It is inspirational to see
Sheri Jones-Moffett reinvent herself as both an artist and woman of God. Her
perpetual efforts to gauge groom and grow every step of the way as both a
songstress and minister reflects a side of her that’s capable and committed to
being the very best person she can be. It’s also the appropriate title and theme
of her debut album that spells out her approach to life – Renewed.
And the progress is really apparent. We’ve seen Sheri evolve and expand on her
ministry, from her modest days with the Memphis-based chorale, Kevin Davidson &
The Voices, to her notable stints with Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers,
to her unforgettable collaborations as part of the dynamic duo of Ted & Sheri.
In each chapter of her life and artistry, Sheri found creative ways to replenish
and regenerate her gift as a vocalist, so that souls would be blessed and lives
would be changed. We spoke with the introspective and insightful Sheri
Jones-Moffett about her new disc, her thoughts on Donald Lawrence and Ted Winn
and her insecurities that served as motivation for her.
Christopher Heron: Let’s begin with a simple question that speaks to the
heart of your ministry; which is the Word. Is there a particular biblical text
or scripture that reminds you of your calling and of your purpose and gift?
Sheri Jones-Moffett: I would have to say it changes for me from day to
day but the scripture that I use as a theme around my debut record which is the
title track would probably be the scripture Romans 12:2, “Be not conformed to
this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…”. That
particular scripture resonated heavily with me because I wanted to start with
every layer in my life and every place in my life that required transition.
I was right in the middle of coming out of a choir that I had sang with for
years; and while renewal is thematic it can be quite difficult because renewal
means doing away with something that you have always done or doing away with
being some place you’ve always been. That is not the easiest thing in the world
to do. That particular scripture I believe resonated stronger with me than any
of the other ones and it has for years.
CH: Your voice is among the most remarkable instruments of praise today.
When did you recognize personally or understand that your ability to sing was
special and would be able to affect souls or change the atmosphere?
SJM: I would have to say I was probably about 8 years old. I remember
singing. My father was a pastor, so when I sang in church I remember thinking
the only time people cry is when they’re happy; well it’s when they’re sad but
this particular time every time I sing it seems like people would cry. I knew
down deep inside my 8 year old self, it wasn’t a bad cry.
I couldn’t explain why they were crying but I made the connection that it
happened after I opened my mouth and so I recognized then that this wasn’t just
an instrument. This was an instrument that God had laid his hands on. And the
reason that people were moved to tears was because something was happening in
the spirit that they couldn’t explain. I didn’t know what it was at 8 years old
but I knew that I liked making people feel God because you know God is cool.
If you can make people feel God and make God feel good I wanted to do that. My
parents introduced me to God at a young age and I did it because it was what I
was suppose to do but over time I developed a relationship with Him and I
learned who He was to me and it wasn’t very hard. It wasn’t very hard at all.
CH: I’m a believer that success is frequently the result of coming in
contact with a lot of special people who leave their imprint on our lives. I am
going to mention a few names and I would like you to tell me what’s special
about these individuals or how exactly these anointed music ministers affected
your life over the years. Kevin Davidson.
SJM: Kevin Davidson represented hope and a chance for me. I grew up in a
very rural area, Summerville, a small town right outside of Memphis. Everybody
knew each other and if your last name was one thing you probably were related to
most of the people in town. Having big ideas and big dreams in a small town
wasn’t very comfortable.
I was afforded the opportunity in high school to sing with the gospel choir and
the choir that Kevin Davidson was the minister of music. Our paths crossed and
the founder of the choir came out to my parent’s house, asked me if I could join
that choir and that got the ball rolling to the point where I thought I could
possibly do this for a living. Kevin Davidson to me represents change and
opportunity. We were like brother and sister. We still are quite close.
CH: Donald Lawrence.
SJM: I don’t have words for that brother. Donald represents the epitome
of a professor. The Clark Sisters were my favorite singers in the world. The
people who I watched growing up ignited or awakened this thing inside of me that
says you are supposed to be doing this and I mistakenly thought I wanted to do
it just like them or to be them but that wasn’t their job. Their job was to
inspire whatever this was that was already inside of me.
