Kurt Carr

Kurt Carr (born October 12, 1964) is an American gospel music composer and performer. While living in the city of Hartford, Connecticut, he served as Minister of Music at The First Baptist Church of Hartford located at the time on Greenfield Street. He is currently the Praise and Worship leader at The Fountain Of Praise in Houston, TX.

Kurt Carr
The Kurt Carr Singers perform for President George W. Bush and guests on June 17, 2008 in the East Room of the White House
Background information
Born	(1964-10-12) October 12, 1964 Hartford, Connecticut
Genres	Gospel, praise & worship
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Verity Gospel Music Group, Interscope
Associated acts	James Cleveland, Anastacia, Nakitta Foxx
Website	https://www.thekurtcarr.com/

Biography

Early years

Kurt Carr was born in the mid-1960s in Hartford, Connecticut, where he grew up in a family who believed in Jesus, but was not deeply involved in church. At the age of 13, Kurt found himself being increasingly drawn to the church. In his early teen years, he performed as an actor and dancer at the Hartford Stage Company in a Broadway musical called On the Town, which was directed by Clay Stevenson. He became an active member in his church's music department. At the age of 17, Carr realized that he was being called to do something even higher with his life. After high school, he entered into the music program at the University of Connecticut, where he studied classical music and earned a Fine Arts degree. Carr is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Music career

Carr was piano accompanist for Andrae Crouch's music ministry for one year. Carr was subsequently hired to be musical director and pianist for Rev. James Cleveland’s ministry and was employed there for seven years, until Cleveland's death. Eventually, Carr became director of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ Choir, where he had the opportunity to work with both gospel and secular musical artists, including Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Yolanda Adams and Kirk Franklin. In 1987 while in Los Angeles, Carr formed a six-member gospel vocal ensemble called The Kurt Carr Singers in which Anastacia and Mary Mary sung in their background choir on their album No One Else.[1]

Carr's music is a blend of traditional gospel composition and vocals, with elements of R&B, jazz, soul, blues, and the distinct modern harmonies and singing styles found in urban contemporary gospel. The Kurt Carr Singers under his direction and musical influence have created seven albums. Kurt Carr has won four Stellar Awards.

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions				Certifications	Sales
		US [2]	US R&B /HH [3]	US Gospel [4]	US Christian [5]
I'm Glad	Released: 1988 Label: Charnya Records (#CR 3123)[6] Formats: LP	—	—	—	—
Together	Released: 1991 Label: Light Records (#7-115-75043-2)[7] Formats: CD	—	—	—	—
Serious About It!	Released: November 29, 1994[8] Label: Gospo Centric (#72126)[9][8] Formats: CD, cassette	—	—	—	—
No One Else	Released: March 25, 1997[10] Label: GospoCentric (#G2 1S 7575 1 72138 2)[11] Formats: CD	—	—	—	—
Awesome Wonder	Released: September 19, 2000[12] Label: GospoCentric (#75751-70016-2)[13] Formats: CD, cassette	—	—	5	14	US: Gold[14]	US: 400,000 (as of 2002)[15]
One Church	Released: November 23, 2004[16] Label: GospoCentric, Zomba (#75751-70058-2)[17] Formats: CD, cassette	109	27	1	—
Just The Beginning	Released: October 28, 2008[18] Label: Zomba (#88697297532)[19] Formats: CD, HDCD	62	—	2	—
Bless This House	Released: January 22, 2013[20] Label: Verity (#88691-96121-2)[21] Formats: CD	43 [22]	—	1 [23]	—
Bless Somebody Else	Released: July 19, 2019[24] Label: Kurt Carr Gospel, Sony Music, RCA Inspiration, Provident Distribution (#9075940842)[25] Formats: CD	—	—	2	—

Compilation albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions

Title[4]	Album details[4]	Peak chart positions
		US Gospel [4]
Playlist: The Very Best of Kurt Carr & the Kurt Carr Singers	Released: September 15, 2009[26] Labels: GospoCentric, Legacy, Verity (#57642)[26] Formats: CD	33
Setlist: The Very Best Of Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers Live	Released: December 23, 2011[27] Labels: GospoCentric, Legacy, Sony Legacy (#88691 90780 2)[27] Formats: CD	50

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		US Gospel [28]
"God Blocked It"	2004	3	One Church
"God Great God"		26
"Peace And Favor Rest On Us"	2008	2	Just The Beginning
"Bless Somebody Else (Dorothy's Song)"	2019	18	Bless Somebody Else

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Kurt Carr Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
3. "Kurt Carr Chart History: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
4. "Kurt Carr Chart History: Top Gospel Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
5. "Kurt Carr Chart History: Top Christian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
6. "The Kurt Carr Singers – Im Glad (1988, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
7. "The Kurt Carr Singers – Together (1991, CD)". Discogs. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
8. "Serious About It! - Kurt Carr". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
9. "The Kurt Carr Singers – Serious About It! (1994, CD)". Discogs. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
10. "No One Else - Kurt Carr, Kurt Carr Singers". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
11. "The Kurt Carr Singers – No One Else (1997, CD)". Discogs. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
12. "Awesome Wonder - Kurt Carr, Kurt Carr Singers". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
13. "The Kurt Carr Singers – Awesome Wonder (2000, CD)". Discogs. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
14. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. May 27, 2003. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
15. Gospel. Billboard. 114. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 9, 2002. p. 22. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 31, 2020 – via Google Books.
16. "One Church - Kurt Carr". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
17. "The Kurt Carr Project – One Church (2005, CD)". Discogs. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
18. "Just The Beginning - Kurt Carr". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
19. "Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers – One Church (2005, CD)". Discogs. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
20. "Bless This House - Kurt Carr". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
21. "Kurt Carr, The Kurt Carr Singers – Bless This House (2013, CD)". Discogs. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
22. "Billboard 200: The week of February 9, 2013". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
23. "Top Gospel Albums: The week of February 9, 2013". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
24. "Bless Somebody Else - Kurt Carr". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
25. "Kurt Carr – Bless Somebody Else (2019, CD)". Discogs. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
26. "Playlist: The Very Best of Kurt Carr & the Kurt Carr Singers - Kurt Carr". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
27. "Setlist: The Very Best of Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers Live - Kurt Carr". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
28. "Kurt Carr Chart History: Hot Gospel Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.

• Kurt Carr – Interview (March 2005) on BlackGospel.com
• Kurt Carr – Interview (November 2008) on BlackGospel.com