Dianne Wilkinson

Why I Write:

I fell in love with Gospel Music when I was a small child, going to Singings at the Ellis Auditorium in Memphis, Tennessee, with my family. I saw the Statesmen there, the Blackwood Brothers, the Oak Ridge Quartet, the Speers, the LeFevres, the Rangers Trio, the Goss Brothers…all the greats of the day. By the time I was 12, my mother and aunt had put me in their trio (The Ross Sisters), playing piano and singing the high part, and from that far back in time, I have loved harmony, great chord progressions and arrangements, and verse…and by the grace of God, I had all that in me at an early age. I have been making up songs all my life. But when I was in early 20s, I began to have a hunger for the Word of God. I didn’t know then that God was preparing me for the calling He had on my life…to write Gospel music. I have been doing that professionally and getting songs recorded since 1976, and I have loved every moment of it! I love the creative process, I love the way the Lord gives what He gives. But what I love most is the opportunity to get Bible doctrinal truth down on paper, onto a CD or into a choir book, and to have a part in getting the Word to people in these last days in which we live…people who might never come to church, but who will listen to a Gospel radio station or listen to a CD. I will never stop praising God for allowing me the privilege!!

Top 10 Compositions:

1. We Shall See Jesus (The Cathedral Quartet)
2. Boundless Love (The Cathedral Quartet)
3. He Said (Gold City)
4. What We Needed (Kingdom Heirs)
5. Master Builder (The Cathedral Quartet)
6. That Little Baby (Gold City)
7. The Old White Flag (Triumphant)
8. Strike Up the Band (Legacy Five)
9. High and Lifted Up (The Cathedral Quartet)
10. Behold the Lamb (Song Masters, Hoppers, Jerry Goff)

What Inspires Me:

1. My AV 1611 Bible
2. My personal prayer life…watching God work in my life
3. Great preaching
4. Other songwriters…our relationships, our conversations
5. Thought-provoking e-mails, church signs, things that catch my eye
6. Thinking about the Cross and what it means to me to be saved
7. The way my Godly friends go through adversity…their unfailing trust in God
8. The blessing of God that still allows me to do this after 33 years, writing more than ever before
9. The songs of the great classic writers (Mosie Lister, Dad Speer, Joe Parks, Fanny Crosby)
10. Remembering that I’m just a stranger here…pondering on Heaven, our Blessed Hope

Dianne Wilkinson Links:

• www.diannewilkinson.com