Real name: Thomas Lee Barrett, Jr.

Effective period / Period of releases: 1971 - 2024

Pastor T. L. Barrett (Born January 13, 1944) led a youth choir out of Chicago during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He’s known for recording the classic, much-sought gospel record "Like A Ship…(Without A Sail)". Barrett is a preacher on Chicago's South Side who released gospel albums in the 1970s; as a musician, he was largely unknown outside of Chicago until a resurgence in interest in his music occurred in the 2010s. Barrett was charged in 1989 with orchestrating a pyramid scheme, by encouraging his congregants to donate to a series of economic development fundraisers which yielded over two million dollars in total. He was ordered to repay 1.2 million dollars by 1998, which he did successfully.