Commissioned (gospel group)

Group composition

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, the six original members were Fred Hammond, Mitchell Jones, Keith Staten, Karl Reid, Michael Brooks, and Michael Williams formed a group in 1982, 2 years after Fred Hammond played bass for The Winans. In 1991 Staten and Brooks left the group and were replaced by Marvin Sapp, Maxx Frank, and Eddie Howard, Jr.. By 1994 Howard had left the group and Williams left a year later. Hammond also left to pursue a career with the choir Radical For Christ. He was replaced by Montrell Darrett. By 1999, Marcus Cole and Chris Poole had taken the place of Sapp and Darrett on the group's last studio album. In 2002 Commissioned released a reunion album recorded live at the Straightgate Church in Detroit, MI on October 26, 2001 which brought back most of the group's former members and featured most of its greatest hits. The group performed live on stage during the 2002 Stellar Awards in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2011, They were honored at the BMI Awards after the Stellar Awards. Gospel singers such as Dawkins & Dawkins, Deitrick Haddon, Marvin Sapp, The Soul Seekers, The Clark Sisters, and Men of Standard sang musical tributes. The members who were present at the event were Fred Hammond, Keith Staten, Marvin Sapp, Mitchell Jones, Karl Reid, Michael Williams, Michael Brooks, Maxx Frank, Montrell Darrett, and Marcus Cole. The group sang their song "Victory" from their sophomore record, Go Tell Somebody.

The R&B group Silk remade the Commissioned ballad Cry On for the 1994 soundtrack for the movie Blankman.

Singles

Commissioned also performs on the J2K: Jesus 2000 project and the With This Ring projects.

The Members Of Commissioned