Background
Shirley Caeser initially started up by singing and performing for family and friends. She received invitations from all over the Carolinas to sing as Baby Shirley Caesar. Caesar’s performances were on weekends because she was in school on weekdays. She also helped in caring for her mom, Hallie, who had limited skills due to her disability. Caesar had a special bond with her mother and cared for her until her demise in 1986. After her father, who was popularly known as Big Jim, died, she began singing at local churches to help raise money for her family.
Before his death, Big Jim was a tobacco worker and a preacher; he was well-known in the Carolinas as the lead singer in a gospel quartet, Just Came Four. Caesar joined the group at age 10. Two years later, her father died, and she began touring with Evangelist LeRoy Johnson, who also had a television show in Portsmouth. At 13, she recorded her first song, ‘I’d Rather Have Jesus.’ While still in high school, she toured the Carolinas.
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After graduating from Hillside High School in Durham in 1956, Caesar’s determination took her to North Carolina Central, where she enrolled at North Carolina College to study Business Education. During an exam, she heard the voice of God speaking to her, and it was at this point she knew she needed to travel the world spreading His word. Two years into school, the prominent female gospel group known as the Caravans appeared in Durham, and Caesar was elated. She asked for the opportunity to sing a solo in place of a member who failed to show up. The group’s leader, Albertina Walker, was so pleased with Caesar’s voice and performance that she asked her to join the group. Caesar discussed this opportunity with her family and took permission from her mother to leave school to join the Caravans.
Singing with the Caravans was the beginning of Caesar’s career; her dynamic and engaging style of acting out what she sang made her shows creative and entertaining. In the 1960s, tensions developed among the members of the Caravans, and Caesar left the group and devoted herself full-time to evangelical work. She joined James Cleveland, and they made several records together and became known as the King and Queen of Gospel. Several years later, with over six decades under her belt, Caesar has made a name for herself in the gospel music industry.
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