Cynthia Goodloe Palmer
Cynthia Goodloe Palmer, acclaimed award-winning singer of traditional gospel songs, has been singing for over thirty years. She has sung throughout the U.S. and in Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, and South Africa; been a featured singer in Royal Albert Hall in London; and sung with a who\'s who in music and for well-known public figures and causes.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Palmer grew up in Canton, Mississippi, and now resides in Jackson, Mississippi.
Palmer has recorded four CDs: Just Enough Faith to Try, Anointed Psalms Of Praise, A Soulful Christmas, and Heaven Is The Place To Be. She is now preparing a fifth CD, The Ultimate Collection. In addition to singing, she has been in several theatrical productions, including the opera The Gospel at Colonus and Unsettling Memories-The Emmitt Till Story.
In 2001 she won "Album of the Year" and "Song of the Year" by a local artist and again in 2003 "Album of the Year" from the Mississippi Gospel Music Awards. In 2004, she was named "Female Vocal Soloist of the Year" by the Canton Gospel Music Association in Mississippi and was named Traditional Soloist of the Year by the Inner City Survival Coalition of Columbus, Ohio. Palmer was the first gospel artist to sing at the Jewish Synagogue in Dayton, Ohio; has performed with well-known artists in gospel and Christian music, such as Shirley Caesar, Richard Smallwood, Dottie Peoples, and others; and was featured as one of twenty-five New Artists on the Bobby Jones Gospel Show on Word Network.
Palmer has sung in the presence of a long list of nationally known persons, including Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, attorney Johnnie Cochran, President of Nigeria Aliyu Hamman, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Judge Greg Mathis, and numerous mayors, governors, and other political figures. Organizations that have featured her include the National Baptist Convention, National Conference of Black Mayors, National Council of Negro Women, National Catholic Congress, Message Magazine, NAACP, Mission Mississippi, the Governors Prayer Breakfast, and United Prison Ministries. The last of these is part of her unique ministry of performing for death row inmates at the Alabama State Prison.
Palmer has done extensive community service, serving on the boards of the United Christian Artist Association and The Mississippi Opera. In March 2009 she served as Conference Coordinator for the 2nd Annual Jackson State University Presidential Banquet, which featured keynote speaker civil rights veteran, now Congressman, John Lewis.
One of her initiatives, the launching of the Canton Gospel Music Association in 2004, has become known for an annual Celebration event, at which outstanding musical talent is recognized and music scholarships are awarded. CGMA includes choir directors and presidents, musicians, ministers of music, and recording artists from more than thirty churches in that city.
The awards encompass seventeen categories including Pastor of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Praise Dance Ministry of the Year, Female Soloist of the Year, and others. Palmer was honored at the first Celebration as Female Soloist of the year. Lifetime achievement awards have also been given on occasion to Canton musicians and groups who have provided distinguished service for many years.
Another activity associated with CGMA\'s annual Celebration includes bringing in guests who give workshops and offer tips and pointers on different subjects such as praise and worship music, traditional music, contemporary music, praise dance ministry, and information on the recording business.
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Sources: Cynthia Goodloe Palmer\'s website and other numerous online sources.