| About Carlis L. Moody, Jr. | It's nice to know that there are some young singer/songwriters keeping the spirit of traditional/inspirational black gospel music alive. One of those young performers is Carlis L. Moody Jr. who has written over 100 songs including Lord I'm Available To You, By Your Word, Worthy, Through God's Eyes and has spent the last 2 decades penning chart-smashing songs for traditional gospel artists such as Shirley Caesar, The Late Olanda Draper, Babbie Mason, and Milton Brunson & the Thompson Community Singers (Tommies). The eldest son of Bishop and Mrs. Carlis L. Moody Sr, Carlis was born in Waukegan, IL and has been active in church since his early childhood. He wrote his first composition "Now It All Seems So Simple" when be was just eleven years old. Carlis knew that church music was his life's calling, so after attending North Central Bible College in Minneapolis, he toured Europe with a choir and returned to the states with zeal to coach gospel choirs and conduct music workshops across the country. His big break as a songwriter came circa 1982. "Some years ago a man from Milton Brunson's church, Tony Shelton. came to my annual choir's anniversary... He asked me had I ever thought about Brunson's choir (the renowned Thompson Community Singers) recording a song of mine," Carlis recalls. "I told him that I never thought about it. A few months later he invited my choir to sing at a musical at Christ Tabernacle Church, and the people were blessed. After the service, Tony told me that Pastor Brunson wanted to meet me. Pastor Brunson told me how blessed he was by my choir's ministry and that Myrrh Records was dropping them from their label. He said the Tommies were doing their final project for the label and needed a major miracle for Myrrh to re-sign them. He asked me for a song for this album and the appropriate title of the song I wrote was "Miracle" which became the title of the album. The album reached #6 on Billboard's gospel album chart, was nominated for a Grammy Award and Myrrh executives were so happy with the LP sales that they re¬signed the choir to a new contract. From that time on. The Tommies came back to Carlis for other hit songs included one of Carlis's most recognized compositions "Available to You" and "Through God's Eyes," Things were going great, then, Carlis had a stroke in the prime of his youth. "The rehabilitation lasted nine whole months," he recalls, "While I was laid up I had the chance to review my life and I didn't like what I saw: excuses, excuses and more excuses, I told God if he raised me up, I would do things differently. He raised me up and now I'm making up for lost time. I minister every chance I get even if it's with just a smile, because there were nine months when I couldn't smile at all because my face was so crooked and ugly," Carlis was blessed to record a solo project entitled “Refreshing”. Every composition continues to be an inspiration to all who hear and some of the songs have been used for other ministry related events including plays and gospel advertisement. Carlis has also ministered in an opening capacity for many touring gospel groups including, “The Winans”. Carlis has a CD release titled “Listen With Your Heart” a duet with the renowned vocalist “Smokey Norful”. Vocalist's Dwayne Coleman, Lawanda Campbell and others are also a part of this heard on this CD. Carlis has worked with Bishop Darrell Hines and the Christian Faith Fellowship Church Choir in Milwaukee Wis. to provide musical leadership and vocal training and he also worked as Youth Pastor and Minister of Music at Temple Of Deliverance COGIC in Memphis TN, where Bishop G. E. Patterson Pastor. You may have seen Carlis on YouTube ministering in the "COGIC Morning Manna" He is now pastoring with his father, Bishop Carlis L. Moody, Sr. at Faith Temple COGIC in Evanston Illinois. His ministry has had effects on others around the world that are now writing and composing as the Lord leads. Some of Carlis’s other artist affiliations include Edwin Oliver, Babbie Mason, Brian Duncan, T. D. Jakes, Darrell Hines, Marvin Winans, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Dwayne Coleman, Steve “Stone” Huff, Fred Hammond, Smokey Norful, David Curry, Andre & Sandra Crouch, Darius Brooks, Kenny Lockart, Percy & Jerrell Gray, Charles Harris, Seth Watson, Jonathan Dubose, Billy Dickens, Karen Clark Sheard, Dorinda Clark Cole, JUMA Productions, Pastor Hezekiah Walker, Percy & Raymond Bady, Oliver Wells, Pastor Donald Alford, Percy Gray, Demonte Posey, John King III, Donald Lawrence, Jonathan Dubose, Kirk Whalum, Timothy Bowman and many more. In addition to his musical accomplishments, he is an entrepreneur and anointed preacher of the word. |
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