About Lorraine

The Story Thus Far…

First and foremost, music has always reached down to the deepest part of my inner being. It would transport me to another time and place; often, I would be taken back to a specific location, an era of my past. The music would then bring out all the feelings and emotions that went along with that memory. Music has it’s own form of healing in regards to ‘health and wellness,’ all wrapped up within the music itself, the composer, and the singer. A song will have the ability to bring out many deep feelings and emotions in a person (especially in regards to myself) – it may even bring out the best or the worst in a person, as well as have the compacity to connect them to other people.

Songwriting, for me; is not only a way to share with others these ‘memories’ of eras past, but a way to bring hope, restoration, and healing to my listeners. My songs are vehicles in which a story is told; they’re also my way of taking something subjective and making it objective. It, therefore, allows me to move beyond whatever hardships or pain might have been the reason for the song in the first place. My faith in Jesus Christ is the main focus of my songs; if my music can help direct people to the ONE who is the healer & giver of all life, then I have done as the Lord has commissioned me.

I was born Wendy Lorraine Allison (now Mitchell) on August 13, 1970, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. My father, Max Allison, was also a musician with the band Simply Country. He instilled in me from early childhood, a love, and a passion for music. I was the youngest of four siblings that included an older half-sister. Being the baby of the family, I was blessed with many family role models I looked up to for inspiration and guidance as I was growing up.

Early on in my youth, I had discovered I had several unique gifts. My vocal range has never been limited, and singing in any range always came naturally for me, even as a small child. I could sing all the way from low alto, to high 2nd soprano. This allowed me the ability to sing by ear, sing in any key, and sing with perfect pitch. Through the years, these gifts have grown more defined. The ability to write song lyrics would develop in my early teens, as I would write my first song after the death of my only brother when I was merely fourteen. I am certainly blessed to have come from such strong musical roots on both sides of my family. On my father’s side – my dad played guitar and sang with his band where he performed for more than twenty-five years. He also had several siblings who also sang. On my mother’s side – my grandfather was a brilliant fiddle player with an exceptional ear for music. At the age of thirteen, I would perform with my father and his band Simply Country, a well-loved song by the legendary Marty Robbins entitled ‘Tie Your Dream to Mine.’ I would later go on to re-create that song as a tribute to my father and our one and only time performance together on stage. That song is on the album The Good Shepherd.

Tragedy would befall my family, and that would be the vehicle used to start me on what I have termed ‘a musical journey.’ At the age of fourteen, I lost my only brother, to a horrific car accident. Yet from this tragedy of losing my only brother, I would write the lyrics to my 1st song, Jesus Love’s You. There would be many more songs to follow, but no way in which to bring my songs to life without background music. I had taken piano lessons for only a few years in my early childhood and never learned to play any other instrument. Thereby having no other means in which to put music to the lyrics and melodies I had written, that remained my main obstacle in completing my songs until 2014.

During my teens and into my early twenties, I was actively singing in church, summer fairs, and festivals, and any other ‘family-friendly’ venues I could find. Being restricted to only singing to accompaniment tracks, I sang other artists’ songs such as Sandi Patti, Amy Grant, Bryan Duncan & others. My vocal and musical style has frequently been described as having a modern-day Indie vibe, with a soulful feel of a classic lounge singer. My ability to sing and write across multiple genres enables my music to reach those fans of Contemporary Christian, Latin, R&B, Pop, Soul, and Jazz. I have often been compared to Marina Elali, Olivia Newton-John, Kate Bush, Kathy Lee Gifford, and others of the like.

Due to other hardships and trials, singing all but went to the wayside. I stopped performing in church and other venues and settled down to raise my three sons. I had at that time, resolved within myself that it wasn’t God’s plan for me to really do anything with my music, and I felt I had to accept His will for my life. I felt singing and writing music was to be more of a hobby than a lifelong ministry and career. Still, a deep yearning to sing smoldered somewhere deep inside me, and I could never totally let go of it. In 2014 I started attending a new church, and I was starting to become a part of something outside of myself, as I started connecting with other believers in Christ again. Using the people of that church, and the fellowships I was starting to create, God would re-ignite that flame and bring back my desire to sing and write music for Him again.

