Pastor Shirley Caesar is certain that the Lord isn’t through with her yet.
Celebrating 50 years as a solo gospel artist, Caesar released today Fill This House, the latest full-length record in her 40-plus album catalogue. Featuring the jazzy, Anthony Hamilton-assisted first single, “It’s Alright, It’s OK,” Fill This House’s 11 tracks are packed with healing ministry and a winning attitude – mostly because she’s nowhere near ready to retire.
“If anybody tries to tell me that it’s over for me [or] ‘I don’t think she can make a comeback,’ honey, I strive,” says the 77-year-old North Carolina native during a phone interview. “I strive to make them out a lie. I strive to be my best self. I know that I have more energy left in me than some 25-year-olds.”
The First Lady of Gospel owes her longevity to her mother who cautioned her years ago about protecting her voice. As a singer, Caesar explains, she is susceptible to sinus drainage and colds. So it’s important that she rests her body and her vocal chords while also drinking a lot of warm fluids.
“It’s just like a guitar, bass guitar, lead guitar, a pianist… at the end of a concert, you put that instrument back in a box and you protect it,” Caesar says. “Singers have to do the same thing. You have to protect your voice.”
She drinks a lot of hot tea and warm water to relax her vocal chords before and after recording sessions, concerts and ministering. Another important routine, she says, is…
Pastor Shirley Caesar: “I Have More Energy Left In Me Than Some 25-Year-Olds” was originally published on blackdoctor.org
