And in October the famed Detroit-based quartet, who began singing as teenagers three decades ago under their influential mother's tutelage, will launch a 25-city tour from Nashville in September.
 
The sisters, who sing solely for the glory of God but have influenced both gospel and secular artists, simply shrug at the notion that this is a "reunion."

"We never stopped singing," sister Jacky Clark Chisholm said just before rehearsal in Washington's Lincoln Theater, where she and her sisters picked up the Recording Academy's President's Merit Award on June 8.

After years of recording individual albums, the sisters - Jacky, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark-Terrell, Karen Clark-Sheard, and Dorinda Clark-Cole - came together for "One Last Time" last July in Houston.

"I believe that God has hooked us up for such a time as this because we are getting older and we all have our own individual ministries and careers," Dorinda says. "But my mother has always said to us, 'Y'all stick together.' "

Massive influence

The Clark Sisters grew up singing in Detroit with a pioneer of gospel music - their mother, Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, a revered choir director, writer, and musician who recorded more than 35 albums during her career and is credited with being the first person to teach three-part harmony to choirs.

Often touted as the biggest-selling female gospel group in history, their 1980 album, "Is My Living In Vain," remained on the top of the Billboard charts for more than a year. And their 1981 smash, "You Brought the Sunshine," crossed over to the R&B black singles chart in 1983, peaking at No. 16.

"We're responsible for bringing people to Christ, singing songs that will stir up the spirit in people," says Karen, whose guest roster for her solo albums has included hip-hop and rap artists such as Missy Elliott.

Fellow gospel artists like Donnie McClurkin, Jones, Crystal Lewis and Yolanda Adams agree their influence has been far reaching.

"They've influenced everybody from gospel to mainstream, Faith Evans, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Price," says Donald Lawrence, who helped produce "One Last Time." "Twinkie was just an ultimate musician, she influenced most of the way people play organ in church today."

"I sang everything they sang because I wanted to sound like them, I wanted to dress like them, I wanted to look like them," Yolanda Adams says. "They were groundbreaking and really didn't know they were groundbreaking when they were teenagers."

What's next?

"Live: One Last Time," CD in stores now; also a DVD of the same name was released Tuesday. The sisters perform songs recorded live in Nashville, including "You Brought the Sunshine," "Blessed & Highly Favored," and "Pray for the USA."

By: Aliah D. Wright
Gannett News Service