Biography

Luther Barnes is an award-winning gospel singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger, and choir director. During his long career he has led a number of groups and released more than 30 albums. He has performed or recorded with top-shelf gospel greats including Shirley Caesar, Kirk Franklin, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and the Mighty Clouds of Joy. An inductee into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame, Barnes is senior pastor of the Restoration Worship Center, and the director of its choir. He possesses a velvety smooth baritone with a style notable for refinement, not flamboyance. He gained early notice as the lead singer of best-selling gospel quartet the Sunset Jubilares, and later as director of the Red Budd Gospel Choir. His many recordings include 1990's charting Still Holdin' On, 1993's Enjoying Jesus (both with the Sunset Jubilaires), 1998's God's Promise (with the Red Budd Gospel Choir), 2002's solo outing Come Fly with Me, and 2016's The Favor of God (his debut with the Restoration Worship Center Gospel Choir). Barnes was born in North Carolina in 1954, one of four sons of the later pastor and gospel musician Bishop Faircloth C. Barnes, himself a gospel musician (his 1983 single "The Rough Side of the Mountain" is a gospel standard), and part of a large extended family comprised of numerous musicians and vocalists. The younger Barnes attended the Nash-Rocky Mount Schools System and began performing professionally at age nine when joined a group founded by his father called the Barnes Juniors. Other members were Luther's brothers and uncles. After graduating high school he became the lead singer of the successful gospel quartet the Sunset Jubilaires, who went on to score a long string of gospel hits beginning with their debut album, 1983's God Gave Us All He Had. He pursued and attained a degree in Music Education from St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina and in 1985 formed the Red Budd Gospel Choir while retaining his membership in the Sunset Jubilaires. While both groups have been very successful, it was the latter who broke through consistently with charting hit singles such as "I'm Still Holding On," "So Satisfied," "Spirit, Fall Fresh," "That Other Shore," "Somehow Someway," and "Matter How High I Get" (written by Bobby Womack). Both of Barnes' groups eventually became award-winning recording artists and performers who co-existed for more than 25 years. Among the Sunset Jubilaires' most prominent recordings are the 1985 album Oh My Lord, 1993's Enjoying Jesus, and 2000's Wherever I Go. In addition to leading his groups, Barnes used his training to become a music teacher at both his former junior high and high schools, and to give private piano and vocal lessons. He has also served as minister of music at his church, and director for On the Rise Youth Choir. In 2002 Barnes cut his debut solo outing, Come Fly with Me. Its single placed inside the Gospel Top 40. In 2005, Luther Barnes and the Sunset Jubilaires were inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame. In 2006 Barnes became a preacher in addition to a music minister and choir director, following in the footsteps of his father. His music ministry took him across the country, and garnered a multitude of awards and honors including a Vision Award, a Stellar Award, and a GWMA Excellence Award. He also received a Grammy nomination and a Gospel Heritage Award. In 2012, the Sunset Jubilaires cut their final outing, Another Level, that registered in the Top 50 on digital gospel charts. In 2014 Barnes and his brother Melvin founded the Restoration Worship Center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and assembled the Restoration Worship Center Choir with a number of Redd Budd Gospel Choir alumni. After two years of rehearsal, Sunday service performances, and guest spots at churches and festivals, Barnes signed the group to Shanachie Entertainment and released their debut album, The Favor of God, in 2016. It peaked at number eight on the Top Gospel Albums chart, while its title-track single hit eight on the Hot Gospel Songs chart and remained inside the Top Ten for 17 weeks. In 2020, Luther Barnes & the Restoration Worship Gospel Choir issued their follow-up album Look to the Hills. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi