Misplaced Pages

John P. Kee

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by CmdrObot (talk | contribs) at 04:56, 19 March 2006 (Compact Amazon URL). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 04:56, 19 March 2006 by CmdrObot (talk | contribs) (Compact Amazon URL)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

John P. Kee (born June, 1962), is a Christian musician.


File:JohnPKee06a.jpg
John P. Kee

Kee was the 15th child of 16 children. His parents were the late John Henry Kee, and Lizzie S. Kee who lives in Durham, NC. At home in Durham, music and attending church highlighted the family's weekly activities. John exhibited extraordinary talent at an early age, both vocally and instrumentally. An excellent student, John was placed in a special school for the musically gifted children in Winston Salem, NC, and he started his musical career at the age of 14.

John moved to Northern California, studying with brothers Al and Wayne, where his music skills flourished, attending the Yuba College Conservatory School of Music in Marysville. John P. Kee was so musically gifted that even though under age, he became involved with the area's top musicians, briefly performing with groups like Donald Byrd & the Blackbirds and Cameo. While living in Northern California, he had a chance to meet and play with numerous jazz greats, making him one of the youngest accomplished musicians!

In his late teens, John drifted into a street lifestyle that brought him to Charlotte, NC, where he moved to the Double Oaks community and continued to slide down to a life of drugs and random violence. Kee began to turn his lifestyle around in his early-twenties after seeing a friend murdered in a cocaine deal gone bad. Surrendering to the Lord during a revival meeting at the PTL, he became involved with the New Life Fellowship Church. Devoting himself to gospel music, he began singing and formed the group New Life Community Choir. His first professional break came in 1985 when he became the first artist to be asked to record lead vocals on two tracks for James Cleveland’s Gospel Music Workshop of America's annual mass choir recording. But the most memorable performance on any album would be his performance on Edwin Hawkins’s Music and Arts Seminar Give Us Peace, which he’s still remembered for today!

In 1987, he released his first album with the New Life Choir, Yes Lord, which was recorded during a performance at the Brethren in Unity Youth Convention. In 1989 he released his debut solo album, Wait on Him. Kee has continued since then to balance solo albums and recordings with the choir. The early '90s brought the beginning of what would be a flood of awards for Kee including more than a dozen Stellar Awards, 20 GMWA Excellence Awards, a Soul Train Award, and two Billboard Music Awards. In 1995, Kee and New Life Community Choir reached their first commercial peak with the award-winning gold album Show Up that was also nominated for a Grammy, as was his 1999 album Strength, 2001 Not Guilty(also a book entitled "Not Guilty... The Script") , 2002 Blessed By Association, 2003 Power of Worship, 2004 Color of Music and 2005 VIP Live At The Fellowship. The Victory in Praise Mass Choir is formed from participants of Kee's VIP Conventions held late July and Early August each year. In addition, Kee has added a new feature to the VIP Conference by producing a compilation CD entitled "The New Artist Showcase", that features 16 new aspiring artists, giving them national exposure to the Gospel music industry.

Kee was inducted into The National Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2005 . The inductees included Aretha Franklin, Rev. F.C. Barnes, Luther Barnes & The Sunset Jubilaires, Rev. Timothy Wright, Bishop Paul S. Morton, Rev. Dr. Lawrence C. Roberts and Dr. Myles Munroe.


Pastor Kee married Felice Sampson, and they have eight children. Together, they serve unselfishly in their ministry. He is the founder and full-time pastor of New Life Fellowship Center, and does not collect a salary. He continues to create innovative ministries that extend into the community. These ministries include: A FREE After-School Tutoring Program; Operation Bread Basket; Adopt-A-Family; Mentor Program, One-Step- Substance Abuse Program, Ex-Drug Dealers Association, WAIM; Midnight Court (Adult Basketball Ministry), Y-Stand; Kingdom League Youth Basketball, Flag Drill Team and Drum Line; Step Team; Senior’s Ministry (tackling adult illiteracy, Computer Skills and informing elderly on legal issues); Hispanic Ministry; Health and Wellness and several more which totals up to over 100 active ministries that serve his church and the surrounding communities!

Pastor John P. Kee and Felice ventured out to opened New Life Christian Academy School of the Arts and a Daycare in 2002. In the first year of the school, they enrolled 27 students. Initially, the grades ranged from Pre-K through the second grade. The second year NLCA School of the Arts enrolled 72 students increasing through the 6th grade. In 2004 as the school begin its third year, advancing to the 12th grade, it enrolled over 200 students. Pastor John P. Kee continues to give of himself, granting scholarships to children of the partakers in his congregation, making it possible for them to attend NLCA School of the Arts.

John P. Kee continues to find positive ways to impact his community, his home town and the whole world through the gospel music industry and his outreach efforts. He recently celebrated 20 career years of gospel music.

Category: