20 Things To Know About The Winans Family Of Detroit

CeCe Winans did not arrive from nowhere. She came from one of the most significant families in American gospel music, raised in Detroit in a household where singing was simply what everyone did. Here are twenty things to know.

#1. There were ten children

David and Delores Winans raised ten children, most of whom went on to pursue careers in gospel music.

#2. Both parents were singers

Delores and David “Pop” Winans were gospel singers themselves, which meant the children learned the trade at home.

#3. They were raised in the Church of God in Christ

The COGIC tradition shaped the family’s musical vocabulary, which is audible across every Winans recording.

#4. CeCe was born in 1964

Priscilla Marie Winans was born in Detroit on 8 October 1964, into a household already full of music.

#5. She is the eighth of ten

CeCe and BeBe are the seventh and eighth children respectively, which put them in the middle of a very crowded house.

#6. Detroit mattered

The city’s musical environment, both sacred and secular, formed the backdrop to their upbringing.

#7. The Winans was a separate group

Her older brothers formed a group under the family name, establishing the reputation before BeBe and CeCe emerged.

#8. BeBe & CeCe became the crossover act

The pair reached audiences the family’s other acts did not, breaking into R&B radio and mainstream charts.

#9. Their first album was in 1984

Lord Lift Us Up was released under PTL Records, beginning a recording career that has now run over forty years.

#10. The 1987 album broke them

BeBe & CeCe Winans brought them genuine stardom and began the crossover that defined their duo era.

#11. Different Lifestyles made history

The 1991 album was the first gospel record by a duo to sell more than a million copies.

#12. Only Aretha had done comparable

Franklin’s Amazing Grace was the prior benchmark in gospel sales, which places the achievement in context.

#13. Angie and Debbie also recorded

Her sisters have their own careers and have appeared with CeCe, particularly around her Christmas dates.

#14. Marvin Winans became a pastor

Several family members combined music with ministry, a pattern CeCe followed herself.

#15. The family won multiple Grammys

Across its various acts, the Winans family has accumulated a substantial number of awards.

#16. They have a Walk of Fame star

BeBe and CeCe received a star at 6126 Hollywood Boulevard, recognising their reach beyond gospel.

#17. They entered another Walk of Fame in 2022

The pair were inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame together.

#18. The family shaped modern gospel

The Winans influence on gospel harmony, arrangement and crossover ambition is difficult to overstate.

#19. CeCe became the most decorated

With 18 Grammys, she has accumulated more individual recognition than any other member of the family.

#20. The tradition continues

Later generations of the family have entered music, meaning the Detroit household of ten has produced several decades of working musicians.

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The bottom line: CeCe Winans is frequently described as a solo artist, which undersells the story. She is the most decorated product of a Detroit family that treated gospel music as the household trade, and her 2026 hymns album returns directly to what she learned there.