Shep Crawford Explained

Birth Name:	Anthony Schappel Crawford
Alias:	Schappel Crawford
Birth Date:	18 December 1970
Birth Place:	Los Angeles, California
Genre:	Rhythm and blues, gospel music
Occupation:	Musician, songwriter, record producer, composer
Instrument:	Piano, organ
Years Active:	1995 - present
Associated Acts:	Whitney Houston Luther Vandross Deborah Cox Tamia Montell Jordan Kelly Price

Shep Crawford (December 18, 1970) is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and gospel musician, songwriter, and record producer best known for Whitney Houston's "Same Script, Different Cast", Deborah Cox's "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here", Tamia's "Stranger in My House", Sisqó's "Incomplete", and Kelly Price's "As We Lay".^[1] He is the founder and pastor of The Experience Christian Ministries in Los Angeles, California.^[2]

Early life and influences

Crawford was born and raised in Los Angeles. He attended Carver Missionary Baptist Church with his family where he learned musicianship from Pastor Richard Stubbs. At the age of eight, Crawford began playing the piano and organ for the Carver Church each week. At the age of 19, he became a licensed pastor at Love and Unity Community Church by Pastor Carl A. McCorkle.^[3]

Career

Crawford has written and produced multiple albums for chart-topping artists, including Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Tamia, Deborah Cox, Montell Jordan, and Kelly Price.^{[4] [5] [6]}

In 1995, Crawford co-produced the song "Daddy's Home" on Montell Jordan's debut album This Is How We Do It. Jordan brought Crawford on as his music director, after having known each other as musicians in church during their childhood, and Crawford began his professional career.^{[7] [8]}

In 1998, he produced and co-wrote the platinum single Deborah Cox track "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here".^{[9] [10]} The song was certified Platinum in the United States,^[11] spending a then-record fourteen weeks at number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart,^{[12] [13]} and ranking at number 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.^[14] In 2017, Billboard ranked the song at number 5 on its Greatest of All Time Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[15]

It won the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single (Female) and was nominated for the Billboard Music Award for Top R&B Song. He also wrote and produced the 1998 Deborah Cox track "We Can't Be Friends" which ranked at number 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for two weeks.

In 1999, Crawford produced and co-wrote the Sisqó song "Incomplete". The song was certified Platinum in the United States^[16] and ranked at number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.

In 2000, he produced the Whitney Houston and Deborah Cox duet "Same Script, Different Cast". It was nominated for the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single (Group, Band or Duo). He also began working with Kelly Price and went on to produce multiple albums for her.^[17] That same year, Crawford was named as one of the top three producers and songwriters of the year by Billboard.

In 2001, Crawford won both the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance for Glady Knight's album At Last and the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album for Yolanda Adams' album The Experience. In 2003, Crawford won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year, the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, and the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for Luther Vandross' album Dance With My Father.^[18] That same year, he wrote and produced the song "Stranger in My House" for Tamia.^[19] The song was ranked number 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.^[20] He also founded 45 Live Records with former manager Erica Grayson and signed his first artist Onitsha, to produce her debut album Church Girl in collaboration with Still Waters, a division of Hidden Beach Recordings.^{[21] [22]}

In 2012, he produced select songs on Tamia's album, Beautiful Surprise.^[23] The album and song of the same name were nominated for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in 2013.^[24]

Discography

Vocals

Year	Title	Album	Label	Other Artist(s)
1995	Daddy's Home	This Is How We Do It	PMP Records	Montell Jordan
1996	I Am L.V.	I Am L.V.	Tommy Boy Records, East West Records	L.V.
1999	We Can't Be Friends	One Wish	Arista Records	Deborah Cox
2000	Same Script, Different Cast		Arista Records	Whitney Houston, Deborah Cox
2001	Beautiful Girl	Jersey Ave	MCA Records	Jersey Ave
2010	Same Script, Different Cast	The Essential Whitney Houston	Arista Records, Sony Music, Legacy Recordings	Whitney Houston, Deborah Cox

