Gale Mayes is an enlightened singer and songwriter who is successfully melding the genres of gospel, soul, blues, and jazz to create an identifiable style of her own. The singer has spent the last couple years branding herself as a center stage artist after a 25-year stint in the muted shadow as a background singer. In a short time, she has been successful in securing a home at one of Nashville’s most respected live music venues, 3rd and Lindsley, where she often performs her show, “A Classic Evening of Music,” to a full house of music lovers. Gale also landed the spot as the headliner and host of Nashville’s Food and Wine Festival Gospel Brunch for the past two consecutive years. In 2017, she was also well received as a featured artist for Wine Down Main Street Franklin, the Boys and Girls Club of Williamson County’s annual fundraiser. Gale and her accompanying band had event goers dancing in the streets!
Moving to Nashville in 1991, Gale made her vocal presence known and was hired to sing background tracks for the project Handel’s Messiah: A Christmas Celebration, produced by Mervyn Warren, formerly of the a cappella gospel group Take 6, and the legendary Quincy Jones. Studio session requests began pouring in and soon Gale Mayes had become a regular in recording studios on Music Row and throughout the music industry. She has sung on numerous Grammy, Dove, and Stellar Award winning projects in her career span. Gale also received a nod in her own honor in 2004 for the 35th Annual Dove Awards, Traditional Gospel Song of the Year for the song “Breakthrough” which she wrote and performed on the Dove Award winning, Grammy nominated project, Cece Winans Presents: The Born Again Church Choir.
Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, music is in her bones. Gale makes music come alive. She is a songwriter’s dream – lifting music from the written page and translating it into sweet ‘ear candy’ that has attracted major recording artists. Crossing all musical genres, Gale has toured, performed with, and recorded demos and tracks for: Reba McEntire, Wynonna Judd, Emmylou Harris, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Aretha Franklin, Andrae Crouch, Buddy Miller, Solomon Burke, Michael McDonald, Toby Keith, Josh Turner, Mike Farris, Cece Winans, Donnie McClurkin, Shirley Ceasar, and so many other greats. Her name frequently appears on sound track credits for current television series, Nashville and OWN Network’s Greenleaf. She also periodically makes television appearances with gospel icons Bill Gaither and Dr. Bobby Jones.
Gale’s gifts continue to make room for her as she navigates the path of her solo career. Her performance skills are as strong as any artist she has ever stood behind, captivating audiences that are as diverse as her repertoire. In addition to living in the Mississippi flat lands, tropical Hawaii, and the last frontier Alaska, this US Air Force veteran has toured the world, but her Southern roots have kept her planted in Nashville where she is blossoming into the fullness of her purpose. She has discovered a deeper passion for performing classic favorites made great by artists of yesteryear, appealing to listeners of all ages. Her current ambition is to continue to record music that solidifies the artistry and legacy of Gale Mayes.