| Crystal Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Crystal Lynn Lewis |
| Also known as | Crystal Lewis Ray |
| Born | September 11, 1969 Corona, California, United States |
| Genres | Contemporary Christian/Gospel |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, author |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Frontline, Metro 1 Music, Myrrh, Word, Interscope, GospoCentric |
| Associated acts | Wild Blue Yonder, The Screamin' Rays |
| Website | www.crystallewis.com |
Crystal Lewis (born September 11, 1969) is an American contemporary Christian/Gospel vocalist, songwriter and author.
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Lewis (b. Crystal Lynn Lewis in Corona, California) grew up singing in her father's church.[1] In 1984, at the age of 15, Lewis auditioned for a children's musical called Hi Tops, written and produced by Ernie and Debbie Rettino, creators of Psalty, the Singing Song Book. Lewis passed the audition and was able to go into the studio and participate in the Soundtrack recording with the rest of the cast members. While working with the musical, Lewis met a member of the rockabilly band, The Lifters. After becoming friends with the members of that band, Lewis was asked to join. Soon after, the band changed its name to Wild Blue Yonder. Lewis also met her husband, Brian Ray, through her association with the band.
Wild Blue Yonder was together for two years and recorded a single full length album Wild Blue Yonder, produced by Daniel Amos frontman Terry Scott Taylor, for Frontline Records in 1986. She would also sing on D.A.'s album Fearful Symmetry in 1986, and Taylor's solo album A Briefing for the Ascent in 1987. After Wild Blue Yonder disbanded, Frontline offered Lewis a solo recording contract at the age of 17. Beyond The Charade, her first solo project, was released in 1987.
Lewis went on to record three more albums for Frontline, Joy in 1988, Let Love In in 1990, and her first greatest hits project Simply The Best in 1991, before starting her own record label, Metro 1 Music in 1992 with a distribution deal through Diamante Music Group.
In 1992, Lewis joined the original cast of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series, Roundhouse (for which she helped originate the theme song). After season one, she left the show to pursue her music career.[2]
Her next solo project, Remember, was recorded and released on Metro 1 label in 1992, followed by The Bride in 1993, and Hymns: My Life in 1995. The Bride was listed at No. 97 in the 2001 book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. Her second greatest hits collection released that year landed Lewis in the No. 1 spot on the Pop/Dance charts with her rendition of "Shine Jesus Shine."
Beauty For Ashes was released in 1996, the first album from Metro 1 Music to be distributed through a new arrangement with Myrrh Records. Ashes was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, and the song "People Get Ready...Jesus Is Comin' " was the No. 1 song of the year (1996) in Christian Radio. The album also won an ASCAP award for "Beauty For Ashes" as the most played song (1997). The album contained four No. 1 radio singles: "People get ready...Jesus is Comin' ", "Beauty of the Cross", "God's been good to me", and "Beauty for Ashes."
Gold was released in 1998 and gave Lewis two No. 1 hits, "Lord, I Believe in You" and "Not the Same". Gold & Beauty for Ashes have collectively sold nearly 1,000,000 copies to date.[3] Crystal wrote a companion devotional to go along with the Gold album entitled Gold: A Devotional. The devotional revolves around Lewis' personal experiences and thoughts in relation to the songs found on Gold. Gold was later re-issued that same year with a new recording of "Lean on Me" (lead vocals by Crystal Lewis), which originally appeared on Kirk Franklin's album The Nu Nation Project that included "Lean on Me" featuring Mary J. Blige, R.Kelly, Bono, Crystal Lewis and The Family. That same year, Crystal won Dove Awards for "Female Vocalist of the Year" and "Spanish Language Album of the Year" for La Belleza de la Cruz. Lewis also joined Franklin along with Gerald Levert, Mary J. Blige, and Bono on stage at the 1999 Grammy Awards for a performance of "Lean on Me."
Lewis returned to her Rockabilly roots briefly in 1999 by joining long time friends/musicians Gene Eugene and Chris Brigandi (among others) to release The Attack of the Screamin' Rays. The live project Live @ The Woodlands, recorded live in Houston, Texas on November 6, 1998, was also released that year. In 1999 she was also featured in a song on The O.C. Supertones' album, Chase the Sun. Crystal picked up two more Dove awards in 1999 for "Special Event Album" for her contribution to the project Exodus, and "Spanish Language Album" for Oro. In 2000, Lewis released Fearless, which was nominated for "Best Christian Pop Album of the Year" at the 2000 Grammy Awards. The song "Only Fools" from that album was voted song of the year by ASCAP. Her first Christmas album, Holiday! A Collection of Christmas Classics, went on to be voted the 5th Best Christmas album of all-time by CCM Magazine
Crystal's third compilation project More was released in 2001. She also contributed to the Kingdom Come movie soundtrack with the Kirk Franklin-penned song "Someday" that same year.[4]
A second live project, More Live, recorded at the Sun Theater in her hometown of Anaheim, California on November 17, 2001, was released in 2002—along with another collection of hymns and gospel standards, Holy, Holy, Holy.[1] Also in 2002, Lewis was invited to perform the National Anthem on Opening Day for the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. [5] Other high-profile performances that year included a Washington Luncheon where she performed "America the Beautiful" and "When God's People Pray". She also performed in an event at Carnegie Hall called "A Night of Encouragement" to benefit victims and rescue workers from 9/11.[6] [7]
See was released in 2005, and, a children's project, Joyful Noise (Songs For Kids!) was released in 2006. A second Christmas offering, Peace on Earth, was released exclusively through iTunes in 2009. Plain and Simple was released on June 7, 2011.
Several artists have cited Lewis as a musical influence, including Stacie Orrico,[8] Jordin Sparks,[9] pop singer Hoku,[10] R&B artist Nikki Leonti (of Nikki & Rich),[11] and Lincoln Brewster.[12]
Lewis' songs have been covered by the likes of Avalon,[13] Mexican pop star Yuri,[14] Melinda Watts,[15] and Christian rock group Spoken.[16]
Lewis lives in northwestern Montana with husband Brian, with whom she has two children. Her daughter, Izzi Ray, is also a singer/songwriter and is currently in the studio recording her debut album. Her son, Solomon Ray, is also pursuing a career in music having recently wrapped production on his mother's new release Plain and Simple.
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