CORY HENRY FOLLOWS GRAMMY-WINNING CHURCH WITH DEEPLY PERSONAL NEW ALBUM DEVOTION
THE GRAMMY-WINNING KEYBOARDIST, COMPOSER AND PRODUCER CALLS THE RECORD “GOSPEL SOUL” AND “A TESTIMONY OF MY LIFE AS A GROWN MAN”
FEATURING STEVIE WONDER, FRED HAMMOND, HEZEKIAH WALKER, JONATHAN McREYNOLDS, LENA BYRD MILES & MORE
Devotion is the new album from GRAMMY-winning keyboardist, composer and producer Cory Henry, available now via Apostle Music Group. His second gospel album follows 2024’s Church, winner of the 2025 GRAMMY for Best Roots Gospel Album, and features Stevie Wonder, Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker, Jonathan McReynolds, Lena Byrd Miles, Lillian Lloyd, Aaron Marcellus and Jeff Bradshaw. Produced by Henry and recorded in Los Angeles and New York, the 10-track album brings together The Apostle Voices, The Fellowship Collective and The Brent Fischer Orchestra.
Henry describes Devotion as “a testimony of my life as a grown man.” Church drew on the Brooklyn church music he grew up with. “When I was making that album, it felt like I was making it for my little kid self,” he says. “All the sounds of that album are like what I would have sounded like if I was 13 making that album.” Devotion comes from his life now. “With this album here, it’s my experience having a personal talk with God,” Henry says.
The Apostle Voices came together after the songs were written. Inspired by Crouch and the Disciples, Henry gave a group of longtime New York friends and collaborators a name of their own and recorded with them across a series of New York sessions. Marcellus, Chenee Campbell, Cherub Ruth, Linny Smith, Brianna Turner and Matia Celeste Washington sing throughout the album; Washington also co-wrote seven of its 10 songs. “The Apostle Voices — that’s my family,” Henry says. “We kept each other accountable. They helped me vocal-produce the project.” The core Fellowship Collective personnel include Henry on organ and keyboards; Stanley Randolph and Robert “Sput” Searight on drums; Erick Walls and Johnathan Dubose on guitar; Aaron Draper on percussion; Joshua Easley on bass; and Dominique Taplin and Michael Bereal on keyboards.
“Don’t Give Up,” featuring Hammond and Bradshaw, opens Devotion with a sound Henry traces to the Winans and other classic gospel groups he heard growing up. “We wanted to start the album with a funky song, with a funky good message,” he says. “The message of the song is important to people who feel like giving up. It’s a very simple message, but it’s a funky one.” “Something Happens” follows with Wonder and centers on prayer and the belief that prayer can be answered. Henry grew up idolizing Wonder and has since known and worked with him on multiple occasions.
“Show Me the Way” is, in Henry’s words, “a jazz number, and it’s a prayer.” “Already Mine,” featuring Marcellus, is his “manifesting song” — a hopeful number for people still pursuing their dreams. Henry imagines listeners returning to it while they pray, manifest or focus on what they hope for. “Most High,” featuring McReynolds and Byrd Miles, came after Henry heard comments about gospel and worship music that troubled him. “It’s a song that I like to say is for everybody, especially worshipers of all different denominations,” he says. “I love the melody and I love the choral aspect of it, and I can’t wait to hear the world sing that one.”
On “All I Need,” Henry says, “You turn to many things and try things, but at the end of the day, God is the source, and He’s all I need.” “Make a Way” is about holding on through hard times and continuing toward a goal. “Spirit,” featuring Lloyd, can stretch to 30 minutes in performance.
Henry has already played some of the Devotion material through The Church Experience, his recurring gospel gathering launched in Inglewood. The series features the 30-plus-member Apostle Community choir — distinct from the smaller New York-based Apostle Voices — and has welcomed guests including Lalah Hathaway, KevOnStage and Kim Burrell. Henry has also brought The Church Experience to New York and will present Gospel Brunch dates at Blue Note LA on September 27, October 18 and November 15. “I created the Church Experience to be an outlet for me and others who need a place to feel good and be uplifted,” he says. Henry wants New York and Los Angeles to remain anchors while building The Church Experience in other cities, rather than simply touring it through them. “I’ve seen people cry and dance and jump,” he says of the new music in that setting.
“Watches Over Me,” featuring Walker, was the first song Henry wrote for Devotion. He wrote it at his piano the day before the January 2025 Los Angeles fires. “That song has been probably the staple song for the record for me,” he says. “There are so many things that happen from a day-to-day perspective, but I believe God is watching and protecting and pulling me together.” The song also draws on periods when Henry could not pay his bills and nearly faced eviction, years of travel in which he felt protected, and a recent car accident. “It could have been way worse,” he says.
“The Promise” closes Devotion. Henry wrote it during another engagement while going through what he calls “a very tough time.” Then the melody arrived. “I got this melody in my head, clear as day, like the sun was rising,” he says. “It means a lot.” “These songs are for the world,” Henry says. “They’re not just for the church. They’re not just for a set of people.”
“There’s a message behind every one of them,” Henry continues. “All of them I lived through. I’m not going to say something I ain’t lived through at this point. These are like testimonies. These are like scriptures. These are real things. I want people to feel that.” He closes with an equally direct assessment of Devotion: “I feel like this album is the best album of my life. It’s a dream come true on so many levels. This record touches me in so many ways. It’s the best music I ever made, and I hope that you feel the same way. You’ve got to listen to Devotion.”
Photo Credit: Justin Jackson
Champagne House Media
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