Instruments and performance

Year	Title	Album	Label	Other Artist(s)
1996	I Am L.V.	I Am L.V.	Tommy Boy Records, East West Records	L.V.
	I Like	I Like (single)	Def Jam Recordings	Montell Jordan feat. Slick Rick
1997	All About Us	Time	Mushroom Records	Peter Andre
	Dreaming	98°	Motown, BMG Direct Marketing	98°
1998	Nobody's Supposed to Be Here	One Wish	Arista Records, BMG	Deborah Cox
	All Night, All Right	Time	Mushroom Records	Peter Andre feat. Warren G
1999	Keys	Keys (single)	TVT Records	LaTanya
	Careless Whisper	The Dance	Capitol Records	Dave Koz feat. Montell Jordan
	We Can't Be Friends	One Wish	Arista Records	Deborah Cox
2000	Tell Me Who	Can't Go For That	Elektra Records	Tamia
	Same Script, Different Cast		Arista Records	Whitney Houston, Deborah Cox
	Married Man	Mirror Mirror	Def Soul	Kelly Price
	Thank You in Advance	Thank You in Advance (LP)	Universal Records	Boyz II Men
2001	Don't Deserve	Weekend	Arista Records	Kenny Lattimore
	Stranger in My House	Stranger in My House (single)	Elektra Records	Tamia
	At Last (album)	At Last	MCA Music Corp of America	Gladys Knight
	I Gotta Believe	Believe	Elektra Records	Yolanda Adams
	I'd Rather	Luther Vandross	J Records	Luther Vandross
	Against All Odds	Urban Renewal	WEA Records, Warner Music Australasia	Various Artists
2002	Starting With You	The Morning After	J Records	Deborah Cox
	I Showed Her	O2	J Records, BMG	O-Town
2003	Buy Me a Rose	Dance with My Father	J Records	Luther Vandross
2004	Tomorrow	More	Elektra Records	Tamia
2006	Wait a Minute	In My Mind	RCA Records	Heather Headley
	Love and I	Between Friends	Image Entertainment, Plus 1 Music Group	Tamia
	This Is Who I Am (album)	This Is Who I Am (album)	Ecclecti Sounds Entertainment, GospoCentric Records, Zomba Label Group	Kelly Price
2010	Same Script, Different Cast	The Essential Whitney Houston	Arista Records, Sony Music, Legacy Recordings	Whitney Houston, Deborah Cox
	Settle		Atlantic Records	Various Artists
2011	Mirror	Unbelievable	Shanachie Records	Keke Wyatt
2012	Because of You	Beautiful Surprise	Plus 1 Music Group	Tamia
2014	Sing, Pray, Love, Vol 1: Sing (album)	Sing, Pray, Love, Vol 1: Sing	eOne	Kelly Price
2015	Black Butterfly	Love Life	Def Jam Recordings, Plus 1 Music Group	Tamia

