Tammy Sullivan
The Share America Foundation will welcome Grammy and Dove nominee Tammy Sullivan and her band on Friday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Ringgold Depot, corner of Depot Street and U.S. 41.
Randall Franks from TV's "In the Heat of the Night” will emcee.
Review for Tammy Sullivan:
“The type of church we go to and I've been in all my life is Pentecostal,” Ms. Sullivan said. “And the message, when the preacher preaches, is a driving, shouting delivery - fiery. When I go to sing, say, and I think of that ‘Well, I like that delivery that I hear from the pulpit.’ If I can deliver my song like that, that's the way I want it delivered and projected to the audience - with fire in it."
For 35 years, Tammy Sullivan stood beside her father, Jerry, playing upright bass and singing songs of praise and worship. Together, Jerry and Tammy Sullivan shared their ministry with audiences ranging from tiny backwoods churches to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, from Alaska to Northern Ireland. Since her father’s death in 2014, Tammy continues a family tradition that spans generations.
From tiny Wagarville, Ala., Sullivan grew up in a musical family. Her cousins Enoch, Emmett, and Margie were members of the legendary Sullivan Family, a bluegrass gospel band that traces its ministry to Tammy’s uncle Arthur Sullivan. Brother Arthur was a Pentecostal minister who began preaching the old-time religion in brush arbors, on street corners, and tent revivals. He encouraged his siblings and his sons, Enoch and Emmett, to learn to play musical instruments to accompany his sermons in church and on his Sunday radio broadcasts.
Brother Arthur built Victory Grove Church in Wagarville in 1949. Today, Tammy continues to worship there in the very sanctuary where she learned to sing gospel songs and dedicated her life to serving the Lord.
Tammy received national recognition in 1996 when “At the Feet of God,” a duet with gospel music great Amy Grant, was nominated for a Grammy Award. When MCA Nashville Records head, Tony Brown, asked if she would be interested in a country music recording career, Tammy humbly declined. Singing her father’s songs and sharing the Gospel’s message of hope and salvation was the calling God had placed upon her heart.
Tammy often shared the stage with country star Marty Stuart, who toured with Jerry and Tammy as part of their show both as a child and an adult. Stuart produced and performed with the duo for the 1991 project “Joyful Noise.”
“When I first started singing, I wanted to help my Dad,” Tammy recalls. “I never had a desire to become a famous gospel star or country music singer. For me, it was all about the love of the music and the love of my family, and getting that music out there.”
For more information, visit TammySullivam.org.
The event is a fundraiser for the Pearl and Floyd Franks Scholarship Fund. The Share America Foundation, Inc., a Georgia non-profit, presents scholarships to talented musicians who excel in the Appalachian musical arts.
Donations for tickets are adults: $5, children five and under free with adult. Tickets may be purchased locally in advance during business hours at SonShine Christian Books, 706.861-7675 in Fort Oglethorpe. For more information, www.shareamericafoundation.org.