Donald Lawrence’s job was to nurture, train it, and bring it out. To me that is
the essence of a professor and it’s the essence of a mentor. Over the years,
I’ve learned and he taught me. For so many years, I thought the people that I
loved the most were the ones who mentored me but the people who mentor you are
the ones that choose you because they see something in you that needs to be
groomed and developed and that’s what he did. He grabbed me, picked me out, and
made me stay up under his wings until I learned what I needed to.
CH: Ted Winn.
SJM: That’s my brother. Ted represents drive and force. I’ve never, ever
in my life seen anybody that’s more of a go-getter than Ted. He’s going to make
it happen and he is going to make it work. I am more of the one that stands in
the wings and says, “I don’t feel like it.” and Ted is pulling me by my coat
tail saying, “You know what? If we sacrifice here now it will pay off a little
bit later. I will honestly say Ted gave me the opportunity or he let me see that
singing was bigger than the world that I knew.
Honestly, coming out of Summerville and going to Memphis was as big as I thought
it was going to get, as big as I thought it could possibly be for me. Ted had
been to a few more places by then. He had experienced a little bit more and he
had been around a few more artists. Ted was the person in my life that made me
know that this was possible, not only possible but this was possible for me. You
can watch TV and look at people who are there while you’re here and think that
you will be in Memphis forever. Ted made me believe that I could be on TV.
CH: Your new album is interestingly title Renewed. What exactly was the
inspiration for the song and for the title of your solo album?
SJM: The inspiration for the song was shaped around that scripture but it
also was a culmination of everything that I’ve been through. I struggled with
self esteem. I struggled with my weight growing up and I struggled with my
weight in early adulthood. I remember being in school and all I had was my
voice. I wanted people to notice me and I never thought that anything else about
me was good enough so I sang all the time. If that was why people liked me then
that’s what I kept doing.
It got really lonely because it also made me think there is somebody else
outside of this voice and nobody wants to get to know her. So I shed that person
and I told that person goodbye because I recognized that my voice and my gift
are simply an extension of who I am. They’re not who I am. They don’t totally
complete or define me but I have to be able to manage them well until God
reveals some of the other things that I am responsible for being on this Earth
to do. I am a wife, I’m a mom and I’ve been, for some people, a big confidant
and I never will come to that place until I embrace ever layer of me.
CH: You’ve garnered lots of attention as a soloist in a choir and as a
member of a dynamic recording duet. Which Sheri best captures the heart and the
soul of the artist and which Sheri is mostly heard on your debut album, Renewed?
SJM: I will honestly say that I’m definitely at a place that I’ve never
been before and it’s quite scary because for the first time in my musical life
it’s only me. As you said earlier, I‘ve been in a choir and a group but I’ve
never ever been solely responsible for this gift and explain this gift to the
world until this moment. I would honestly say that there are different sides of
me in Renewed but there’s still more. For a lot of years, I sang music that was
given to me but I believed it was important for me on this record to write which
is why I had to record on my own because the things that I felt about myself, I
think I needed to say and I couldn’t say them with anybody because that’s not
their experience, that’s not their life.
You will find a little bit of my life in each and every one of these songs.
There is a song on my record called, Not Too Late To Dream and it was inspired
by the history that we just made in the United States, electing the first Black
President. It was a strange space in my life and I started to think about people
who are 45, who are 55, who are 65 or people who are 25, 35.
When you’re around 25 or 35, you get to that place in your life where you wonder
what have I done or what have I contributed to the world or have I really found
where I’m suppose to be and not just wandering and floating off into the air.
You really start to reflect and look back over your life and see where this
journey has taken you and where it’s going so there goes Not Too Late To Dream
because if we can suffer through a hundred years of slavery and a little over 40
years ago through racism and after all that, elect a Black president, I don’t
think its too late for anybody to dream.
CH: In conclusion, I would like for you to tell me what is your hope,
what is you expectation, what is your vision for those who will encounter your
music on your solo project? What would you like for them to also experience on a
spiritual level with the release of Renewed?
SJM: The bottom line for me and this record is that I want people to hear
what I have to say, hear where I’ve been, find themselves and look deep inside
themselves because God resides inside of us. The destiny for each of us lurked
before the foundations of the world were put into place. I hope people will
listen to this record, get up and find whatever they’re perfectly destined in
the world to do. This record, for me, is really about empowering.
