Inez Andrews
Sister Inez Andrews born Inez McConico and better known as Inez Andrews was an American gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist. Her soaring, wideranging voice from contralto croon to soulwrenching wail made her a pillar of gospel music. The Chicago Tribune stated that Andrews throaty contralto made her low notes thunder, while the enormous range of her instrument enabled her to reach stratospheric pitches without falsetto and that her dramatic delivery made her a charismatic presence in church and on stage.
Inez McConico was born in Birmingham, Alabama, United States to Theodore and Pauline McConico. Her mother died when she was 2. Her father, a coal miner, was often out of work during the Great Depression. Andrews traveled a tough road to gospel stardom. She began singing as a child in church and began songwriting as a young mother in Birmingham. Andrews was working six days a week, ten hours a day for eighteen dollars a week, while washing, ironing, cooking, keep up with the kids. With her busy life in her youth, she felt that life had to have more to offer her. As she pondered that prayerfully, she picked up a pencil and a brown paper bag and began to write. Thus began her songwriting career. Andrews began her singing career in the 1940s with two groups in Birmingham, Ala. Carters Choral Ensemble and the Original Gospel Harmonettes. By the mid1950s, the Harmonettes were one of the nations top gospel groups, with Andrews the understudy for the groups lead singer, Dorothy Love Coates. Co
Source: Wikipedia