Writing and arrangement

Year	Title	Album	Label	Other Artist(s)
1995	Daddy's Home	This Is How We Do It	PMP Records	Montell Jordan
1997	Dreaming	98°	Motown, BMG Direct Marketing	98°
1998	Anything and Everything	Let's Ride	Def Jam Recordings	Montell Jordan feat. Master P and Silkk the Shocker
	Nobody's Supposed to Be Here	One Wish	Arista Records, BMG	Deborah Cox
	Talk Show Shhh!	Talk Show	Universal Records	Shae Jones
	When You Get Home	Let's Ride	Def Jam Recordings	Montell Jordan
1999	Once Upon a Time	Get It On... Tonite	Def Soul	Montell Jordan
	Nobody's Supposed to Be Here	Totally Hits	Arista Records	Various Artists
	Keys	Keys (single)	TVT Records	LaTanya
	Incomplete	Unleash the Dragon	Def Soul, Dragon Records, Creative Management Group	Sisqó
2000	Tell Me Who	Can't Go For That	Elektra Records	Tamia
	If I Were You	A Nu Day	Elektra Records	Tamia
	Careless Whisper	The Dance	Capitol Records	Dave Koz feat. Montell Jordan
	Same Script, Different Cast		Arista Records	Whitney Houston, Deborah Cox
	I Finally Know	Nathan Michael Shawn Wanya	Universal Records	Boyz II Men
	Married Man	Mirror Mirror	Def Soul	Kelly Price
	Never Let Go	My Everything	Universal Records	98°
	Thank You in Advance	Thank You in Advance (LP)	Universal Records	Boyz II Men
	Tell Me Who	Can't Go For That	Elektra Records	Tamia
2001	I'd Rather	Luther Vandross	J Records	Luther Vandross
	Against All Odds	Urban Renewal	WEA Records, Warner Music Australasia	Various Artists
	Stranger in My House	Stranger in My House (single)	Elektra Records	Tamia
	Nobody's Supposed to Be Here	Oh What A Feeling 2, A Vital Collection Of Canadian Music	Universal Records	Various Artists
	I Didn't Realize	Jesse Powell	MCA Records, Victor Entertainment, Silas Records	Jesse Powell
	Fo' Sho'	Believe	Elektra Records	Yolanda Adams
	What's Wrong	What's Wrong	MCA Records	Pam & Dodi
	At Last (album)	At Last	MCA Music Corp of America	Gladys Knight
	Don't Deserve	Weekend	Arista Records	Kenny Lattimore
	Incomplete	Top Of The Pops 2001 Volume One	Universal Music TV	Various Artists
	Stranger in My House	Totally Dance	Arista Records	Various Artists
	Nobody's Supposed to Be Here	Fashion Cares: 15th Anniversary Retrospective	Universal Records	Various Artists
	Beautiful Girl	Jersey Ave	MCA Records	Jersey Ave
2002	Always Been Your Girl	This Is Who I Am	RCA Records, BMG Canada	Heather Headley
	I Showed Her	O2	J Records	O-Town
	Starting With You	The Morning After	J Records	Deborah Cox
2003	Miss You	My Soul	DreamWorks Records
	Sleep in the Middle	Bittersweet	Arista Records	Blu Cantrell
2004	Stranger in My House	Still (Dance Mixes)	Arista Records	Tamia
	We Can't Be Friends	Ultimate	Ultimate Records	Deborah Cox
	Tomorrow	More	Elektra Records	Tamia
	Nobody's Supposed to Be Here	Oprah's Pop Star Challenge 2004 Cast Album: Dreams Really Do Come True	Epic Records	Various Artists
	Stranger in My House	All That Urban	Warner Music Australasia	Various Artists
2005	Sleep in the Middle	Hit 'Em Up Style: Chart And Club Hits Of Blu Cantrell	CMG	Blu Cantrell
2006	Love and I	Between Friends	Image Entertainment, Plus 1 Music Group	Tamia
	Wait a Minute	In My Mind	RCA Records	Heather Headley
	Please Don't Forget	Grateful	Light Records	Coko
	The Closing	The Book Of David: Vol. 1 The Transition	GospoCentric Records, Zomba Label Group	Dave Hollister
	This Is Who I Am (album)	This Is Who I Am (album)	Ecclecti Sounds Entertainment, GospoCentric Records, Zomba Label Group	Kelly Price
2008	The Promise (album)	The Promise (album)	Deco Recording Group	Deborah Cox
	Incomplete	R&B Love Collection 2008	Universal Music TV	Various Artists
2010	Settle		Atlantic Records	Various Artists
	Same Script, Different Cast	The Essential Whitney Houston	Arista Records, Sony Music, Legacy Recordings	Whitney Houston
2011	Everybody's Girl	Love?	Island Records	Jennifer Lopez
	Mirror	Unbelievable	Shanachie Records	Keke Wyatt
	Play Your Part	S.O.U.L.	Sony Music Commercial Music Group	Deborah Cox
2012	Because of You	Beautiful Surprise	Plus 1 Music Group	Tamia
2014	Sing, Pray, Love, Vol 1: Sing (album)	Sing, Pray, Love, Vol 1: Sing	eOne	Kelly Price

