Shirley Caesar - The Lady, The Melody, and the Word: The Inspirational Story of the First Lady of Gospel

WORDS FROM MY FAMILY

Out of all of my sisters and brothers, I have always known that there was something special about Shirley.

Lina Caesar Brown

My sister Shirley not only afforded me the wonderful privilege of traveling and singing with her, but it was through her ministry that I totally surrendered my life to the Lord. I am very proud that she is my sister and my pastor.

Anne Caesar Price

My baby sister Shirley is blessed not only because she loves the Lord with all her heart, but because she sincerely loves all mankind.

Julius E. Caesar

By the time Shirley was born, I had already moved away from home, but I would often bring her over to spend the night with me. No one could have told me that my little sister would one day sing for presidents, governors, and heads of state. I am very proud of her.

Virginia Caesar Reed

I thank God for my sister Shirleys success. Her singing ministry has been a blessing to our entire family.

Cleo Caesar

At the age of ten years old, my quartet was the first singing group that Shirley traveled with. After she performed, it was very difficult for us to follow her. God bless you, Baby Sis, you are the greatest.

LeRoy Caesar

Shirley has richly touched my life in countless ways. Needless to say that I have gained added respect simply by saying she is my sister. I love you.

Solomon Caesar

I had the privilege of sharing in the early years of Shirleys life when, at the age of twelve, she sang with Leroy Johnson. Her mom, my sister, always sent me along to be her chaperone.

Aunt Ida Davis

My dear, dear loving daughter, I have always known that God had a special calling upon your life. I sensed it while you were in my womb, and it was quite evident when you were a toddler. While on earth, I was so godly proud of you. You were the consummate of what a mother desires in a daughter; always putting God first; always loving and respecting me; always wanting to provide for me. Although I am not now with you, as I look from the portals of heaven, I am so pleased with how you have continued to love and serve the Lord with your whole mind, body, and soul. Always remember that our separation is only temporary. Soon we shall be together again throughout all eternity.

Your Mother from Heaven

SHIRLEY
THELADY,THEMELODY,&THEWORD

THE INSPIRATIONAL STORY OF
THE FIRST LADY OF GOSPEL
MUSIC

CAESAR
with
Carolyn Sanders

Copyright 1998 by Shirley Caesar

All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

Unless otherwise noted, the Bible version used in this publication is THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

Scripture quotations noted KJV are from THE KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Caesar, Shirley, 1938

The lady, the melody, and the word : the Shirley Caesar story / Shirley Caesar.

p. cm.

ISBN 0-7852-7155-4

1. Caesar, Shirley, 1938 . 2. Gospel musiciansUnited States Biography. 3. Christian biographyUnited States. I. Title.

ML420.C175A3 1998

782.25'4'092dc21

9751908

CIP

MN

Printed in the United States of America.

1 2 3 4 5 6 BVG 03 02 01 00 99 98

This book is dedicated to the memory of my beloved mother, Hallie Martin Caesar, whose love gave me my life purpose and direction; my father, Jim Caesar, who left me such a profound musical legacy; my sisters Lucille, Gertrude, and Joyce and my brother Albert who have all gone to be with the Lord. I thank God for allowing their lives to impact mine in such a positive way. I look forward to our reunion in heaven.

I dedicate this book as well to my sister Virginia and my brother Julius, both of whom persistently encouraged me to excel and to be all that I could be; to my brother LeRoy who allowed me to travel and sing with his quartet when I was only ten years old; my sister Lina and my brother Cleo who protected and sheltered me as I was growing up; my brother Solomon who at ten years old was playfully preaching a mock sermon in our backyard and encouraged me to shout the name of Jesus three times (what began as childs play became very serious, and as a result, that day I received Christ into my life); and my sister Anne who forfeited her own dreams and aspirations to labor in my ministry. She has always been there for me.

CONTENTS

THE Scripture says in Jeremiah 1:5: Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations (KJV).

There is no greater honor that you can have bestowed upon you than to be chosen and annointed by God as a vessel to minister His Word to His people. My life is one of divine destiny and purpose. Every road that I have traveled, every success and failure that I have experienced, and every person who has entered my life has been ordained by God. Nothing happens by chance, it is all according to Gods timing. It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord will place people in your life just when you need them the most.

There are few key people I would like to acknowledge, whom the Lord has placed in my life to not only help from the framework for this book, but also to assist me in fulfilling the purpose to which I have been called.

To my wonderful husband, Bishop Harold Ivory Williams, whom I love very much. Thank you for being my constant source of strength, inspiration, and encouragement.

To the Caesar Singers, past and present, thank you for sticking by me through the good times and the bad times, traveling with me across the length and breadth of this country proclaiming the gospel of good news to countless thousands of souls. Great shall be your reward in heaven.

To my church family, Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church, thank you for allowing me to be your pastor. I promise I will never make you ashamed. I love you!

To Word Records, Gospel Divisionnamely Roland Lundy, Chuck Myricks, Skip Barrett, Marvie Wright, and Bill LeeI appreciate each of you standing by me and supporting my ministry.

To Dr. Deborah Graham and Dr. Brooksie Harrington, thank you for your invaluable input.

To Angel Wiley, a very special god-daughter, thank you for the many hours you spent assisting in the editing of the final manuscript. I love you!

To Corey Bizzell, thank you for picking up the slack and working long and diligently in the office while Carolyn and I burned the midnight oil writing this book. I appreciate your hard work.

To Michael Mathis, a dedicated and faithful friend. You are such an annointed prolific musician and songwriter. You always come through when I need you the most. Thank you for the use of your lyrics on some of the introductions to the chapters of this book.

To my manager and friend, Carolyn Sanders, as Joshua was to Moses, so you are to me. Thank you for being my right hand. We make an awesome team. I am convinced that whatever we set our minds to do, by the annointing of the Holy Spirit, we can do it.

CHAPTER ONE
Running for Jesus

THE MELODY

Dont look to the left, neither look to the right
look straight ahead, keep yours eyes on Christ,