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Donald Vails
Donald Vails
Birth name	Donald Raymond Vails, Jr.
Also known as	Rev. Donald Raymond Vails
Born	December 25, 1948; Atlanta, Georgia
Died	September 10, 1997 (aged 48); Clinton, Maryland
Genres	gospel, traditional black gospel, urban contemporary gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)	vocals, piano, singer-songwriter
Years active	1977–1996
Labels	Savoy, Sound of Gospel

Reverend Donald Raymond Vails, Jr. (December 25, 1948 – September 10, 1997), was an American gospel musician and pianist. He started his recorded music career in 1977, with the release, Donald Vails Choraleers on Savoy Records. Vails released sixteen albums with two labels, Savoy Records and Sound of Gospel. He released five albums that charted on the Billboard magazine Gospel Albums chart: He Promised a New Life in 1984 with Savoy Records, 1986's Yesterday, Today and Forever with Sounds of Gospel, 1987's Until the Rapture again with Sounds of Gospel, In Jesus Christ I Have Everything I Need in 1990 also with Sounds of Gospel, and 1994's A Sunday Morning Songbook with Savoy Records. The album, He Decided to Die, was a Grammy Award-nominated release, and it was certified as a gold album by the RIAA.

Early life

Vails was born on December 25, 1948, in Atlanta, Georgia, as Donald Raymond Vails, Jr.,^[1] whose parents sent him to a nursery school at Gospel Choral Union, and this instilled in him a love of gospel music and the piano.^[2]^[3] He was reared in the church in his hometown at Mt. Zion Baptist Church.^[2]^[3] He was leading a choir by age twelve, and after high school, he relocated to Detroit, Michigan to pursue a degree in engineering at Detroit Institute of Technology^[2]^[3] and formed The Choraleers in 1969.^[2]^[3] Vails relocated to Washington, D.C., in 1985 to attain a master's degree in Music at Howard University.^[2]^[3] During this time, he became a member of Ebenezer AME Church located in Fort Washington, Maryland, and this caused the church's choir to grow from 40 to 175 participants in a few months.^[2]^[3] Valis also established the Salvation Corporation, an 80-member interdenominational choir.^[2]^[3]

Music career

Vails began his recorded music career in 1977, with the release of Donald Vails Choraleers on Savoy Records.^[4] His sixteen albums made the Billboard magazine Gospel Albums chart, for five of those releases:^[5] He Promised a New Life in 1984 with Savoy Records at No. 32,^[4]^[5] No. 17 for Yesterday, Today and Forever with Sound of Gospel in 1986,^[4]^[5] 1987's Until the Rapture at No. 11 with Sound of Gospel,^[4]^[5] In Jesus Christ I Have Everything I Need again with Sound of Gospel in 1990 peaking at No. 26,^[4]^[5] and 1994's A Sunday Morning Songbook at No. 33 with Savoy Records.^[4]^[5] They would achieve a gold album certification by the RIAA and a Grammy Award nomination for their 1978 album, He Decided To Die, with Savoy Records.^[2]^[3]

Personal life

Vails was married to Janine Vails (née, Anderson) when he died from a lengthy illness in Clinton, Maryland, on September 10, 1997. He was survived by two children, Brian and Carmen.^[1]^[3]

Discography

List of selected studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title	Album details	Peak chart positions^[5]
Title	Album details	US Gos
He Promised a New Life	Released: 1984 Label: Savoy Records CD, digital download	32
Yesterday, Today and Forever	Released: 1986 Label: Sound of Gospel CD, digital download	17
Until the Rapture	Released: 1987 Label: Sound of Gospel CD, digital download	11
In Jesus Christ I Have Everything I Need	Released: 1990 Label: Sound of Gospel CD, digital download	26
A Sunday Morning Songbook	Released: 1994 Label: Savoy CD, digital download	33

References

^ ^a ^b Flack, John (August 2, 2009). "Rev Donald Raymond Vails, Jr". Find a Grave Memorial. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Carpenter, Bil (2005). "Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia": 421–22. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Donald Vails". Malaco Records. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f AllMusic. "Rev. Donald Vails : Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 6, 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Billboard. "Rev. Donald Vails : Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved April 6, 2015.