The Clark Sisters (Jacky Clark Chisholm, Denise “Niecy” Clark-Bradford, Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole, and Karen Clark Sheard) are an American gospel vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, widely recognized as the best-selling female gospel group in music history.
Raised by pioneering choir director Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, the sisters built what became known as “The Clark Sound,” a genre-bending blend of gospel, R&B, jazz, and funk that helped push gospel music into the mainstream.
Their 1981 crossover hit “You Brought the Sunshine” remains one of gospel’s most recognized recordings, and the group has won three Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.
The Clark Sisters at a Glance
| Group Information | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1966 (recording since 1973), Detroit, Michigan |
| Members | Jacky Clark Chisholm, Denise Clark-Bradford (former), Twinkie Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Karen Clark Sheard |
| Genre(s) | Gospel, contemporary gospel, R&B-influenced gospel |
| Parents | Dr. Mattie Moss Clark (mother, choir director), Elder Elbert Clark (father, pastor) |
| Hometown | Detroit, Michigan |
| Best-known song | “You Brought the Sunshine” (1981) |
| Grammy Awards | 3 competitive wins, plus a 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Albums | 16+ group albums, plus solo projects from each sister |
| Biopic | The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (Lifetime, 2020) |
| Current lineup | Jacky, Twinkie, Dorinda, and Karen (Denise departed in 1986) |
Early Life and Family Background
The five Clark sisters grew up in Detroit as daughters of Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, a choral director whose influence on gospel music arrangement is still studied today. She served as the international minister of music for the Church of God in Christ, where she trained thousands of choir voices across the denomination. Their father, Elder Elbert Clark, was a COGIC pastor.
Jacky was born in 1948, Denise in 1953, Twinkie in 1954, Dorinda in 1957, and Karen, the youngest, in 1960. All five girls sang in their father’s church choir from early childhood. By the late 1960s, they were performing together at COGIC services around Detroit, almost always singing songs their mother had written or arranged.
Mattie Moss Clark did not raise casual singers. She trained her daughters the way she trained her choirs: hard, exacting, and rooted in musical theory as much as feeling. That discipline shows up in every Clark Sisters record, where five-part harmonies stack on top of each other with a precision that took years to build.
Career: How The Clark Sound Was Born
Formation and First Recordings
Dr. Clark officially organized her daughters into a formal group in 1973. That year, they recorded their debut album, Jesus Has a Lot to Give, on their uncle’s small label, Billesse Records. A year later came Dr. Mattie Moss Clark Presents the Clark Sisters, which started building a following in Detroit and on gospel television programs like TV Gospel Time.
Their mother eventually turned creative control of the group over to Twinkie, who became the group’s chief songwriter, arranger, producer, and organist. Twinkie’s mastery of the Hammond B3 organ, paired with a four-octave vocal range, shaped what fans and critics now call The Clark Sound: dense harmony, jazz chord voicings, and vocal runs that borrowed as much from R&B as they did from traditional gospel.
Breakthrough and Crossover Success
The Clark Sisters signed with Sound of Gospel Records and released a string of albums through the late 1970s, including Unworthy and Count It All Joy. Their 1981 album Is My Living in Vain produced the title track, still one of the most covered gospel songs of the era, and the crossover smash “You Brought the Sunshine (Into My Life).”
“You Brought the Sunshine” did something almost no gospel song had done before. It climbed the Billboard R&B and dance charts, got played in clubs, and introduced the Clark Sisters to an audience well outside the church. That crossover moment is a big reason later artists like Kirk Franklin and Mary Mary had a mainstream lane to walk into.
The group’s first Grammy nomination came at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards for Sincerely (1982), followed by nods for Heart & Soul (1986) and Conqueror (1988). They finally won a competitive Grammy at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards for the live album Live: One Last Time, which also produced the Grammy-winning song “Blessed and Highly Favored.”
