Everybody knew little Timothy Wright was going to be special. Born in Brooklyn in 1947, he was singing, playing the piano, writing songs and leading the choir at St. John’s Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God in Christ by age 12. He began releasing albums of gospel music in the late 1970s ... Wright was nominated for Grammy awards for his best-selling Come Thou Mighty King in 1994 and again for Been There, Done That in 1999.
His career continued strong until July 4, 2008, when he was critically injured in a car crash in Pennsylvania that killed his wife and grandson. Wright never really recovered and died April 24, 2009.
The Rev. Timothy Wright left behind an unusually compelling body of gospel music, always featuring incredibly tight choirs and bands and his uniquely raspy voice. And a great example is this classic track, “Who’s on the Lord’s Side?”
MUSIC: “Who’s on the Lord’s Side” by the Rev. Timothy Wright from the LP, Back to Church, Side 2, Track 3 (June 25, 2023)
I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU, the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program at Baylor University Libraries and is funded by generous support from the Prichard Foundation.