Ashley Cleveland (born February 2, 1957) is an American singer-songwriter best known as a background vocalist and gospel singer. Ashley Cleveland was born in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In 2013 she published her memoir, Little Black Sheep, in hardcover, & eBook format.[citation needed]
Awards and recognition
As the Grammy Award's first female nominee in the Best Rock Gospel category, Ashley Cleveland won this award in 1996 for her album Lesson of Love, in 1999 for You Are There, and in 2008 for Before the Daylight's Shot. She is the only artist to be nominated, and win, three times in this category.
In 2010, God Don't Never Change, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Gospel Album category, bringing her total number of overall nominations to four (with three wins).
Lesson of Love also won a 1996 Nashville Music Award ("Nammy") for Best Contemporary Christian Album.
Cleveland was the only female vocalist to sing lead on a song ("Gimme Shelter") for the television special, Stone Country: A Tribute to the Rolling Stones on the defunct The Nashville Network (TNN).