[Memorial Tribute Video] Bishop Rance Allen, Gospel Music Legend, Has Passed Away

Bishop Rance Allen, a longtime gospel musician and minister, has died at age 71. Allen’s death was confirmed Saturday (Oct. 31) in a statement from Bishop Robert G. Rudolph Jr. of the Church of God in Christ.

“God, who is omnipotent and omniscient, has summoned His Servant, Bishop Rance Lee Allen, to eternal rest,” said the statement. “Bishop Allen was a world-renowned gospel artist and affectionately known as the ‘Father of Contemporary Gospel Music.’ Bishop Allen’s unique vocal ministry was an indispensable sound within the Church Of God In Christ and Christendom. His gift transcended the boundaries of musical genre as he remained a sought after personality called to perform on global venues.”

The family plans a private memorial service due to the coronavirus pandemic, the statement said. Allen served as pastor at the New Bethel Church of God in Christ in Toledo, Ohio, and later became a bishop there.

Memorial Tribute to Rance Allen (1948 – 2020)

Allen, a native of Monroe, Michigan, was a singer with a powerful and expressive voice. He also was a songwriter, guitarist, and keyboard player. Allen led the Rance Allen Group, a family troupe that also featured his brothers, Thomas and Steve Allen. The group, formed in Detroit in 1969, recorded more than 20 albums over five decades for labels that included Stax Records. Together, they crafted classics like “Miracle Worker” and “You That I Trust.”  

The Allens fused traditional gospel music with rock and soul, touring and performing with artists that ranged from Andrae Crouch to Shirley Caesar to Kirk Franklin. Bishop Allen also worked with the Clark Sisters, as well as the group’s mother, the late Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. He appeared on the song “Trust In Him,” alongside the sisters on their 1989 album, Bringing It Back Home. In 1981, was featured in a televised tribute to Dr. Clark.

The Rance Allen Group won two Stellar Awards in 2012 and was nominated for Grammy Awards in the soul gospel category. The group was inducted into Detroit’s International Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 1998.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Ellen Marie Allen.