Despite her long, phenomenal run of success and prestigious accolades, Detroit gospel star Twinkie Clark has never been big on self-congratulations.
“I never do anything in my name,” she says. “I’ve always gone to other people’s events.”
But Clark was tickled about this time one year ago as she quietly marked her 69th birthday with some friends and family at a small restaurant.
“I had invited 20 or 25 people, and they showed up and just loved and loved on me,” she says, recalling with a laugh: “I thought, ‘Whew, I need to do this more.’”
That’s why this Friday, Clark will celebrate her 70 th birthday with a grand event at Dearborn’s Ford Community & Performing Arts Center inside the 1,200-capacity Michael A. Guido Theater.
It’ll be an event befitting a trailblazing musical Detroiter as songs from her extensive catalog are performed by singers, musicians and an orchestra in a night of gospel music with a classical twist. All will be led by musical director Damien Sneed, a longtime Clark protege and collaborator with her flagship family group, the Clark Sisters.