Photo courtesy Fred Hammond
Ask anybody who's seen gospel music legend Fred Hammond perform live, and they'll tell you: Expect an experience. The veteran performer — who evangelizes as much as he vocalizes when onstage, mesmerizing audiences with his throaty tenor — brings his high-intensity style to JoyFest at Kings Dominion this month.
His first foray into gospel music began in the halls of Morning Star Baptist Church in his native Detroit. He sang and played drums for a 150-voice youth choir. As he matured, an abundance of church drummers swayed his interest toward a new instrument, which would be his gateway into the gospel music industry.
"My mother, Mildred Hammond, bought me my first bass,” he says over the phone, taking a brief respite from the Festival of Praise tour. Hammond headlines the 50-city concert series, performing alongside gospel heavyweights including Donnie McClurkin and Charles Jenkins.
“I took to it pretty quickly,” Hammond says. Indeed, he soon auditioned to play bass for the Winans, a family of singers who were already making waves on the national gospel scene. "I thought I was a shoo-in, but I didn't get the job. Pastor Marvin Winans was basically like, ‘Nah.’” Undeterred, Hammond kept playing. Soon, he not only scored a gig with the Winans, he also became a member of the all-male sextet Commissioned. The group included vocalists who would also become chart-topping gospel artists, such as Marvin Sapp. From there, Hammond found his stride as a composer, vocalist and producer, leading his own contemporary gospel group, Radical for Christ. The group's 1998 double album, “Pages of Life — Chapters I & II," went gold a few months after its release. By 2006, it had reached double platinum status, with hits like “No Weapon” and “We’re Blessed/Shout Unto God” still in rotation on gospel radio.
Always the innovator, Hammond has collaborated with both secular and sanctified artists, a tendency that’s sometimes met with murmurs from religious music listeners.
“When I worked with Snoop Dogg last year [on the rapper’s gospel project, “Bible of Love”], some folks almost lost their minds,” he says dryly. “But I have to reach outside the four walls of the church to win souls for Christ. If you want to praise God, I'll praise God with you, no matter who you are. “
Hammond is an independent artist, which allows him to work with anyone he wants to and release music on his own schedule. Currently, he’s dropping a song a month via his website, which also features his show “That’s My Reality,” which gives fans a perspective into his life. He looks forward to returning to the Richmond area; here, he anticipates being fed both spiritually and physically.
“I love Croaker’s, man,” he says, laughing. “Croaker’s Spot is just like Richmond — great people, great food.”
Fred Hammond performs at JoyFest, at Kings Dominion on July 14. Doors open at 3 p.m. $30 to $112. 804-876-5000 or joyfest.org.
