Famed Musical Duo Changes Focus After Surrendering to Christ
"The Lord said, 'No, it's not going to be that; you're going to have a praise ministry. All you're going to do is to give Me the praise and glory and you're going to give testimony about what I have done in your lives. And you will have people stand up and give that same testimony and you will sing songs to glorify Me."
(Beverly Hills, CA)—The following is condensed from an ASSIST News article. To read it in its entirety follow the link provided.
For all the secular success Billy Davis Jr., and Marilyn McCoo have enjoyed through the years—7 Grammy awards, 15 gold, and 3 platinum albums, plus starring roles on television and stage, and sold-out concert, their relationship with God has much more importance to them. Their strong faith in Jesus Christ has guided them for many years, resulting in a more than 31-year marriage that is still going strong.
They headlined in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Atlantic City, and won the prestigious Grand Prize at the international Tokyo Music Festival. Back home, they were sought-after guests on every major television show. But, after spending nearly 15 years at the pinnacle of success, Marilyn & Billy's focus changed. They each began a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (Marilyn in December, 1980, Billy in February, 1981), asking Him to come into and direct their lives.
Now, after all their secular success, they have dedicated their lives to serving Christ in Hollywood with their new Gospel group.
In an interview for Safe Worlds Good News IPTV Channel based in Irvine, California, I asked them about why they had made the change from their secular careers to Gospel music.
Billy Davis Jr., began by saying that [their idea for a new group] came in a vision that the Lord gave me to start this ministry about nine years ago and I thought it was just going to be a regular ministry like all the other ministries that's out there, but the Lord said, 'No, it's not going to be that; you're going to have a praise ministry. All you're going to do is to give Me the praise and glory and you're going to give testimony about what I have done in your lives. And you will have people stand up and give that same testimony and you will sing songs to glorify Me."
Marilyn McCoo then added, "One of the highlights for me is that I came into this with an attitude of being a professional and when I approach music I want it to be sung correctly; I want all the notes to be right; I want everybody to be committed like I am. And the Lord had to show me that, yes, the music is important, but what's even more important is the dedication. So we ended up with people who weren't necessarily professional singers, but they are so dedicated in a way that I've never seen before. It is the kind of dedication that we did not get from the professional singers that we had tried to get into our group.
"And the Lord also showed me that it's not about that, it's about who loves Him and who wants to praise Him; and that was a very important lesson for me."
Regarding the music business today, Marilyn McCoo is quoted as saying: "A lot of young people think that, along with this fame, comes being loved by the world, but what they don't realize is that that there's a kind of betrayal that happens in this business. First, you become famous and everyone loves you, and then they start watching you very closely and then they start picking apart your behavior and then they start to not love you anymore, and then they start to criticize you. That's what we've seen with a lot of the young people. They don't understand that fame and glory are fleeting they think that it's going to give them the answer to everything that they're searching for in their lives and fame is not it."
Billy added: "Fame comes and goes, you know, but your work goes on because the passion of your work just continues and continues. But fame—it could be here, it could be there—you know it's not promised to us."
