b. USA. A gospel singer whose wide-ranging vocal styles have earned her particular praise among the cognoscenti, Cynthia Clawson first began her apprenticeship in devotional music at the age of three. The daughter of a southern Baptist preacher, she quickly became featured soloist at a series of church conventions. Her professional career has included several jingle and station announcements for the Radio and Television Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, where she is one of the organisation’s most readily recognisable figures. Married to actor/writer Ragan Courtney, with whom she frequently co-writes, Clawson has made numerous guest appearances on gospel recordings in addition to her own solo work. She has also been a regular on television - appearing on Christian shows The 700 Club and The PTL Club. She has also worked with evangelist preachers such as James Robinson. By the end of the 70s her name was established internationally with a series of albums for Triangle Records, which eventually brought her a nomination for Best Gospel Female Vocalist in 1978.