Production

Year	Title	Album	Label	Other Artist(s)
1995	Daddy's Home	This Is How We Do It	PMP Records	Montell Jordan
	Jungle Groove	Ace Ventura (When Nature Calls)	MCA Soundtracks	Various Artists
	I Am L.V.	I Am L.V.	Tommy Boy Records, East West Records	L.V.
1997	Dreaming	98°	Motown, BMG Direct Marketing	98°
	All About Us	Time	Mushroom Records	Peter Andre
1998	All Night, All Right	Time	Mushroom Records	Peter Andre feat. Warren G
	Nobody's Supposed to Be Here	One Wish	Arista Records, BMG	Deborah Cox
	Talk Show Shhh!	Talk Show	Universal Records	Shae Jones
	When You Get Home	Let's Ride	Def Jam Recordings	Montell Jordan
	Once Upon a Time	Get It On... Tonite	Def Soul	Montell Jordan
1999	Careless Whisper	The Dance	Capitol Records	Dave Koz feat. Montell Jordan
	Incomplete	Unleash the Dragon	Def Soul, Dragon Records, Creative Management Group	Sisqó
	We Can't Be Friends	One Wish	Arista Records	Deborah Cox
	Keys	Keys (single)	TVT Records	LaTanya
	Once Upon a Time	Get It On... Tonite	Def Soul	Montell Jordan
	Everytime	Talk Show	Universal Records	Shae Jones
2000	Never Let Go	My Everything	Universal Records	98°
	Thank You in Advance	Thank You in Advance (LP)	Universal Records	Boyz II Men
	Married Man	Mirror Mirror	Def Soul	Kelly Price
	A Nu Day (album)	A Nu Day	Elektra Records	Tamia
	Tell Me Who	Can't Go For That	Elektra Records	Tamia
	Same Script, Different Cast		Arista Records	Whitney Houston, Deborah Cox
	I Finally Know	Nathan Michael Shawn Wanya	Universal Records	Boyz II Men
2001	I Didn't Realize	Jesse Powell	MCA Records, Victor Entertainment, Silas Records	Jesse Powell
	Stranger in My House	Stranger in My House (single)	Elektra Records	Tamia
	At Last (album)	At Last	MCA Music Corp of America	Gladys Knight
	Based on a True Story (album)	Based on a True Story	Elektra Records	Lil' Mo
	Against All Odds	Urban Renewal	WEA Records, Warner Music Australasia	Various Artists
	What's Wrong	What's Wrong	MCA Records	Pam & Dodi
	I'd Rather	Luther Vandross	J Records	Luther Vandross
	Fo' Sho'	Believe	Elektra Records	Yolanda Adams
	I Believe I Can Fly	The Experience	Elektra Records	Yolanda Adams feat. Gerald Levert
	Beautiful Girl	Jersey Ave	MCA Records	Jersey Ave
2002	With a Kiss	The Kiss	GospoCentric Records
	Starting With You	The Morning After	J Records	Deborah Cox
	Never Let Go	My Everything	Universal Records	98°
	I Showed Her	O2	J Records	O-Town
	Always Been Your Girl	This Is Who I Am	RCA Records, BMG Canada	Heather Headley
2003	Sleep in the Middle	Bittersweet	Arista Records	Blu Cantrell
	Buy Me a Rose	Dance with My Father	J Records	Luther Vandross
	Play Your Part	Ultra Dance 04	Ultra Records	Deborah Cox
	Something Happened on the Way to Heaven / Starting with You	Something Happened on the Way to Heaven / Starting with You	J Records	Deborah Cox
	Tomorrow	More	Elektra Records	Tamia
2005	It's Gon Be Nice	Day by Day	Atlantic Records	Yolanda Adams
2006	Please Don't Forget	Grateful	Light Records	Coko
	Wait a Minute	In My Mind	RCA Records	Heather Headley
	Love and I	Between Friends	Image Entertainment, Plus 1 Music Group	Tamia
	The Closing	The Book Of David: Vol. 1 The Transition	GospoCentric Records, Zomba Label Group	Dave Hollister
2007	Church Girl (album)	Church Girl	Hidden Beach Recordings, Still Waters Recordings	Onitsha
	Back For My Heart	Sampler	Not On Label	The Blayse
2008	The Promise (album)	The Promise (album)	Deco Recording Group	Deborah Cox
2010	Settle		Atlantic Records	Various Artists
	Same Script, Different Cast	The Essential Whitney Houston	Arista Records, Sony Music, Legacy Recordings	Whitney Houston
2011	A Treasure (album)	A Treasure	Reprise Records	Neil Young / International Harvesters
	Mirror	Unbelievable	Shanachie Records	Keke Wyatt
2012	Because of You	Beautiful Surprise	Plus 1 Music Group	Tamia
2014	Sing, Pray, Love, Vol 1: Sing (album)	Sing, Pray, Love, Vol 1: Sing	eOne	Kelly Price
2015	Black Butterfly	Love Life	Def Jam Recordings, Plus 1 Music Group	Tamia

