(St. Louis, MO – July 15, 2025)
As we celebrate the 46th Anniversary of Gospel Heritage Month, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (GMHOF) today announces its 2025 Induction Gala Ceremony and Expo, the two-day event is scheduled during Gospel Music Heritage Month on Friday, September 5th, and Saturday, September 6th, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the St. Louis Convention Center (701 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO).
With a record-breaking number of inductions totaling more than 100 individuals, this year’s Gospel Music Hall of Fame event will be one for the records. “Through the power of Gospel music, we not only celebrate our rich heritage but also unite hearts and souls in faith, hope, and joy,” says Dr. Monica R. Butler, founder of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, headquarters in St. Louis. Butler is also a career radio and television broadcaster and filmmaker. “Let us preserve and promote the timeliness messages of love and redemption, inspiring future generations to carry the light of the Gospel forward.”
The 4th Annual Gospel Music Hall of Fame Honorary Inductees and the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award recipients will include multiple Grammy, Stellar, and Gospel Music Associations’ Dove Award winners and recording artists including Kirk Franklin (20-time Grammy Award winner); Yolanda Adams (four-time Grammy Award winner); The Clark Sisters with Elbertina “Twinkie” Clark (two-time Grammy Award winner), Karen Clark Sheard (four-time Grammy Award winner), Dorinda Clark-Cole (two-time Grammy Award winner), and Jacky Clark-Chisholm (two-time Grammy Award winner); Erica Campbell (six-time Grammy Award winner), Tina Campbell (four-time Grammy Award winner), Warryn Campbell (five-time Grammy Award winner), Dr. Jekalyn Carr (one-time Grammy Award winner), and Dr. Ricky Dillard, “The Choir Master” (eight-time Grammy-nominated recording artist).
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame will posthumously inductee several legends who have been instrumental in the Gospel Music industry. Celebrating 40 years in music and entertainment, Dr. Whitney Houston began singing Gospel music at the age of five. She recorded several Gospel Music projects, which made a significant impact on the music industry. On tour, she always performed two-three Gospel tunes on all of her worldwide concert dates. Known globally as “The Voice,” with more than 220 million combined albums, singles and videos sold worldwide and counting, Whitney Houston has established a benchmark for superstardom. She is also the first Black recording artist to receive three RIAA Diamond certified albums. Born Emily Drinkard in Newark, NJ, and globally known as Dr. Cissy Houston, two-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist Cissy Houston led a successful career as a solo and performing artist. She recorded one album with The Drinkard Singers, four albums with The Sweet Inspirations, more than ten solo albums, four compilations albums, five collaborative recordings, and numerous reissues projects have been released. As a first-call backup vocalist, she recorded and performed with a wide range of artists across multiple genres. The late Inez Andrews was a member of the iconic Gospel group, The Caravans, Andrews known around the world for her soaring contralto and vocal deliver on many songs including “Mary, Don’t You Weep.” The Grammy Award nominated and multiple Stellar Award winner also received the Ambassador Bobby Jones Legend Award. Bishop Michael Alan Brooks was a founding member of the legendary Gospel group, Commissioned. Ruby Summerville-Dickson was a well known gospel radio personality and singer in the St. Louis community. Affectionately known as Mother Ruby, she was the single most beloved person in the Gospel community. She toured with Gospel greats such as Mahalia Jackson, Rev. James Cleveland, The Caravans, and The Mighty Clouds of Joy, among numerous others. She was also the president of the St. Louis Chapter of the American Gospel Quartet Convention.
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame posthumous inductees conclude with Al “The Bishop” Hobbs, a visionary who started his career in Gospel music as a radio announcer. He was Vice Chairman of the Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA). He also co-founded the Gospel Announcers Guild within the GMWA. Former Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was a lawyer and U.S. Representative serving Texas’ 18th Congressional District of Houston. She also worked closely with Gospel music executive Alvin V. Williams to help establish Gospel Music Heritage Month in June 2008. Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson was a Grammy Award nominated and seven-time Stellar Award gospel singer-songwriter who released more than ten career albums that successfully charted on Billboard Gospel charts. Harold Lashaun Martin was a multi-genre artist, producer, and songwriter. He was a winner of numerous Grammy Awards and Stellar Awards and is best known for his production work with Kirk Franklin. Both Edgar O’Neal (pianist) and Edward O’Neal (vocalist) were known as The O’Neal Twins and were trailblazers in the then popular quartet sound with such classics as “Jesus Dropped The Charges,” “Throw Out The Lifeline,” and “Power In The Blood.”
For more information on tickets and the two-day Gospel Music Hall of Fame weekend, visit www.mogospel.com.
