Gospel singing for a music artist involves a performance of melodious voice and emphasis on stylized body movements coupled with coherent hymns and beats. However, gospel singing to a listener demands emotional involvement and personalized expression. This art of singing contains lyrics from the God’s book and is the only mode of preaching which connects a listener with God through the singer’s mellifluous voice.
In America, people listen to gospel music mainly in concerts and churches. The music offers a sense of worship by listening the words directly taken from the book of God, and the soothing sounds of this music genre allow one to reflect on themselves. Singing gospel music is not everyone’s forte, and not everyone who tries to become a gospel singer succeeds. However, Johnathan D. Bond is one such individual that we think gospel singing came naturally to him.
Johnathan D. Bond, born on 11 October 1967, is an American gospel singer, vocalist, songwriter and best known for his music career and Young Harmony Band. He grew up in Georgia and spent his early life there. He graduated from Springplace Elementary School, Dalton, Georgia, in 1973 and later went to Murray Junior High School Chatsworth. For his senior year, he moved to Gordon Central High School, Calhoun, Georgia, and graduated from there in 1986. In that same year, he also married Marry Jane Raper, and the couple had a son, Jesse Nathan Markle Bond (born 1988). Johnathan is a grandfather now, and he has three granddaughters, namely Mackenzie Jade Bond, Myla Danielle Bond, and Journey Brooklyn Bond.
Johnathan started his music career in 1993 when he and his two cousins formed a band called “The McClure Trio”. Murray McClure and Twanna Wallace were the two of his cousins who admired Johnathan’s melodious voice. Both of them insisted Johnathan to join the band and begin their music career altogether. The three cousins appeared in local concerts, and within no time, they became popular.
Johnathan continued singing songs while he was a part of “The McClure Trio” band for two years. In 1995, Marry Jane convinced him to form a new band that will only focus on singing gospel songs. Johnathan remained a practicing Christian all his life, and spreading the love and message of God to the people was the next best thing he looked forward to. Johnathan became a part of this newly formed band on his wife’s insistence, and the couple laid the foundation of “The Young Harmony” band.
Johnathan and his wife started appearing at local concerts in their hometown, and he continued singing gospel, preaching the love of God to the people through his melodious voice. Gospel music came naturally to Johnathan, and not only he loved singing it, but he also started writing his own gospel music. This is how he began his journey of becoming a songwriter. He continued singing gospel music for the next couple of years. With each passing year, he perfected his singing style and produced gospel masterpieces.
Three years down this road, an opportunity of a lifetime came knocking Johnathan’s road. In September 1996, he signed a management agreement with Rick Hendrix. Then, shortly after a year, he signed another agreement with Morning Star Records.
Moreover, Johnathan was among the few notable musicians of the country who performed at the 43rd presidential elections. When the people of America elected George W. Bush, Johnathan and his band members sang songs at the inauguration ceremony in 2005.
Johnathan carried on singing along with his Young Harmony band members. He was the lead singer, songwriter and at times, he was also a vocalist for the band. He received appreciation and love locally from the people of his hometown and also from the places wherever he performed. However, it was only after a decade of singing that Johnathan received award nominations.
From 2005 to 2007, Johnathan’s Young Harmony band received 14 Dove Awards nominations and one nomination for the Grammy Awards. Johnathan’s song “Good Morning Lord” was also nominated as the Dove Awards song of the year in 2006, and his single hit “God’s Still God” was nominated as Southern Gospel Song of the Year in 2007. Receiving awards, nominations, and recognition on a national level was a big achievement for him and his band. It bolstered confidence in Johnathan, and he continued pushing his limits and producing exceptional gospel music year after year.
In 2017, “Be The Difference” song by Johnathan and Arthur Strout received the nomination as Song of the Year. Furthermore, in that same year, he was also titled as Soloist of the Year, Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Male Vocalist of the Year. All these years of gospel singing finally bear fruition, and Johnathan, arguably, could be the only gospel singer in the music industry who is both a songwriter and a vocalist.
Today, when we sit back and see the track record of Johnathan’s produced gospel music, we can clearly see that his love for God coupled with the euphonious voice were the two ingredients behind his successful music career. Suppose he continues making remarkable gospel music tracks in the coming years. In that case, we think the day is not far when Johnathan could become one of the leading gospel singers in America.
