We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Debbie Bennett . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Debbie below.

Debbie , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I’ve been singing since the age of 3 and At 8 years old I wrote my first song. I am the middle of 5 siblings.
And I always felt like I had to do things extraordinary
To get noticed. My brothers and sisters were into sports, etc and I was not. I loved everything associated with the Arts. I wrote plays, poems, short stories and songs. And at that point
I started really wanting to sing, write and always wanted to be a help to others

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Coming up into the industry I, like most Artists was definitely taken advantage of in the fact that so many said they wanted to help but in reality they just wanted money. I pressed forward and used some of my publishing to record with label and thankfully had enough witts about me to have it put in the contract that when all financial promises were completed that my publishing would be returned to me and it was.
In 1987 and 1988 I won the Golden and Silver Poet Award and what an honor! I was presented the Awards from Bob Hope, Jane Meadows and Danny Kaye. Such an honor!! After this I really started to focus on writing and singing. I sang at the Whitehouse in Washington DC as part of the Pageant of Peace ceremony in 2006 and have been a part of several shows at the Grand Ole Opry House. Many Sunday Morning Country Shows and A Tribute Show to Dr. Ralph Stanley.
In 2023 on May 29th I officially opened Grace Records Nashville LLC with the hopes of helping Artists avoid a lot of the pitfalls I fell into along the way. To date I have 25 Artists on the Roster and a couple are from Australia and Nigeria. Most are Gospel Artists but we also have multiple genres. This past month I submitted around 30 for 2024 Dove consideration. Including videos as well.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am a 3 time cancer survivor so with that being said there were multiple times that I had to “readjust” my goals, aspirations, and in general everything to focus on regaining my health and the strength each day to keep pressing and holding on . There were days giving up seemed the much easier way to go but that still voice inside kept saying you’ve got this! So with God’s strong arms and my family we continued to move forward! Songs kept coming from each trial and they helped me to share with other my cancer journey.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Above all I’d like to bring integrity, honesty and belief back into the music industry by helping the Artist realize their full potential. Their complete gift. And that’s exactly what it is …a GIFT.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Gracerecordsnashville.com
• Other: Contact at
  Debbie Bennett
  [email protected]
  336-593-2908

Image Credits

Tabetha Brown
Photography
Christine Johnson Scott
Goldie Locks