Wednesday, July 16, 2003
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Wednesday, July 16, 2003 |
Fayetteville's Burroughs finds joy in singingBy MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Fayetteville resident Valerie Burroughs, A.K.A. Valerie B, was not always a singer. In fact, her singing career started in 1999, which makes it very surprising that she has a CD, "New Life," gaining popularity in the gospel community; is currently working on her follow-up; sings with the choir at New Hope Baptist Church; and tours other churches on her own. In four short years, Burroughs has found her voice. Burroughs grew up in Fairburn, attended Campbell High School and then Georgia State University for a few years. She comes from a very musical background, as she played violin and drums as a child and her father was a member of a popular local rhythm and blues band. Burroughs also has good business sense. She has owned a boutique at Shannon Mall and operated a pest control business with her husband, Larry. Burroughs has lived in Fayetteville for four years with her husband and three children, approximately the same amount of time she has been involved in her singing career. Her new direction started when she picked up the violin again after a 15-year break. One year later her mother told her, seemingly out of the blue, that she should start singing. Burroughs laughed and her mother hung up on her. Still unsure, her mother convinced her to sing one song. She did and eventually joined the church choir. Burroughs credits the encouragement of violin teacher Barbara Hood and music teacher Phyllis Beatles for helping her along. Burroughs went to Beatles for an honest opinion on her voice, determined to stop singing if Beatles felt she would not be able to sing professionally. "She made sure I continued with it," said Burroughs. "I couldn't have done it without her." Her work with Hood has also been instrumental, no pun intended. Hood arranged six of the songs on "New Life" and has helped Burroughs with the writing process. Burroughs wrote songs for a year before recording the album. She started with a piece of scripture and, as she says, "the words just poured out." Some songs started with the chorus, while other songs started with an idea. Burroughs knew the songs would find an audience when she kept singing them to herself over and over. Her favorite song on "New Life" is "You See Me Now," which is also a favorite of many of the audiences she has performed for, including the many people she has performed for as part of her prison ministry program. Burroughs is also a World Vision Artist, part of a missionary program that includes sponsorship of children. Burroughs sponsors a child in Zimbabwe, four-year-old Josphaht Sibanda. In addition to her sponsorship of a child, Burroughs talks about the World Vision program at many of her appearances. Among the places she has performed since her singing career has begun are Colorado, Tennessee, and North Carolina as well as numerous stops around the state including performances in East Point, Newnan, College Park and Simpsonwood. Burroughs states that she listens to a lot of instrumental works, so as not to stifle her songwriting, but she does cite the work of CeCe Winans and Bobbie Mason as some of her influences. Someday soon, she will be among the influences cited for an up and coming gospel artist herself. But that is not what drives Burroughs. "I am doing what God wants me to accomplish, which is spreading the word," said Burroughs. "People give me good feedback about how these songs make me feel and that is what drives me. I want them to feel strengthened, hopeful and encouraged." Copies of"New Life" are available at Barnes and Noble, Circuit City, Berean's Christian Music Store and wherever they sell music on the Web, as well as on her own Web site, www.valerieb.com. Her Web site will also give interested people future performance dates and locations. For those of you looking for her follow-up CD, it is in the works and will feature a duet with her brother, Reginald Jordan.
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