Karen Clark Sheard

Karen Clark-Sheard is a beloved gospel singer and songwriter from Detroit who rose to fame as the youngest member of the Clark Sisters, one of the most popular gospel groups of the '80s and '90s. Beginning with 1997's Grammy-nominated Finally Karen, Clark-Sheard launched a solo career of her own, consistently crossing over onto the pop charts with releases like 2nd Chance (2002), It's Not Over (2006), and Destined to Win (2015); the latter became her biggest chart success to date. She is also the mother of gospel powerhouse Kierra "Kiki" Sheard, which whom she frequently collaborates and who portrayed her in the 2020 film The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel. Following a Clark Sisters reunion album, The Return, and subsequent tour, Clark-Sheard released her seventh solo album, Still Karen, in 2024.

Born and raised in Detroit, Karen was the youngest of six siblings born to Elbert Clark, a reverend, and Mattie Moss Clark, a respected choir director. She began singing with her sisters Denise, Dorinda, Twinkie, and Jacky at the age of seven and she stayed with them through the Clark Sisters' most successful years until she started a solo career in 1997. She was inspired to strike out on her own by producer/songwriter Stanley Brown. He had heard her sing "Don't Give Up" with the Island Inspirational All-Stars (with Kirk Franklin, Donald Lawrence, and Hezekiah Walker) and suggested she work as a solo artist. With the blessing of her sisters, Clark-Sheard decided to make a solo record for Island Inspirational Records and the result was Finally Karen, released in the fall of 1997. The album was produced by Donald Lawrence, James Moss, and Stanley Brown, and featured large portions that had been recorded live in Detroit with the Tri-City Singers. A success on both the gospel and R&B charts, Finally Karen was nominated for a Grammy and featured the first recorded appearance of Clark-Sheard's daughter, Kierra, who was just nine years old.

After a minor surgery unexpectedly resulted in a near-death experience, she was inspired to write her next album, 2nd Chance. Unlike her debut, 2nd Chance was recorded entirely in the studio and also marked her debut for Elektra. Subsequent live releases, The Heavens Are Telling and It's Not Over continued to fare well commercially and keep Clark-Sheard in the charts. 2010's studio album All in One was the first release on her own Karew Records and was something of a comeback, charting at number three on the gospel chart and cracking Billboard's Top 100 pop chart. She also won a Grammy Award for the song "Wait on the Lord" with Donnie McClurkin. Five years later, in the summer of 2015, Clark-Sheard released the live album Destined to Win, which became her most successful album to date, topping even her debut. In 2010, a television biopic about the Clark Sisters (in which Karen was portrayed by her daughter Kierra) coincided with the release of The Return, a reunion album. The Clark Sisters then mounted a reunion tour in 2023 and continued to perform occasionally. The success of the reunion inspired Clark-Sheard to revisit the style of her first two solo records on 2024's Still Karen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi