Gospel Singer and Entrepreneur Bobbi Lane Offers Light in the Darkness

By Robert M. Marovich

In mid-2023, gospel singer Bobbi Lane’s father, Pastor Abram Lane of True Vine Church of God in Christ in Kankakee, Illinois, passed away. If that wasn’t enough grief, three months later, she lost her sister, Hafizah “Wanda” Lane-Roth.

“That particular sister was like a second mother to me,” Bobbi Lane told the Journal of Gospel Music. “To lose a person like that, and my father, who was the reason I do what I do, I found myself in an extremely dark place. I questioned God. I didn’t want to continue music, and I didn’t even want to be here anymore.”

In the midst of her grieving, Lane wrote “Light in a Dark Place.” It’s the latest single from her EP, Unmatched Grace, released last November on her own label Taylor Music Group. “This song got me through,” she said, “and it’s still carrying me through.”

Born in Bourbonnais, Illinois, the tenth child of ten children, Bobbi Lane grew up in True Vine COGIC, where her father was the pastor. Naturally, all of the children were involved in the church. “Whatever needed to be done, we did it,” Lane said.

That included participating in the church’s music ministry. “Singing is a big part of the Pentecostal church, as it is with other churches,” Lane said. “I was in the youth choir at the age of six or seven.”

Lane’s singing influences run from fellow COGIC members the Clark Sisters and the Anointed Pace Sisters to the Mighty Clouds of Joy and the Canton Spirituals. “I was influenced by a lot of different artists,” Lane said, “but growing up in a Christian household, we weren’t allowed to listen to secular music. So when my parents left the house, we listened to Aretha Franklin. One of the girls would be by the door to listen when they returned!”

At around age eight or nine, Lane took a solo with the choir. “The reaction was overwhelming,” she said. “It was a feeling that you can’t describe unless you experience it. That’s where it all started.”

Later, she and her sisters Barbara, Rhonda, and Alice formed a singing group called the Lane Sisters. They sang traditional gospel with their own contemporary twist. They also provided the music for their father when he traveled around to preach. Their first and only album together, Hold Onto God’s Unchanging Hand, was released in 1999 on First Lite, a South Carolina-based label. Their music was played on gospel radio.

The Lane Sisters disbanded after the sisters got married and started careers. But about five or six years ago, Bobbi said God gave her a word about having her own music ministry. She began writing, singing solos, and releasing singles, “Nothing Like the God I Serve” among them.

“The world is in a state of darkness and it’s very easy to lose sight of your purpose,” Lane said about the genesis of that particular song. “You can be discouraged, but if you remember that there’s nothing like the God you serve, and if you continue to serve God, he will be everything you need, if you let him.”

She wrote “Light in a Dark Place” to mitigate the grief she felt after the loss of her father and sister. “God spoke to me and said, ‘You may not understand things, you may feel things are unfair, but I am God and I don’t make mistakes. Turn to me and let me be a comfort to you. I am the way out.’ Everybody has been in a dark place in their life at some point. I want the song to bless others. If you let God, he will be the light for you.”

Unmatched Grace is Lane’s first EP as a solo artist. It includes “Light in a Dark Place” and “Nothing Like the God I Serve,” as well as several others. She wrote the songs and David Davis produced all but “I’m Saved,” which was produced by Brian Lofton, a relationship cemented through Bishop Larry Trotter.

“God shows us grace even when we don’t deserve it,” Lane said about the message of the title track. “He’s shown me grace by not leaving me, by keeping me in my right mind. The grace that God has bestowed upon us cannot be compared to anything.”

About Unmatched Grace, Bobbi Lane says she wants listeners to be encouraged, “knowing that God is still on the throne, that no matter what you go through in life, you have to trust and believe that God will make a way. Don’t give up.”

The six-track EP was released on Taylor Music Group, Lane’s own record company. “I had been offered record deals with other labels, but the details were not for me,” Lane explained. “My husband and I talked about it and realized we could do this. When this is your calling, it is extremely important that your significant other is on board with you.”

Lane’s creative touch to gospel music has inspired comments about her being an innovative and cutting-edge artist. She is now working on her second project, which she promises will include “amazing” feature artists. Meanwhile, she is promoting Unmatched Grace by singing around the Southeastern U.S. and is off to minister in New Orleans this month.

“God didn’t give us the spirit of fear; he gave us the spirit of love,” Bobbi Lane said. “There’s so much division, negativity, but God is love. If we are to be like Christ, and know that God is love, and we start to spread love, one by one, we can make the world better. It won’t happen overnight, but if we all do our small part, we will make a difference.”