stephen
    Spielberg's animated film, "Prince of Egypt" and this in turn
    led to his biggest break yet, the signing of a worldwide
    co-publishing deal with Disney.It came about thanks to a
    chance meeting with the main man at Disney, Michael Eisner.

    " The only way that I could think was that they deal in
    animation, they deal in music.So I said I want to record one
    of their songs from 'Hercules' they said wait a minute let's
    call Mike over, you know the songs.I said yes and I started
    singing one of them.He said hold on and he called Mike over
    and I said hey to this guy called Mike, I shook his hand Hi
    Mike and he said sing it for me.So I sang the song, it's
    called 'Go The Distance', I sing the whole song, he stood
    up looked at the fellas and said 'Give him whatever he wants'
    and he walked away.I said 'he got a lot of power' and they
    said 'yeh he's the head, that's Mike Eisner, he's the head of
    Disney world-wide.I didn't know, it's groovy for me cool, and
    that's how that came about.I'm the first Gospel artist that
    they've signed a publishing deal with..when you serve God,
    these things happen."
    A fan of London and the English, McClurkin is a regular preacher
    at gospel churches in the capital.He's also a follower of the
    British Royal family and in that there is a tale.

    "I'm an American and me and my friend were walking down
    the street from Buckingham Palace and the motorcade came by
    and had to stop in front of the circus, the Victoria statue
    and the motorcade stopped and there was a Rolls Royce where
    the windows were clear and Princess Anne was sitting right in
    the middle reading and everybody like kind of averted their
    attentions you know and I stepped off the pavement and the guy
    on a motorcycle told me that I had to get back and I said 'hey
    I'm from America and I said Princess Anne, Princess Anne and
    she looked and I said 'hey I'm from America' and she reached
    over rolled the window down and I said ' I'm from America and
    I just wanted to say I love this country, God bless you and
    your family and I'm having the time of my life and I just
    wanted to let you know that I appreciated this country' she
    said ' oh thank you have a wonderful stay' and drove away.I
    was the celebrity of that street, red carpet stone street, I
    was the celebrity of that street.People were walking past and
    saying 'oh my God I don't believe it'.What do you expect we
    go way back.But you know I love this country,' he said.

    His love of England is why he chose Croydon's Fairfield
    Hall, to make a live recording of his performance.The
    recording on Verity records, is to be released in Spring 2000.
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