One of the Grammy Award nominee inspirational soul and gospel trip, The Rance Allen Group, Bishop Rance Allen, has passed on. He died on October 31, 2020 at age 71.
The gospel group has been an inspiration to many gospel artists for decades. The likes of Bryan Andrew Wilson, Kirk Franklin, and John P. Kee have tapped from the inspiration of The Rance Allen Group. The group is known for songs like Aint no need of crying, I belong to you, Something about the name Jesus, and many other songs.
More so, they pioneered the infusion of spiritual messages into R&B songs in the 1970s. With their style of music, they had fans both in the gospel world and in the secular world. Randy Jackson, Huey Lewis, and The News were among their numerous fans.
Ellen Allen, wife of the late prolific singer has released a statement alongside his manager, Toby Jackson, on his passing.
"While recovering from a medical procedure at Heartland ProMedica [in Sylvania, OH], Bishop Rance Allen passed away around 3 am this morning,” they said.
President of Tyscot Records, Bryant Scott, also had this to say concerning the death of Allens passing.
"I wasn't expecting to hear this news this morning. This is a great loss to us personally but also to the church community at large."
Bishop Rance Allen's Profile
Bishop Rance Allen was born on November 19, 1948 in Monroe, MI. Age five, he was already singing and preaching. He grew up in a dedicated Christian home.
The Rance Allen Singers started out with Rance playing the guitar, his younger brother Steve on bass, and Tom on the drums in 1967. Their first song "Lets Get Together and Love" espoused Jesus Christ on the cross and the love He portrayed. As the years rolled by, their name was changed to Rance Allen Group.
In 1975, they recorded a couple of albums with moved to Capitol Records. In the 1980s, Rance Allen placed more focus on preaching the gospel of Christ. The leader of Church of God in Christ (COGIC) leader, Bishop G.E. Patterson, was his mentor at that period.
On July 1985, under the mentorship of Bishop Patterson, Allen founded the New Bethel Church of God COGIC in Toledo, OH. In 2011, he was elevated to Bishop within the Church of God in Christ (COGIC).
It will be recalled that ‘The Live Experience’ which was released in 2004 has become the biggest selling album in the groups entire career. In one of its song, Something about the name Jesus, it featured Kirk Franklin. That song got over 175 million streams alone.
Artists such as Fred Hammond and LaShun Pace appeared on Miracle Worker and I Cant help Myself” respectively in the album.
Rap legend Snoop Dogg featured Rance Allen on his Top 10 Billboard Gospel Digital Songs Sales chart hit, Blessing Me Again. in 2018. The song won a BET Award for Best Gospel/Inspirational Song in 2019.
Before his death, there were plans that Allen would record a new gospel album. The album was said to feature contributions from PJ Morton, Charlie Wilson, and Kirk Franklin. However, Covid-19 pandemic happened and the project was suspended.
On October 30, 2020, The Rance Allen Group recorded a studio song, Im So Glad Its Christmas (Tyscot), on all digital music platforms.
Bishop Rance Allen is survived by his wife, Ellen Marie Allen, his brothers, Steve and Tom, and other extended family members.
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