Denise Clark’s Departure in 1986
By 1986, the Clark Sisters were a quintet, but that year Denise left the group. For decades, the reason was murky, and rumors swirled that she had been forced out. Denise finally addressed it directly in a 2019 interview on Larry Reid Live, saying she left because she became pregnant by a bishop outside of marriage and was counseled to end the pregnancy. She refused.
“Nobody kicked me out,” Denise said. “I was tired of things I was experiencing behind having my children. I wasn’t going to get rid of my children.”
She did not reconnect with her sisters until 1994, at their mother’s funeral, and that reunion led to a public argument rather than reconciliation. Denise remained estranged from the group afterward. She now lives in California, is the mother of seven sons, and continues to sing and minister independently. In 2020, Karen’s daughter, Kierra Sheard-Kelly, who portrayed her mother in the Clark Sisters biopic, told Shadow and Act that the family has tried reaching out to Denise, but the relationship “hasn’t been the smoothest event or experience.”
Rise to Prominence and Continued Impact
After Denise’s exit, the remaining four sisters kept recording and performing as The Clark Sisters through the late 1980s and 1990s, eventually pausing as each pursued solo careers. Twinkie released solo material while remaining the group’s primary arranger. Jacky worked as a licensed practical nurse alongside her music career. Dorinda built one of the most successful solo runs of any member, later becoming a mental health advocate and television host. Karen launched a solo career that blended gospel with R&B, working with artists outside the gospel space entirely.
The sisters reunited as a group in 2007 for a live album and continued performing together periodically in the years that followed. In April 2020, Lifetime released The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, a biopic that drew more than 20 million viewers and became the network’s highest-rated movie in four years. The film reintroduced the group to a new generation and led directly to their 2020 album The Return, which reached No. 2 on the Top Gospel Albums chart. Its single “Victory,” written and produced by Karen and her son Drew, hit No. 1 on the gospel charts.[IMAGE: The Clark Sisters accepting a Grammy Award]
Discography Highlights
| Album | Year | Notable Song(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus Has a Lot to Give | 1973 | Debut album |
| Unworthy | 1976 | — |
| Is My Living in Vain | 1981 | “Is My Living in Vain,” “You Brought the Sunshine” |
| Heart & Soul | 1986 | “Endow Me” |
| Conqueror | 1988 | “Pure Gold” |
| Miracle | 1994 | “Expect a Miracle” |
| Live: One Last Time | 2007 | “Blessed and Highly Favored” (Grammy winner) |
| The Return | 2020 | “Victory” |
Where the Clark Sisters Are Today
How Many Clark Sisters Are Still Alive?
All five Clark sisters are alive as of 2026. Jacky Clark Chisholm is 77, Twinkie Clark is 71, Dorinda Clark-Cole is 68, and Karen Clark Sheard is 65. Denise Clark-Bradford, the eldest surviving sister at 73, no longer performs with the group but continues her own singing and ministry work in California.
Which Clark Sister Almost Died?
Karen Clark Sheard nearly died in 2001 after a routine hernia surgery went wrong. A blood vessel burst during the procedure, causing a blood clot that traveled to her lungs and leg. Doctors gave her a 2 percent chance of survival, and she fell into a coma that lasted more than three weeks. Her husband, Bishop J. Drew Sheard, and the rest of the family prayed at the hospital during her recovery.
Karen survived, but had to relearn how to walk and feared she would never sing again. She called the experience her “second chance,” which became the title of her 2002 solo album, 2nd Chance. Her daughter Kierra later referenced the ordeal in her own song “You Don’t Know.”
Dorinda Clark-Cole has also faced public health scares. In January 2026, she announced a successful recovery from major knee surgery on Instagram, thanking fans for their prayers while continuing her TCT Network program, The Dorinda Show, throughout her recovery.
