H.B. Charles, Jr. is the musically inclined and widely respected pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. Under his leadership, Shiloh has grown to over 5,000 members, with five services held every Sunday.
While Charles has operated with the title of “preacher” for decades, he can now add the title “recording artist” to his resume. His first solo album, Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs, debuted in the Top-10 on the Billboard Gospel Sales chart when it was recently released. The single, “I’ll Fly Away,” is adding a dose of the traditional Gospel music sound to radio playlists around the country, where it is already cracking the Billboard Top-100. Recorded live at Shiloh, the classic performance video for “I’ll Fly Away” was just released digitally.
The album is also a family affair, as it features vocals from his brother (‘But God”) and his mother (“Saved”). Of the latter, Charles says: “This is a song that I just associate with my mother…this is the song she would sing when she traveled with my Dad for his preaching engagements…she hadn’t sang it in decades, and it was hard to get her to do this. For that reason, the song is a gem.”
“The entire recording process was new to me, as I have always loved Gospel music but never considered myself an artist. I just love to sing songs of the Lord. So this album and these songs are close to my heart,” says Charles. “To be a new, and perhaps even reluctant artist, with not only and album but an album that debuted in the Top-10 is beyond my imagination. I am grateful for the support and hope that this music blesses all who have it in the same way it does me.”
H.B. Charles, Jr. first began pastoring when he was 17 years old and still a senior in high school. That is when he succeeded his late father as pastor of Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. He pastored Mt. Sinai for 18 years before being called to Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church, with locations in Jacksonville and Orange Park, Florida.
No stranger to the entertainment arena, Charles wrote and led several songs on the 2016 Shiloh Choir release: Joe Pace Presents: H.B. Charles Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir. He is also the author of several books, including The Difference Jesus Makes, On Pastoring, and It Happens After Prayer.
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