Take 6 is an influential American a cappella gospel music sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group sings in a contemporary style, integrating R&B and jazz influences into their devotional songs and has 10 Grammy wins, 10 Dove Awards, one Soul Train Award and two NAACP Image Award nominations. They won Grammy Awards in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1998, and 2003 and have collaborated with Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Don Henley, Ray Charles, Queen Latifah, Joe Sample, Quincy Jones, Marcus Miller, Brian McKnight and Gordon Goodwin.

Group biography

Oakwood College years

In 1980, Claude McKnight (older brother of R&B musician Brian McKnight). formed an a cappella quartet, The Gentlemen's Estates Quartet, at Oakwood College, a Seventh-Day Adventist college in Huntsville, Alabama, where he was a freshman. He auditioned fellow students for the hobby group. The Gentlemen were rehearsing in a campus bathroom (later said to be in Peterson Hall), getting ready for a performance, when Mark Kibble walked by and heard them singing. He joined the harmonizing, adding a fifth part, and ended up singing with them onstage that very night. Mark later invited Mervyn Warren to join the group. The group performed under the moniker "Alliance".

The group performed in local churches and on campus over the next years, with members changing due to college's inevitable comings and goings. In 1985, the lower half of the group (bass, baritone, and second tenor) left upon graduating. At that time, Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent, and David Thomas joined.

Recording group

The group was signed to Warner Brothers in 1987, and quickly changed its name to "Take 6" after a name search revealed that "Alliance" was already being used. Their eponymous debut album, released in 1988, won them two Grammy Awards and resulted in top ten appearances on both the Billboard Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary Christian Charts. Take 6's swinging, harmony-rich gospel sound attracted a flurry of attention, and the group went on to record or appear with a number of luminaries, including Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Wonder.

In 1991, after the release of their second album, So Much 2 Say, Mervyn Warren left the group to pursue a career as a producer. Joey Kibble, Mark's younger brother, was invited to round out the vocal lineup. The group added instrumentation to their purely a cappella sound beginning with the record He Is Christmas; Join The Band and Brothers continued their streak of success, and Take 6 amassed a total of seven Grammys and eight Dove awards, as well as topping the Downbeat Magazine's Reader's and Critic's poll for seven years' consecutively.

Take 6's 1998 release, So Cool, brought the group back to its a cappella origins.

In 2006 the group launched Take 6 Records and the 2006 release Feels Good was released on that label.

The group currently lists Nashville, Tennessee as its official home-base, although two members have resided in Los Angeles for a number of years. All members grew up Seventh-Day Adventist.

Members

Current members

• Alvin Chea (1985-Present) - bass
• Cedric Dent (1985-Present) - baritone
• Joey Kibble (1991-Present) - second tenor

Kibble married singer Karima Kibble (Trotter) of the gospel group Virtue in August 1997.

• Mark Kibble (1985-Present) - first tenor.
• Claude V. McKnight III (1985-Present) - first tenor.

McKnight's brother is R&B musician Brian McKnight.

• David Thomas (1985-Present) - second tenor

Former members

• Mervyn Warren (1985-1991)

Discography

Album Releases

Release date	Album	Label	RIAA certification
1988	Take 6	Warner Brothers	Gold - July 11, 1989 Platinum - June 14, 1994
1990	So Much 2 Say	Warner Brothers
1991	He is Christmas	Warner Brothers
1994	Join the Band	Warner Brothers	Gold - March 6, 1995
1995	Best of Take 6	Warner Brothers
1996	Brothers	Warner Brothers
October 27, 1998	So Cool	Warner Brothers
July 20, 1999	Greatest Hits	Warner Brothers
October 5, 1999	We Wish You a Merry Christmas	Warner Brothers
2000	Tonight: Live	Warner Brothers
April 25, 2000	Best of Take 6	Warner Brothers
April 23,2002	Beautiful World	Warner Brothers
March 21, 2006	Feels Good	Take 6 Records

Singles

• "Spread Love" (Reprise, 1988)
• "David & Goliath" (Reprise, 1988)
• "Milky-White Way" (Reprise, 1988)
• "I L-O-V-E U" (Reprise, 1990)
• "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (Reprise, 1990)
• "Ridin' The Rails" (K.D. Lang & Take 6) (Sire, 1990)
• "A Quiet Place" b/w "If We Ever"
• "Where Do The Children Play" (1991)
• "I Believe" (1991)
• "Biggest Part Of Me" (1994)
• "I Will Always Love You"
• "All I Need (Is A Chance)" (1994)
• "You Can Never Ask Too Much" (1995)
• "You Don't Have To Be Afraid" (1997)
• "One And The Same (featuring CeCe Winans)" (Reprise, 1999)
• "Takin' It To The Streets" (2002)
• "Come On" (Take 6, 2006)
• "More Than Ever" (Take 6, 2006)

