Rickie Byars Beckwith, a gifted composer and singer who has healed the hearts and lifted the spirit of countless listeners, presents the release of her debut book, Let My Soul Surrender. The book is accompanied in an exquisite package by her eighth solo CD of the same name. Rickie BB, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, carries on in the soul and rhythm & blues tradition of Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield, Sam Cooke and the music of Motown, Liverpool and Stax Records. Her talent has earned her a dedicated international fan base and over 100,000 records independently sold worldwide.

Never one to rest on her laurels, Rickie has been inspired to author an exceptional book of poetic prose, memoir and storytelling styles that converge in a colorful mosaic of imagery and memories. Her stories are embellished by the graphic design of Judi Paliungas and paintings by artist extraordinaire, Dudley Declaime Perkins (of SomeOthaShipConnect). Award-winning photographers Bonnie Schiffman, Shawn Keane, and Carl Studna; and amazing fashion designers that include House of SITA and the Wilbourn Sisters round out the project. Cascading with grace, rhythm and Rickie's  trademark honesty, humor and home-spun wisdom, Let My Soul Surrender provides an intimate look at how the Spirit works through the artist in the creation of her music.

Every song has a story, and Rickie knows how to tell it. Beckwith acknowledges, “In this project, I accepted the voice inside of me. I let go of the chatter in my head that measured my gifts against those of others. MY story is what I wanted to share. I wanted photographs and paintings that would support the stories that needed to jump off the page. I wanted people to feel what I feel when I write a song.  I wanted people to meet a part of me they had never heard or seen. All of this and a GREAT CD is what the hoopla is all about!” In a real sense “Let My Soul Surrender: Grace Notes of the Journey,” reveals the soul of a storyteller, and how she transforms it into her music.

For the accompanying CD Rickie has assembled a crew of musicians and singers the likes of Georgia Anne Muldrow, Diva Gray, James Gadson, Ndugu Chancler, Sekou Bunche and Parliament Funkadelic’s Ricky Rouse. Grammy Award winning producer John Barnes, who produced and co-wrote with Michael Jackson and has platinum and gold records from Lionel Ritchie, Pointer Sisters, Janet Jackson, and Toni Braxton projects, is project manager.

Beckwith is currently on a world tour to promote her new book and CD.

Rickie Byars Beckwith is Music and Arts Director of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Culver City, California where she directs the world famous 200-voice Agape International Choir and House Band. Rickie and her husband, Michael Bernard Beckwith, founder of Agape, form a prodigious and powerful partnership that has produced a dynamic catalogue of original songs that evoke and support transformational healing through the power of music. Rickie has recorded eight original solo albums including “I Found a Deeper Love,” “In the Land of I Am,” “Soul Fulfilling,” “From Within,” “Pray For Me,” “Supreme Inspiration,” “The Love Project” and “Let My Soul Surrender.” She has appeared with Grammy-Award winning recording artists John Legend and Will.i.am at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Democratic National Convention, at Lincoln Center, the United Nations, the Jefferson Memorial, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, The Freedom Awards, the CNN Hero Awards, Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Terminal Island Federal Prison and to sold-out audiences at Royce Hall, the John Anson Ford Amphitheater, and the Getty Center.

Track Listing

1.      Let My Soul Surrender

2.      One With the One

3.      Main Line

4.      Move Mood Interlude

5.      In God’s Hands

6.      A Mighty Gift

7.      Heavenly Body

8.      About Robbie

9.      Sanctified Mabel

10.  Discovery Interlude

11.  Pure Agape Love

12.  Prelude In the Right Way

13.  Move In the Right Way

14.  Interlude for Nokware

15.  Let My Soul Surrender (Live Version)