Born the 13th October 1938 in Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A. and dubbed worldwide as the First Lady of Gospel Music, Shirley Caesar is an American gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned seven decades. She started her career as a member of The Caravans, an all-female gospel group, during the 1950s, but left the group in 1966 when she began to record as a solo artist. She subsequently became a pastor of a church in Raleigh, North Carolina where she presently resides and continues to record. She has made several notable appearances both on nationally televised events and making cameos in commercials, tv shows, and movies. Caesar has won 12 Grammy Awards, 14 Stellar Awards, 18 Doves, 1 RIAA gold certification, an Essence Award, McDonald’s Golden Circle Lifetime Achievement Award, NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, SESAC Lifetime Achievement Award, Rhapsody & Rhythm Award from the National Museum of African American Music, as well as induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. In 2017, Caesar was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from The Recording Academy. Shirley Caesar has also released over forty albums.