Going solo has rewarded Cece Winans

By Julia KatoroboFrom 1984 to 1994, BeBe & CeCe Winans were the most successful duo in R&B music and urban gospel with hits such as I’ll Take You There, Addictive Love, Heaven and Lost Without You.So to many fans it was a surprise when the siblings, Benjamin (Bebe) and Priscilla (Cece) decided to start solo careers. For some, it was difficult to imagine them singing separately, and there was concern that they were putting their success at stake.But there was no need to worry. Bebe and Cece have each proved that their choice to go solo was one worth making.Cece’s latest 13-song self titled album released by Wellspring Gospel on June 19, 2001 is the fifth album in her solo career, after Alone in His Presence, Everlasting Love, His Gift and Alabaster Box.This new fantastic album reflects her continuing evolution as a vocal stylist, deliciously blending her vocals with heartwarming ballads.The upbeat tempo Heavenly Father, produced by industry hitmaker Tommy Sims, opens the album, with lyrics expressing total dependence on God.Anybody Wanna Pray highlights the importance of prayer, before going into an actual prayer-song, Say a Prayer. Then comes the groovy More Than What I Wanted which Cece co-produced with Sims.Among the 13 tracks is an inspired duet with her older brother Marvin Winans,Yea & Nay, which is a nostalgic remembrance of the days when moral choices were easier to make. The song encourages parents to give their children the guidance that they need as they grow.To add to the diversity of her CD, Cece takes the well-known Holy Spirit, Come Fill This Place, and gives it a fresh touch that is bound to appeal even to those who heard the song when it was composed in 1996 by Marty Hennis and Babbie Mason.A high point on the album comes when Cece tells the devil in a no-nonsense manner, to get out of her house. She warns him not to look through her windowpane, and she bans him from her magazines, radio and movies. That is in the song Out my House. Those who love dancing will be delighted by the track Better Place, a song which celebrates the hope of an afterlife in heaven.There are quieter times on the album, where Cece reflects on God’s gentle and abundant love — such as on the song Looking Back At You. So soothing is this song that Cece was invited to sing it on a special Oprah show shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks in America.In her career, Cece has won 8 Grammy Awards, 9 Dove Awards, 5 Stellar Awards, 3 NAACP Image Awards, has released several platinum and gold albums...and she just keeps getting better.Said Cece: “God has given me a collection of songs that will encourage and inspire people all over the world...I also had the privilege to work with two great producers: Brown Bannister, and Tommy Sims. They both shaped my new CD into exactly what it was supposed to be. Exactly what I prayed for.”ends