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The Clark Sisters completely transformed the soundscape of contemporary gospel music.

Due to The Clark Sisters’ innovative vocal techniques and interpretations of scriptures, gospel got a fresh sound that has trickled down to influence R&B, and rap music, too. They were able to incorporate their wide range of inspirations, from jazz to funk, blended with the instrumentation and methodology that was common to Black church, to give church music a more modern feel. This journey was documented in Lifetime’s latest original biopic, The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel.

The film explores The Clark Sisters’ lives from childhood, to the height of their success, and includes a number of details that the gospel legends hadn’t previously delved into. But in order to understand the magnitude of the Clarks’ impact, you have to know a bit of their history.

ESSENCE compiled a list of fun facts about The Clark Sisters, check it out below.

1. The Clark Sisters’ mother, Mattie Moss-Clark, was a prolific gospel singer as well.

Mattie Juliet Moss-Clark was born in Alabama, and relocated to Detroit, Michigan in 1958. She was famous for her skills as a choir director, and was among the first directors to teach choirs three-part harmony.

Moss-Clark was a singer/songwriter, too, and taught her daughters her earliest material for them to practice to.

She was also one of the first gospel acts to have an album go gold, meaning it sold over 500,000 copies.

2. The Clark Sisters have won multiple Grammy awards.

LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 10:The Clark Sisters, (L-R) Karen Clark Sheard, Dorinda Clark Cole and Jacky Clark Chisholm pose with the Best Gospel Performance, Best Gospel Song and Best Traditional Gospel Album awards in the press room during the 50th annual Grammy awards held at the Staples Center on February 10, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.(Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

In 2007, The Clark Sisters won Grammys for Best Gospel Performance and Best Traditional Gospel Album for “Blessed & Highly Flavored” and Live – One Last Time. The group has been nominated a total of seven times, with their first nomination being in 1983 for their Sincerely album.

They also famously performed at the 1983 Grammys with their mother.

3. Karen Clark-Sheard, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Twinkie Clark, and Jackie Clark-Chisholm have all enjoyed successful solo careers.

Twinkie Clark was the first member of The Clark Sisters to go solo — she released the album Comin’ Home, in 1992. Karen Clark Sheard’s 1997 live debut, Finally Karen, was a smash, and was nominated for Best Soul Gospel Album at the 1998 Grammys.

Dorinda Clark Cole’s eponymous debut album was a live recording as well, and featured classic songs, such as “I’m Still Here” and “Show Me The Way.” The album won two Stellar Awards.

Jackie Clark Chisholm released her first solo album, Expectancy, in 2005.

4. Mariah Carey is a fan of The Clark Sisters.

“The Clark sisters are my favourite gospel group,” Carey said to Independent in 2005.

Mariah Carey and Karen Clark-Sheard during The New York Chapter of the Recording Academy Presents the Recording Academy Honors 2005 – Inside at Gotham Hall in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by L. Busacca/WireImage for Grammy Magazine)

During the same interview, Carey also talked about being a fan of Kierra Sheard, Karen’s daughter, and protege. “There is a gospel singer named Kierra Sheard, Kiki they call her, she is Karen Clark Sheard’s daughter….She…has been singing with her mother over the years, and I have been just waiting for her to put an album out, which she did this year, and it is great.” 

5. “You Brought The Sunshine” was their biggest crossover hit.

Inspired by the reggae influence present on Stevie Wonders’ song “Master Blaster (Jammin,)” Twinkie Clark reworked the arrangement to give gospel listeners “You Brought The Sunshine” in 1981. But the song was a hit across the board, and received airplay on secular radio stations as well.

via Discogs

The song gave The Clark Sisters’ their first taste of major mainstream success, and they were even asked to come perform at the legendary Studio 54 in New York. Although their mother declined the performance invite, the song climbed the charts and the album You Brought The Sunshine, their eighth studio effort, was their first gold record.

6. Multiple hip-hop and R&B songs have sampled The Clark Sisters.

From Aaliyah’s “Never Giving Up,” to Jay-Z and Beyonce’s “Family Fued” to “Demolition 1 + 2” by Key!, The Clark Sisters have enjoyed multiple reintroductions to new generations.

“Wow!!! who would’ve thought this phenomenal Artist would use our songs. Thank you Jay Z & [B]eyonce,” Karen Clark Sheard wrote on Instagram after the release of “Family Fued,” which sampled “Ha-Ya (Eternal Life.)”

7. The Clark Sisters were influenced by Aretha Franklin.

Both The Clark Sisters and Aretha Franklin grew up in Detroit. The Clarks and Franklin are also both lauded for the mixing popular music styles with gospel, and Twinkie Clark has maintained that Franklin greatly impacted the gospel group.

“Me and my sisters got a lot of our riffs and runs from her. The way she did her moans and groans, we’d do the same way,” Twinkie Clark said to the Detroit Free Press in 2018. “The way she’d improvise and ad lib, hit high notes, then go all the way down and hit low notes, we listened to all of that.”

When Mattie Moss Clark passed away in 1994, Franklin sang at her funeral. Then, when Franklin died of pancreatic cancer in 2018, The Clark Sisters sang one of their signature songs, “Is My Living In Vain,” at her service.

8. Producer and artist J. Moss is The Clark Sisters’ cousin.

Record producer, singer, and songwriter J. Moss is the son of Bill Moss, the brother of Mattie Moss Clark. Bill was represented in The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel during the scene in which the young quintet recorded in a studio for the first time. His character is seen behind the soundboard talking to Mattie.

As a member of the songwriting and production group, PAJAM, J. Moss has worked with a number of artists over the years, including N’SYNC and Kelly Price.

9. The group was honored at the 2016 ESSENCE Festival.

For their contributions to music, ESSENCE celebrated The Clark Sisters at our annual culture fest in 2016. Kierra Sheard, Keke Wyatt, and Yolanda Adams were among the performers who honored the group. The Clarks even hit the stage for an impromptu performance of “My Redeemer Liveth.”

10. The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel was co-produced by Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige and Queen Latifah.

In 2018, news broke that Elliott, Blige, and Latifah had signed on to produce the project, which was then-titled You Brought the Sunshine. Each producer, as well as other big names, like Kelly Rowland, have spoken about just how impactful The Clark Sisters have been throughout the course of their nearly 50-year career.

“One of my very first musical memories was definitely The Clark Sisters,” Rowland said.

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