SUNDAY RESPITE-Soon and Veery soon-Jessy Dixon & Andre Crouch

Beloved gospel singer, songwriter and musician, Jessy Dixon, died Monday in his Chicago home.

During the lifetime of a career that spanned upwards of five decades, Dixon wrote more than 200 songs. Author of gospel classics such as ‘I Love To Praise His Name’ and ‘, ‘He’s The Best Thing…To Happen to Me’, Dixon was perhaps most known for his 1993 hit ‘I Am Redeemed’ a song that impacted audiences worldwide, and held a top-ten position on the gospel charts for over five years.

Dixon began studying music at the age of five, and his original aspiration was to become a classical pianist. However, during a 1997 interview with the associated press, Dixon revealed that since early childhood, he knew he wanted to use his gifts and talents in the church. Dixon was catapulted into a broader gospel scene after being discovered by gospel music legend, James Cleveland, but remained dedicated to his desire of sharing that gospel he heard about as a youth.

For the past 16 years, Jessy Dixon had been a cherished fixture on the Bill Gaither Gospel Hour television series, and concert tours. His unbridled enthusiasm for sharing the gospel, and the boundless energy he brought to the stage made him an instant favorite to all who knew and loved him, both in the United States and in Europe. "Nowhere else in the world will you find such a delightful, pure, and honest performance, ingeniously combining brilliant vocalizing, and high energy excitement as when you listen to Jessy Dixon. When your feet begin to tap with the beat, the desire to get up and dance becomes overwhelming, and maybe a tear comes to your eyes; that is when Jessy Dixon's performance has reached its pinnacle," (International Herald Tribune).

Over the course of his career in gospel music, Dixon received several Dove award nominations for his work, seven Grammy nominations, garnered five gold albums, and was a 2008 Christian Music Hall of Fame inductee.
In addition to his accomplishments in the realm of gospel, Dixon also enjoyed success in other genres of music. Dixon was well known for his collaboration and friendship with Paul Simon, with whom he toured for eight years, and was contributor on several of Simon’s albums.

Aside from his work with Paul Simon, Dixon also wrote numerous songs for such artists as Cher, Natalie Cole, Amy Grant, and Diana Ross. In addition to singing and songwriting, Dixon played keyboard with Earth, Wind, and Fire, and guitarist Phillip Upchurch, as well as piano for gospel legend, Mahalia Jackson.

Despite international recognition and acclaim, Dixon stated the greatest joy of his life was to 'bask in the love of the one whom this gospel music is all about.”