Darrell was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, spending every summer of his youth with relatives in rural South Carolina, giving him a taste of the culture and music of both the North and South.

With God-given musical gifts, and growing up in a household and extended family of talented musicians whose lives were all centered around the church and Gospel music, it came as no great surprise to anyone when Darrell was singing solos for the congregation by the age of 11.

“As far back as I can remember,” says Darrell, “I always thought of singing just as my life. When you’re a kid you’re too young to be considering things like careers. Singing was just all I ever did. I never gave any thought to do anything else. When I did get old enough to be making life decisions, music—professionally and in ministry—was my focus and the only goal I ever had.”

After high school, Darrell took a stab at several nine-to-five, workaday jobs, none of which lasted long, much less pulled him away from the dreams and plans he’d already made. A number of Darrell’s uncles had a locally popular group in Brooklyn called the Spiritual Voices, which Darrell joined as a youngster; but by his teens Darrell was already marching to his own beat.

Wanting to pursue his own musical ideas, and with a career commitment in his mind and on his heart, Darrell left the family group in 1980, forming the Golden Sons, the first of two Gospel quartets he would helm in the years to come. The band consisted largely of cousins with whom Darrell also attended church, as well as a manager who brought to the young act the distinct assets of both sound equipment and a van in which to transport it and the group.

After only a couple of years, Darrell again found himself in a group that didn’t share his commitment to music as a full-time pursuit and profession. When he heard that his childhood hero, Willie Banks, was looking for a singer, Darrell packed his bags for Banks’ home in Jackson, Mississippi, where he auditioned for and landed his first full-time, professional job in music, with a group that toured the country almost constantly.