^{[25] [26] [27] [28] [29]}

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	The Nutty Professor	Writer ("Bounce 2 This"), Producer ("Jungle Groove")
2009	Not Easily Broken	Writer ("Have to Go Through It")
2010	For Colored Girls	Writer ("Settle")
2011	Madea's Big Happy Family	Writer ("Tired")

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Star Search	Writer ("Nobody's Supposed to Be Here"), Writer ("Incomplete")	2 episodes
2004	New Zealand Idol	Writer ("Incomplete")	Episode: "Top 24 Group 3 Performance Show"
	Canadian Idol	Writer ("Nobody's Supposed to Be Here")	3 episodes
2005		Writer ("Incomplete")	Episode: "Top 11 Perform"
2007	Idols	Writer ("Stranger in My House")	Episode: "Top 4: My Idols"
2013	Dancing with the Stars	Writer ("Woman's World")	Episode: "Cher Week"
2014-16	Unsung	Himself	2 episodes
2016	Superstar Duets	Writer ("I'd Rather")	Episode: "Do or Die"

^[30]

Awards and nominations

In 2000, Crawford was named as one of the top three producers and songwriters of the year by Billboard.^[31]

Grammy Awards

|-| rowspan="2" |2001| Glady Knight's At Last| Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance| ^[32] |-| Yolanda Adams' The Experience| Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album| ^[32] |-| rowspan="4" |2003| rowspan="4" |Luther Vandross' Dance With My Father| Grammy Award for Best R&B Song| ^[18] |-| Grammy Award for Song of the Year| ^[18] |-| Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance| ^[18] |-| Grammy Award for Best R&B Album| ^[18] |-| rowspan="2" |2013| rowspan="2" |Tamia's Beautiful Surprise| Grammy Award for Best R&B Album| ^[33] |-| Grammy Award for Best R&B Song| ^[33] |-|}

ASCAP Awards

|-| rowspan="2" |2000| Deborah Cox's Nobody's Supposed to Be Here| rowspan="3" |ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Award| ^[34] |-| Deborah Cox's We Can't Be Friends| ^[35] |-| 2002| Tamia's Stranger in My House| ^[36] |-|}

Billboard Music Awards

|-| 1998| Deborah Cox's Nobody's Supposed to Be Here| Billboard Music Award for Top R&B Song| ^[37] |-|}

Soul Train Awards

|-| 1998| rowspan="2" |Deborah Cox's Nobody's Supposed to Be Here| Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single – Female| ^[38] |-| 1999| Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Song of the Year| ^[38] |-|}