DVD releases

Release date	DVD Title	Label	RIAA certification	Cover Art

Spread Love U Turn

Billboard chart history

Albums

Year	Album/Song	Chart	Peak
1989	Take 6	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	41
1989	Take 6	Top Contemporary Jazz Albums	8
1989	Take 6	The Billboard 200	71
1990	I L-O-V-E U	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	19
1990	So Much 2 Say	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	22
1990	So Much 2 Say	Top Contemporary Jazz Albums	2
1990	So Much 2 Say	The Billboard 200	72
1992	He Is Christmas	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	84
1992	He Is Christmas	The Billboard 200	100
1994	Join The Band	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	17
1994	Join The Band	The Billboard 200	86
1994	Biggest Part Of Me	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	36
1995	All I Need (Is A Chance)	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	89
1996	Brothers	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	71
1998	So Cool	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	92
2006	Feels Good	Top Independent Albums	40

Awards

Award wins

Year	Award-giving body	Award Category	Song /Album Title
1988	Grammy Awards	Best Soul Gospel Performance - Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus	Take 6
1988	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album	Take 6
1988	Grammy Awards	Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Duo or Group	Spread Love
1988	Dove Awards	Group of the Year
1988	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Song	If We Ever
1988	Dove Awards	New Artist of the Year
1989	Grammy Awards	Best Gospel Performance - Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus	The Savior Is Waiting
1990	Grammy Awards	Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album	So Much 2 Say
1990	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Song	I L-O-V-E You
1990	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album	So Much 2 Say
1991	Grammy Awards	Best Jazz Vocal Performance	He Is Christmas
1991	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album	He Is Christmas
1992	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album	Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration (with Mervyn Warren, George Duke, David Pack, Patti Austin, , Gary Hines, Robert Sadin, Richard Smallwood, The Yellowjackets, and Fred Hammond)
1994	Grammy Awards	Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album	Join the Band
1994	Grammy Awards	Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album	Join the Band
1994	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album	Join the Band
1996	Dove Awards	Special Event Album	Tribute: The Songs of Andrae Crouch (with CeCe Winans, Michael W. Smith, Twila Paris, Bryan Duncan, Wayne Watson, The Winans, Clay Crosse, The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, First Call, Andrae Crouch and the All-Star Choir)
1997	Grammy Awards	Contemporary Soul Gospel Album	Brothers
1997	Grammy Awards	Contemporary Soul Gospel Album	Brothers
2003	Grammy Awards	Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals	Love's In Need of Love Today (with Stevie Wonder)

Award nominations

Year	Award-giving body	Award Category	Song /Album Title
1988	Grammy Awards	Best Soul Gospel Performance - Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus" (Winner)	Take 6
1988	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album (Winner)	Take 6
1988	Grammy Awards	New Artist	Take 6
1988	Grammy Awards	Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Duo or Group (Winner)	Spread Love
1988	Dove Awards	Group of the Year (Winner)
1988	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Song (Winner)	If We Ever
1988	Dove Awards	New Artist of the Year (Winner)
1989	Grammy Awards	Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Duo or Group	Like the Whole World's Watching
1989	Grammy Awards	Best Gospel Performance - Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus (Winner)	The Savior Is Waiting
1990	Grammy Awards	Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album (Winner)	So Much 2 Say
1990	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Song (Winner)	I L-O-V-E You
1990	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album (Winner)	So Much 2 Say
1991	Grammy Awards	Best Jazz Vocal Performance (Winner)	He Is Christmas
1991	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album (Winner)	He Is Christmas
1992	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album (Winner)	Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration (with Mervyn Warren, George Duke, David Pack, Patti Austin, , Gary Hines, Robert Sadin, Richard Smallwood, The Yellowjackets, and Fred Hammond)
1992	Grammy Awards	Best Jazz Vocal Performance	I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
1994	Grammy Awards	Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Duo or Group	Biggest Part of Me
1994	Grammy Awards	Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album (Winner)	Join the Band
1994	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album (Winner)	Join the Band
1994	Grammy Awards	Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Duo or Group	Biggest Part of Me
1995	Grammy Awards	Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Duo or Group	All I Need (Is a Chance)
1996	Dove Awards	Special Event Album (Winner)	Tribute: The Songs of Andrae Crouch (with CeCe Winans, Michael W. Smith, Twila Paris, Bryan Duncan, Wayne Watson, The Winans, Clay Crosse, The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, First Call, Andrae Crouch and the All-Star Choir)
1996	Grammy Awards	Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s)	When You Wish Upon a Star (various artists)
1996	Grammy Awards	Pop Vocal Group	When You Wish upon a Star
1996	Grammy Awards	Pop Vocal Group	When You Wish upon a Star
1996	Grammy Awards	Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s)	When You Wish Upon a Star (various artists)
1997	Grammy Awards	R&B Group Vocalist	You Don't Have to Be Afraid
1997	Grammy Awards	Contemporary Soul Gospel Album (Winner)	Brothers
1997	Grammy Awards	R&B Group Vocalist	You Don't Have to Be Afraid
1997	Grammy Awards	Contemporary Soul Gospel Album (Winner)	Brothers
1999	Grammy Awards	Contemporary Soul Gospel Album	So Cool
1999	Grammy Awards	Contemporary Soul Gospel Album	So Cool
2002	Dove Awards	Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year	Beautiful World
2003	Grammy Awards	Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (Winner)	Love's In Need of Love Today (with Stevie Wonder)
2003	Grammy Awards	Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)	Comes Love (with Gordon Goodwin, Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, and Brian McKnight)
2004	Grammy Awards	Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals	Moon River (with Stevie Wonder)
2007	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Jazz Artist

See also

• Worship music
• List of Christian worship music artists

External links

• www.take6.com - Official web site

Footnotes