Gospel
Richmond, Virginia and Charlotte, NC
Ken Heath hails from Petersburg, Virginia, where he was raised up to the sounds of the gospel music of the Black Holiness Church. His grandfather Moses Lee Tucker sang with numerous local gospel quartets from his rural hometown of Dinwiddie, Virginia, and eventually formed the Gospel Inheritance quartet, a much sought-after group in the region. As a young boy, Ken’s grandparents’ house became the meeting hub for many other Petersburg gospel groups including the Modernaires, The Lambs of Joy and the Petersburg Gospel Singers. Moses taught Ken’s mother and two uncles to sing, and later taught little Kenny, who was also taking up the drums while still in preschool.
Ken developed his drumming skills and at 14 had the opportunity to perform with his idols, Richmond’s Maggie Ingram and the Ingramettes at the Masonic Temple in Petersburg. Though he was only 14, the group instantly recognized his talent, with original member Lucious Ingram telling Mama Maggie: “We gotta’ keep this kid.” He went on to perform with the Ingramettes in venues up and down the East Coast. While with the Ingramettes, Kenny was introduced to the keyboards for the first time by Maggie’s oldest daughter Almeta. Not a piano player herself, Almeta taught Kenny his first chords by singing them out and having him repeat them by ear. Kenny played keyboards with the Ingramettes often in the years that followed, and he still often performs with the Legendary Ingramettes today.
Ken later moved to Charlotte where he formed his own group, Ken Heath and The True Disciples in 2014, with fellow singers Kenneth “KJ” Jones and Chris Robertson. The trio is joined by Maurice Johnson on drums, Rodney Easter on bass, Joe Brown on guitar, and Bryan Pitt and Justin Brown on keyboards. The True Disciples continue Heath’s deep-rooted foundation in traditional gospel quartet music and attend to their craft with great energy and spiritual devotion. In addition to the local traditional quartets, the True Disciples credit The Mighty Clouds of Joy and The Canton Spirituals as their greatest influences. The True Disciples are known for their spirited, electrifying performances and their mission can be summed up into four words: Building Relationships Through Christ. This will be the group’s first time performing together at the Richmond Folk Festival, and it will undoubtedly be a set not to be missed.