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Monday, July 13, 2026

Dear Reader,

We almost missed out on an opportunity to talk with gospel music legend CeCe Winans, who has been a professional part of the Christian music industry (and R&B world) for well over 40 years. Squeezed in at the last minute for a brief phone call while Winans was overseas, we wanted to make the best of our limited time.

Winans is one of those artists whose work attracts Black and White audiences, as well as secular and Christian fans. She comes from a storied musical family with siblings who entered the industry long before she did, but none of them quite achieved the crossover success enjoyed by she and her brother, BeBe Winans.

Much of that is credited to their 1982 debut on Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's "PTL Club" — at a time when racial segregation held "Christian music" in a chokehold. Sure, White believers enjoyed listening to Andraé Crouch and a few other select Black artists, but White Evangelical powerbrokers still weren't bold enough to erase the color line.

So I asked Winans about her experience and for her thoughts on the current state of the Christian music industry — which some say still tends to favor White male artists.

But I also wanted to know how she protects herself as a whole person to maintain longevity in an industry that often reflects the failings and the scandals of the secular world.

You might be surprised by Winans' remarks. I certainly found them insightful and inspiring, and wish we could've talked for even longer.

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Stay Faithful,

-Nicola

Managing Editor, FM

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