Ginny Owens
Ginny Owens | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Virginia Leigh Owens |
| Born | April 22, 1975 |
| Origin | Jackson, Mississippi, United States |
| Genres | CCM, Pop |
| Occupation(s) | singer, songwriter, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Rocketown (1999-2007), Soul Stride/EMI Gospel (2011-present) |
| Website | www |
Virginia Leigh "Ginny" Owens is a contemporary Christian music singer/songwriter who is also blind. Owens had three albums chart on Billboard albums charts in the late 1990s and 2000s.[1] She is best known for the song "If You Want Me To".
Career
Owens was born in Jackson, Mississippi, with poor eyesight and has been blind since the age of two.[2] She earned her bachelor of music education in 1997 from Belmont University, but found that most people were skeptical about hiring a blind music teacher.[3] She entered the music business by writing songs for Michael Puryear's Final Four Publishing, which led to a number of labels competing for her, before she chose Rocketown Records.[4] She concentrated in singing and songwriting and began making CDs, and has been producing them since 1999 with Rocketown Records, a label under Michael W. Smith.[5] Owens won the Nashville "Lilith Fair '99 Talent Search", which earned her a spot singing at that year's festival, and the following year performed at the Sundance Film Festival.[6]
Her music has been featured on television shows, such as Roswell[7] and Felicity. Owens has also received three Dove awards, including New Artist of the Year (2000) and Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year (2001) for "Blessed" with Rachael Lampa and Cindy Morgan.[8]
In 2005, Owens started a non-profit organization called the Fingerprint Initiative. The organization has worked in conjunction with other groups, such as Compassion International, International Justice Mission, and Habitat for Humanity.[9] Owens was featured on national television, including NBC's Today Show[10] and CNN,[11] for her contribution to help rebuild New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Owens has just recently released her new album, "I Know a Secret".
Discography
- Without Condition · 20 July 1999
- Something More · 2002
- Blueprint (EP) · 2002
- Beautiful · 2004
- Live From New Orleans · 3 May 2005
- Long Way Home · 11 October 2005
- If You Want Me To: The Best of Ginny Owens · 8 August 2006
- Bring Us Peace · 2006 · (Christmas Album)
- Ephemera II (EP) · 2009 · (2 tracks)[12]
- Say Amen (EP) · 2009 · (3 tracks; preview of Say Amen: Hymns and Songs of Faith)
- Say Amen: Hymns and Songs of Faith · 20 October 2009
- Ephemera (EP) · 2 February 2010 · (6 tracks; preview of Get In, I'm Driving)
- Get In, I'm Driving · 13 September 2011
- I Know a Secret (10 November 2014)
References
- ^ "Billboard Album chart placements". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ^ Cusic, Don (2010). Encyclopedia of contemporary Christian music: pop, rock, and worship. p. 319. ISBN 0-313-34425-6.
- ^ Special Needs-Special Ministry. Group Publishing. 2003. p. 165. ISBN 0-7644-2547-1.
- ^ Price, Deborah Evans (23 March 2002). "Higher Ground". Billboard. p. 20.
- ^ Price, Deborah Evans (July 31, 1999). "Higher Ground". Billboard.
- ^ Campbell, Lucy (January 28, 2000). "Check out the velvet sounds at film fests". Deseret News.
- ^ Burnett, Robyn (2002). Crash Into Me: The World of Roswell. ECW Press. p. 166. ISBN 1-55022-539-1.
- ^ "Dove Awards History Artist".
- ^ "Ginny Owens Founds Humanitarian Organization". CMSpin. May 18, 2005.
- ^ Hunsberger, Maryann B. "She's Cool with Discomfort". Christianity Today.
- ^ "Flood Prevention; Leaving Fingerprints; Congressman Pleads Guilty to Taking Bribes". CNN. November 28, 2005.
- ^ "Ginny Owens official MySpace".
External links
- Official Site
- The Fingerprint Initiative
- Thought Quotient - Interview with Ginny Owens
- Ginny on MySpace
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