Kelly Price has been said to possess one of the most extraordinary voices in
modern music. Born and reared in Queens, NY, Price’s musical talent showed
itself at an early age. Price’s mother vividly recalls the many, many nights the
household was awakened to the sound of Kelly singing out from her crib. As a
child of the Church, both of her parents are ordained ministers, music became
inextricably intertwined with the emotional fabric of her life, and it was
through music that she expressed feelings she was often unable to speak aloud.
One day, after being deeply saddened by a book she read for a black history
project, Price wrote a song to express the complicated emotions she was feeling.
That was her first song. She was 7 years old.
Before the age of 10, Kelly sang on her first recording and by 18, she was
recording and touring the world with multi-platinum pop diva
Mariah Carey. Always a quick study, Kelly
watched and learned the intricacies of studio and production work and soon began
to expand into areas other than background singing. Kelly refers to these early
years as her “formal education.”
As a guest vocalist, Price went on to appear on such acclaimed hit singles as
Mariah Carey's "Fantasy," The Notorious
B.I.G.'s "Mo Money Mo Problems," P. Diddy’s “No
Way Out” and Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel.”
In the years to come, Price would share her musical gifts – in vocals,
production and writing – with a Who’s Who of A-list and legendary artists,
including George Michael, Aretha Franklin, Brian McKnight, LL Cool J, Ben
Tankard, Mary J Blige, Brandy, The LOX, Donnie McClurkin, The Williams Brothers,
Faith Evans, Karen Clarke-Sheard, Yolanda Adams, MASE, Mary Mary, Richard
Smallwood, R. Kelly, Eric Clapton, Wynona Judd,
Gerald Levert, Angela Winbush, The Isley Bros and Ronald Isley, among countless
others.
Though many record labels pursued Kelly as a solo artist, it was her connection
with Isley and his relentless belief in her talent that resulted in an alliance
between Price and him and the birth of her debut solo effort – Soul of a Woman.
That 1998 CD delivered the #1 smash women’s anthem of the year “Friend of Mine,”
penned by Price. Price followed her stellar freshman effort with
platinum-selling Mirror Mirror in 2000, One Family: A Christmas Album in 2002
and the critically acclaimed Priceless in 2003.
Right from the start, Price broke records by reaching Billboard’s top spot twice
with the same song, having achieved the # 1 victory with no music video at
television. No artist has done that since the conception of the instrumental
marketing tool of the music video. It was a sweet victory for Price after being
told by several music executives that she was talented and beautiful, yes, but,
“No one wants to look at a fat girl or buy her records, no matter how good she
sounds.” Kelly reminded the world that big was indeed beautiful.
Millions of albums later, this award-winning, Grammy-nominated, singer,
songwriter, producer, actress and, now, author has only begun to show the world
who she is and what she is capable of. Now, Price will expand her reach yet
again with the release of her first gospel CD, This Is Who I Am, released by
EcclectiSounds/GospoCentric through Zomba.
This Is Who I Am is due for release October 24, 2006.