External links

• Shep Crawford on Experience Christian Ministries

Notes and References

1. Web site: Interview: Behind The Songs With Shep Crawford ‹ Kempire Daily. Kempiredaily.com. en-US. 2017-11-22.
2. Web site: Soul Musician Appreciation: Shep Crawford. soulsavviness.com. 15 February 2014 . en-US. 2017-11-22.
3. News: BioPastorShep. The Experience Christian Ministries. 2017-11-21. en-US.
4. Book: Inc, Nielsen Business Media. Billboard. 29. whitney houston shep crawford.. 2000-12-23. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. en.
5. Book: Inc, Nielsen Business Media. Billboard. 30. whitney houston shep crawford.. 2003-02-15. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. en.
6. News: Small Faces. 2000-12-10. Los Angeles Times. 2017-11-22. en-US. 0458-3035.
7. News: Interview: Producer Shep Crawford Talks Making Hit Records, Origin of the Queen Project, R&B Coming 2nd to Pastoring - YouKnowIGotSoul.com. 2011-06-10. 2017-11-22. en-US.
8. Book: Bronson, Fred. The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. 2003. Billboard Books. 9780823076772. en.
9. Book: Inc, Nielsen Business Media. Billboard. 2002-07-06. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. en.
10. Book: Ebony. March 1999. Johnson Publishing Company. en.
11. News: Gold & Platinum - RIAA. RIAA. 2017-11-22. en-US.
12. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - 1998 Archive Billboard Charts Archive. Billboard. 2017-11-22. en.
13. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - 1999 Archive Billboard Charts Archive. Billboard. 2017-11-22. en.
14. Deborah Cox. Billboard. 2017-11-22.
15. Greatest of All Time Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs : Page 1. Billboard. 2017-11-28.
16. News: Gold & Platinum - RIAA. RIAA. 2017-11-22. en-US.
17. Kelly Price Returns to R&B Roots on New Album. Billboard. 2017-11-22.
18. News: 46th Annual GRAMMY Awards. 2013-01-15. GRAMMY.com. 2017-11-22. en.
19. Book: Inc, Nielsen Business Media. Billboard. 2006-11-18. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. en.
20. Dance Songs: Top Dance Music Chart. Billboard. 2017-11-22.
21. Web site: Onitsha (Church Girl) - Reviews - GOSPELflava.com. www.gospelflava.com. 2017-11-22.
22. Book: Inc, Nielsen Business Media. Billboard. 2007-04-21. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. en.
23. Tamia Returns After Six-Year Hiatus With 'Beautiful Surprise'. Billboard. 2017-11-22.
24. News: Tamia - Beautiful Surprise. 2017-05-15. Grammy.com. 2017-11-22. en.
25. Web site: Anthony "Shep" Crawford. Discogs. en. 2017-11-22.
26. Web site: Shep Crawford Credits AllMusic. AllMusic. 2017-11-22.
27. Book: Inc, Nielsen Business Media. Billboard. 2001-06-16. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. en.
28. News: 15 Greatest Songs Written/Produced By Anthony "Shep" Crawford - THE G-LISTED. 2014-06-10. THE G-LISTED. 2017-11-22. en-US.
29. Book: Sparks, Kristin. 98 Degrees...: And Getting Hotter!. 2015-08-11. St. Martin's Press. 9781250093820. en.
30. Web site: Anthony Crawford. IMDb. 2017-11-22.
31. Book: Inc, Nielsen Business Media. Billboard. shep crawford top producer.. 1999-12-25. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. en.
32. News: 44th Annual GRAMMY Awards. 2013-01-15. GRAMMY.com. 2017-11-22. en.
33. News: 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards. 2013-06-24. GRAMMY.com. 2017-11-22. en.
34. Book: Inc, Nielsen Business Media. Billboard. 2000-06-24. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. en.
35. Book: Inc, Nielsen Business Media. Billboard. 2000-06-24. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. en.
36. News: Complete List of Winners. www.ascap.com. 2017-11-22.
37. Web site: Billboard Music Award - 1999 Winners & Nominees. awardsandwinners.com. en. 2017-11-22.
38. Web site: The Official Site of » BIO. deborahcox.com. en-US. 2017-11-22.