Gospel music star Bishop Rance Allen died Saturday morning. He was 71.
“While recovering from a medical procedure at Heartland ProMedica [in Sylvania, OH], Bishop Rance Allen passed away around 3 AM this morning,” said Allen’s wife of 49 years, Ellen Allen, and his manager, Toby Jackson, in a joint statement posted on Facebook.
The world-renowned gospel singer and minister, known for the gospel hit “Something About the Name Jesus,” formed The Rance Allen Group with his brothers Tom and Steve in 1969, according to the group’s website.
“I wasn’t expecting to hear this news this morning,” Bryant Scott, the president of Allen’s record label, Tyscot Records, said in the statement. “This is a great loss to us personally but also to the church community at large.”
After being ordained in 1978, Rance Allen served more than six years as an associate pastor of Holiness Temple Church of God In Christ (COGIC) in Monroe, Michigan. Allen also served as a pastor at the New Bethel Church of God in Christ in Toledo, Ohio.
“Bishop Allen’s unique vocal ministry was an indispensable sound within the Church of God in Christ and Christendom. His gift transcended the boundaries of musical genre as he remained a sought after personality called to perform on global venues,” Bishop Robert G. Rudolph Jr. of COGIC said in a statement.
“During this time of uncertainty, we request the continued prayers as well as acts of emotional and spiritual support for the family.”
CNN’s Claudia Dominguez contributed to this report.
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