Twenty years would pass and before I knew it, I was now in the year 2014. This brought brand new opportunities, and ways in which I did not need to know how to play any instrument, to create the music to my songs. The age of the internet was here, and with it brought brand new ways and opportunities in which music could be created. Because of my natural ear for music, chord structuring & note placements were easy for me to learn. I then took my gifts for music, my style for what musical sounds I liked, and started to create the music for all the songs that I had left by the wayside some twenty years earlier. After much hard work, many sleepless nights, a lot of prayer, and a few tears along the way, I would release three albums – Best Part of Me, The Good Shepherd, and my latest album, The Return of the King.

My debut album, Best Part of Me, is a compilation of my early songs, from the time of my brother’s death in 1984 to more recent songs written in 2015. This album also has a specific focus on grief and loss, as well as songs written for children. Several songs on the album were written after I suffered a miscarriage before the birth of my third child. With my ability to sing and write across multiple genres, you will hear jazz, pop, R&B as well as some cultural crossovers from English to Hebrew. There is a little bit of something for almost every genre of music lover out there.

My 2nd album, The Good Shepherd, was birthed during extreme personal pain. It would be during the creation of this album that I would lose both my parents within ten months from one another. My pain, sorrow as well as healing and hope can be heard in the songs from this album. Based on the Aaronic blessing from the book of Numbers, I add more cultural crossovers, as I sing in both Hebrew & English for my song, Yahweh’s Blessing (A Priestly Blessing). Also, on my 2nd album is a tribute to my father, where I re-created the song I performed with him in 1983 entitled Tie Your Dream to Mine, adding to this album a country-western flair. My album, The Good Shepherd is sure to reach the hearts of those who have a love for all genres, but specifically jazz, pop, R&B, as well as country-western music.

My third album, The Return of the King, features several new artists who collaborated with me during the album creation. Artists appearing are Christian heavy metal bands: DAN, Sovereign Cross, as well as the upcoming jazz artist Jordan Rogers – who is also my son. With my latest album release, I give my listeners my best work yet. I have since upped the tempo, adding to the cultural crossover the sounds of Salsa, Mamba, Jazz, R&B, and the classic sounds of Contemporary Christian music.

I’m so appreciative of the grace the Lord has shown me; I wouldn’t be here if it were not for Jesus Christ 1st and foremost. He also brought very specific people into my life to get me to where I am at today. I have come a long way since 2014, and know I can go even further.

Artists who appear on The Return of the King:

I primarily remain a solo artist, but Danny is one person God specifically brought into my life to help get me to this point and time in my musical career. Even though Danny has his own band (lead singer of Christian heavy metal band DAN), he will always be my band partner and producer. I couldn’t have done this without him. Danny collaborated on the song production for many songs found on my new album, as well as singing lead and backup vocals for several of the songs.

God also lead me to Gary B Sullivan, artist of Christian heavy metal band Sovereign Cross, who is the 2nd band featured on my latest album. It would be their song Holy Lord that would be played at my father’s memorial service. The opportunity to sing my version of their songs, with their original music and background vocalists, was an honor for me. My new album features two of Sovereign Cross’s original songs – Holy Lord, and Jesus Fill Us.

Last, but certainly not least, is the contribution to the album from my middle son Jordan Rogers. Jordan is an amazing and highly talented young jazz artist with a natural ear for music. I do not say this simply because he is my son. His ability to create music from the depth of his soul or to re-create a piece he hears is truly a gift from God. I couldn’t be more proud to have him featured on my latest album. Jordan performs the musical arrangement to my song Right Where You Are. Wishing to leave my son with a legacy, I wrote the words as a H.S. graduation gift to him. Added as a bonus track to each of my previous albums, are songs from The Return of the King.

The journey is far from being over, & in many ways, it was only put on hold all those years ago. I do not know where God is leading me or where He will take me from this point forward – I only know that I am to follow Him. I look forward and towards the future and where God will take my music next.

In His service,

Lorraine