Who is Ricky Dillard? Ricky Dillard is an American gospel singer, songwriter and choir director born in 1965 in Chicago Heights, Illinois. In 1988 he founded the New Generation Chorale, with which he developed a choral style blending traditional gospel, R&B, funk and house music. An eight time Grammy Award nominee, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2025.
Ricky Dillard grew up in Chicago Heights, Illinois, and started singing in his church choir at the age of five. He led the youth choir at St Bethel Baptist Church, then founded the first gospel choir at Bloom Township High School in 1981. Between 1987 and 1988, he also spent time in Chicago's house music scene alongside figures like Frankie Knuckles, before returning fully to gospel.
In 1988, he founded Ricky Dillard's New Generation Chorale, later renamed NG, with which he developed a choral style blending traditional gospel, R&B, funk and dance music. His first album, Promise, was released in 1990 and opened a discography that now includes more than a dozen projects. An eight time Grammy Award nominee, he received the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2025.
- Origin
- Chicago Heights, Illinois, USA
- Style
- Traditional gospel choir, tinged with R&B, funk and house
- Active since
- 1988, with the founding of the New Generation Chorale
- Good to know
- Inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2025
How did Ricky Dillard get started?
Ricky Rydell Dillard was born on February 25, 1965, in Chicago Heights. Raised on the gospel music of his mother and grandmother, he sang in a church choir from the age of five. As a teenager, he led the youth choir at St Bethel Baptist Church and founded the first gospel choir at Bloom Township High School in 1981, which he attended until graduating in 1984.
Before devoting himself fully to gospel, Dillard spent time in 1987 in Chicago's emerging house music scene, where he worked with producers like Frankie Knuckles, Farley Jackmaster Funk and Larry Heard. The following year, in 1988, he founded Ricky Dillard's New Generation Chorale, which won the McDonald's Chicagoland choir competition as early as 1989, the starting point of a recording career launched in 1990 with the album Promise.
What makes Ricky Dillard distinctive?
Ricky Dillard's time in house music shows through in all of his choral work: his arrangements blend the power of traditional gospel with R&B, funk and dance rhythms, a sonic signature that has left a lasting mark on the genre since the 1990s. His discography, spanning more than thirty years up to the collaborative album Sweet, Sweet Spirit with Ron Carter, has earned him eight Grammy Award nominations, the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, and induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2025.
Where should you start with Ricky Dillard?
His renditions of traditional hymns alongside Ron Carter, like Open My Eyes or Pass Me Not, show how he revisits the classic choral repertoire with his choir's energy. Farther Along, recorded with the vocal group The Baylor Project, shows his ability to bring different generations of gospel together on the same stage.
songs
Open My Eyes
Choral rendition of the traditional hymn Open My Eyes, recorded as a duet with singer Ron Carter.
Pass Me Not
Live recording of the traditional hymn Pass Me Not, carried by Ricky Dillard's voice alongside Ron Carter.
Farther Along
Live rendition of the hymn Farther Along, recorded with Ron Carter and the vocal group The Baylor Project.
Discography
- 2026Sweet, Sweet Spirit (avec Ron Carter)
- 2024Choirmaster II (Live)
- 2022Breakthrough : The Exodus (Live)
- 2020Choirmaster
- 201710
- 2014Amazing
- 2011Keep Living
- 2004Unplugged : The Way Church Used to Be
- 1990Promise
Read also
Frequently asked questions
Who is Ricky Dillard?
Ricky Dillard is an American gospel singer, songwriter and choir director born in 1965 in Chicago Heights, Illinois. Founder of the New Generation Chorale in 1988, he is one of the leading figures in contemporary American choral gospel.
What is the New Generation Chorale?
It is the choir Ricky Dillard founded in 1988 in Chicago, later renamed NG. It has accompanied him on almost his entire discography and embodies his choral style blending traditional gospel, R&B and funk.
Is Ricky Dillard a Christian?
Yes. Ricky Dillard is an evangelical gospel artist whose entire career, from leading a church choir to his studio and live albums, is rooted in Christian worship.
Has Ricky Dillard won a Grammy Award?
He has been nominated eight times for a Grammy Award without winning yet, but he has received several Stellar Awards and Dove Awards, as well as the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.
What is Ricky Dillard's best known song?
His album Amazing, nominated for a Grammy Award in 2015, remains one of the high points of his discography. His recent hymn renditions with Ron Carter, like Open My Eyes, have also reached a wide audience.
Where can you listen to Ricky Dillard?
His music is available on streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer, as well as on his official YouTube channel RICKYDILLARDTV and his website rickydillardofficial.com.