Born: October 13, 1938, Durham, NC

Education: North Carolina College, 1956–58; Shaw University, B.A., 1984; Duke Divinity School

Caesar rose from a childhood of familial hardships to international acclaim in gospel music. She began performing as a soloist at age twelve alongside a Virginia evangelist. Singing often on his Portsmouth television show, she soon recorded her first song, “I'd Rather Have Jesus” (1951). She traveled by bus and train to perform in the Jim Crow South. She left college in 1958 to join the Caravans, a Chicago-based female group. Her performance was powerful and dramatic, as she would leave the stage to shake hands with people in the audience. With the hit “Hallelujah, It's Done” (1961) she incorporated periodic sermonizing into the songs. This became a marker of her singing and preaching.

After leaving the Caravans and organizing the Caesar Singers, she produced an array of hits. These included mother-songs such as “Don't Drive Your Mama Away” (1969). Reviewers called her the “Queen of Gospel” and she received a Grammy Award for “Put Your Hand in the Hand of the Man” (1971). “Faded Rose” (1980), which a son places on his mother's grave, topped the charts. After 1980, despite more than 150 concerts annually, she finished college, began her ministry, and served as a Durham councilwoman.