Twinkie Clark
Elbernita "Twinkie" Dionne Clark (born November 15, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, organist, record producer, and evangelist. Often called the "Mother of Contemporary Gospel Music", she is best known as the chief songwriter and a member of the gospel group the Clark Sisters, who received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024. Clark possesses a 4-octave vocal range, spanning from bass/baritone (G#2) to high soprano and whistle register (F6), and was named one of NPR's 50 Great Voices.
Renowned for her mastery of the Hammond Organ, she is credited as the originator of the contemporary "COGIC Shout Sound." in gospel music. Clark is frequently referred to as the "Queen of the B3 Hammond Organ", and was inducted into the Hammond Hall of Fame in 2014. Artists such as Beyonce, Whitney Houston, Faith Evans, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Jazmine Sullivan, Kim Burrell, and Clark's sister, Karen Clark Sheard, have cited Clark as a significant influence on their vocal style and have sampled her songs on several different projects of their own.
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