Dorinda Clark-Cole

As part of contemporary gospel phenomenon the Clark Sisters, Detroit-based Dorinda Clark-Cole helped hone the inimitable Clark sound, an intricate harmonic blend that would go on to influence scores of performers in the R&B, pop, and hip-hop realms. Born Dorinda Grace Clark in 1957, the singer first took to the church stage when she was five and, like sisters Jacky Clark-Chisholm, Elbertina "Twinkie" Clark, and Karen Clark-Sheard, she learned the tools of the music trade under the tutelage of her mother, church music matriarch Mattie Moss Clark. A stern, demanding instructor, ...