Theology and Ministry Philosophy
The Clark Sisters were raised inside the Church of God in Christ, a Pentecostal denomination known for its emphasis on the Holy Spirit and passionate worship. That tradition shaped their sound directly. The vocal runs, the call-and-response structure, and the shout music that Twinkie helped originate all trace back to COGIC’s worship style.
Each sister has also built an individual ministry identity. Dorinda became an ordained evangelist and ministers openly about mental health and addiction recovery. Karen and her husband lead a congregation in Detroit. The group has always framed its music less as entertainment and more as an extension of the family’s calling to ministry, a thread that runs through nearly every interview any of the sisters has given.
Influence and Legacy
It’s hard to overstate how much modern gospel owes to the Clark Sisters. Groups and artists that came after them, including the Winans family, Commissioned, and later Kirk Franklin, built on ground the Clark Sisters broke first: gospel music that could hold a Sunday morning crowd and a secular Billboard chart at the same time.
Their influence also runs through vocal technique. Twinkie’s runs and Karen’s belt became a template that younger gospel singers still study, including Karen’s own daughter, Kierra Sheard-Kelly, who built her own recording career partly on that inheritance. In 2023, the Clark Sisters were honored at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music with a concert, symposium, and masterclass, and their interviews were added to Yale’s Oral History of American Music collection.
Awards and Recognition
- Three competitive Grammy Awards, including Best Traditional Gospel Album for Live: One Last Time
- 2024 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
- Multiple Stellar Awards, including the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award
- Six NAACP Image Award nominations for their 2020 album The Return
- Induction discussions for the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, with individual members recognized in recent years
Interesting Facts
- The Clark Sisters have no single lead vocalist. Every sister takes turns carrying the melody, which is part of why their harmonies sound so layered.
- Twinkie Clark has a four-octave vocal range and was inducted into the Hammond Organ Hall of Fame in 2014.
- Jacky Clark Chisholm worked as a licensed practical nurse for years while touring and recording with her sisters.
- “You Brought the Sunshine” reached the Top 30 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, a rare feat for a gospel record.
- Actress and singer Kierra Sheard-Kelly, Karen’s daughter, played her own mother in the 2020 Lifetime biopic.
Timeline
- 1948-1960: The five Clark sisters are born in Detroit.
- 1966: The sisters begin singing together regularly in church.
- 1973: Dr. Mattie Moss Clark formally organizes The Clark Sisters; debut album released.
- 1981: “You Brought the Sunshine” becomes a mainstream crossover hit.
- 1986: Denise Clark leaves the group.
- 1994: Dr. Mattie Moss Clark passes away; sisters reunite briefly at her funeral.
- 2007: The group wins its first competitive Grammy for Live: One Last Time.
- 2020: Lifetime releases The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel; the group releases The Return.
- 2024: The Clark Sisters receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
- 2026: Dorinda Clark-Cole recovers from knee surgery and returns to touring; all five sisters remain alive.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened with the Clark Sisters?
The Clark Sisters rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s as a quintet, then continued as a foursome after Denise Clark left in 1986. The remaining sisters kept recording and performing, had a career resurgence after their 2020 Lifetime biopic, and remain active in gospel music and ministry today.
What happened to the fifth Clark sister?
Denise Clark-Bradford left the group in 1986 after becoming pregnant outside of marriage and refusing pressure to end the pregnancy. She remains estranged from her sisters, lives in California, and continues to sing and minister independently.
Are the Clark Sisters still alive?
Yes. As of 2026, all five original Clark sisters, Jacky, Denise, Twinkie, Dorinda, and Karen, are living.
Is there a Clark Sisters movie?
Yes. Lifetime released The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel in April 2020. The biopic became the network’s highest-rated movie in four years and starred Kierra Sheard-Kelly as her own mother, Karen Clark Sheard.
What is the Clark Sisters’ biggest song?
“You Brought the Sunshine,” released in 1981, is their most recognized and commercially successful song, crossing over from gospel radio onto R&B and dance charts.
