Geary Lanier Faggett
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Geary Lanier Faggett | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Geary Lanier Faggett |
| Born | September 17, 1953 |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Died | October 28, 2019 |
| Genres | R&B, jazz, gospel |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer, music producer, actor, keyboardist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, keyboards |
| Years active | 1970's–2019 |
Geary Faggett (Born September 17, 1953, died October 28, 2019), was an American singer-songwriter. His songs have been performed by vocalists such as Deniece Williams, Rodena Preston, James Cleveland, and Whitney Houston.
Geary Lanier Faggett was born into a musical family in Los Angeles and raised in Compton, California. His father was a pastor and his mother was a classically trained pianist. His mother discovered his ability to play piano at the age of 3 and began to train him. Later, she would send him to two different special music schools. Faggett was considered a "kid genius" with an IQ of 176. In junior high school, he would sit and write music during the lunch breaks instead of joining the other students and by the age of 15 Faggett performed professionally for the first time at Loyola University -where was also taking summer courses. That same year, his first professional recording was "Have Mercy on Me" for B&B records and released as a single. Faggett served as the music specialist at Centennial High School and during this time he discovered the amazing talents of some of the students and started to put together a group in 1970. He decided to name it "The Geary Faggett Ensemble" with the advice of his twelfth grade teacher, Jackie Dillard. The Ensemble began to gain much popularity performing on gospel music marathons that would air in LA & Southern California areas during the Gospel Music Era with acts such as James Cleveland, Rodena Preston, Henry Jackson Company, LA community Choir, and Terry-Lynn Community Choir.