Memphis gospel singer Jackie Johnson got her start singing backing vocals for such artists as the Staple Singers, Barbara Carr, Shirley Brown, Rufus Thomas, and Lenny Kravitz. Johnson's 1998 debut album, Let Love Abide, struck a compromise between funky Southern soul/gospel and smooth, adult-contemporary-oriented R&B. A sophomore effort Here I Am followed in fall 2000. ~ Steve Huey