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At the age of 13, singer Arnetta Yancey moved with her family from their home in Brooklyn, New York, to the small community of Wise, North Carolina. While Yancey was no stranger to the areaâher parents had both grown up in the region, and she and her siblings often spent summers at their grandparentsâ farmâshe explains that actually living in rural Warren County was, initially, âa culture shock.â
âMy father was a young pastor, and at the time there were seven of us kids. I think what prompted [my parents] to move back here is that this is home for them; both of my parentsâ families were all here, and this is where they were born and raisedâŠThere was a lot going on [in Brooklyn] between â69 and â70, so I think Dad decided that going back to the South was a better place to raise the children.â
In her new home, Yanceyâs social life revolved around the church and her fatherâs ministry. âWe were in the choir in church and we ended up having a little family group,â Yancey explains. âOur dad would go to different churches to preach and his children would sing.â The Yancey Family performed on gospel programs throughout the region and sang on disc jockey Freddie âPreachermanâ Hargrovesâs show on Warrentonâs WARR 1520 AM.
Following high school, Yancey attended Kingâs Business College in Raleigh and settled in the Triangle region before moving back to Warren County in 2005. While Yancey is a longtime listener and performer of all genres of gospel musicâshe lists North Carolinaâs own Shirley Caesar among her biggest inspirationsâshe explains that she didnât begin singing traditional hymns until 2000.
âI realized that as much as things have changed in the world as a whole, people still look for those old songs that pulled their ancestors through. Thatâs what those hymns do. Those songs came from their hurt and from their struggles, and from the joy of making it: âHow I Got Over,â âMy Soul Looks Back and WondersââŠI still sing other songs, but I love to sing the hymns because I know they go straight to the heart.
Arnetta Yancey performs both traditional and contemporary gospel music at weddings, funerals, birthday parties, church programs, banquets, anniversaries, and conferences.
Will consider all engagements.