Rev. Lawrence C. Roberts

Rev. Lawrence C. Roberts, the famed producer and artist associated with Savoy Records, passed away on July 14, 2008 after a heart attack at his home in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He was 72. With the inception of Savoy Records, Roberts became the first African-American producer of a major U.S. recording company. In addition, Savoy became the premiere record label in gospel music, producing artists such as Albertina Walker, Rev. James Cleveland among others. It was the pairing of James Cleveland with Rev. Roberts and the Angelic Choir of First Baptist Church that resulted in the hits "Peace Be Still", "Christ Is The Answer", "I Stood On The Banks of Jordan", "Life Can Be Beautiful", "My God Can Do Anything" and many others. Roberts was a 2-time Grammy award winner and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Nutley in Nutley, NJ until his retirement in 1995.