Artist:William Becton & Friends
Song:Be Encouraged
Album:Broken
Back in the 90s, we started to see contemporary gospel music cross over to pop and R&B. This was mostly spearheaded by Kirk Franklin. But occasionally an unknown gospel artist would crossover to R&B out of nowhere. And that's how the 1995 single Be Encouraged became a top 40 R&B hit. William Earl Becton Jr. was born Dec. 31, 1958 in Washington, DC. He started singing in the church choir at age four. Then he attended the Sewell Music Conservatory at age eight. He studied at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts and the University of the District of Columbia. Becton released the 1995 album Broken on his own label. When it started getting gospel radio airplay, Intersound Records picked it up. The single Broken topped the gospel chart and Be Encouraged crossed over to R&B. Becton appeared on the 1996 Stellar Awards broadcast. To follow it up, Becton signed with the much larger CGI Records with A&M Records distribution for the 1997 album Heart of a Love Song. That and subsequent albums didn't perform as well. And by the time Tyscot Records released the 2003 album Broken Vol. 2 Live, Becton had cooled off. He last released a single in 2012. But these days he is pastor at Kingdom Purpose Worship Center in Charlotte, NC. Music is still part of his ministry. But he's not a musician anymore. Here's William Becton and Friends performing Be Encoraged on the 1996 Stellar Awards broadcast.
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