orey Laney shouldn’t be singing. Or walking or talking for that matter. He should be a statistic. Born to a drug-addicted mother and an absent father, Corey’s chances for life, not to mention a singing career, seemed to be slipping away before he was even old enough to walk.

Thankfully, overwhelming odds are no match for a loving and powerful God.

Sixteen years later, evidence of Corey’s turbulent past is difficult to find. All that’s apparent is his compelling passion for Christ and a maturity and sense of purpose that far transcends his tender age.

A gifted singer and songwriter, Corey’s flourishing southern gospel career enables him to deliver his message of hope and redemption to people throughout the South and beyond.

This fall, he is set to launch a tour to promote the release of his third CD, “By Your Side.” “The last two CDs were gospel hymns and classics that I spiced up a little,” he says. “My new CD includes a lot of my own songs.”

“Everyone who meets Corey is impressed with his incredible talent and character,” says Norma Clark, Corey’s paternal grandmother. “All along, God has had his hand on Corey.”

Singer Corey Laney.

Corey’s memories of his birth mother are scant but vivid. “I remember her being passed out on the bed for two or three days at a time,” he says. “I’d wonder, ‘Why isn’t my mama getting up? Why can’t I get anything to eat?’ A lot of times what we did eat came out of the garbage.”

Even then, God provided for Corey in the form of a sweet neighbor. “When there was lots of fighting at home and things were bad, I would run over to her house,” he says. “She’d put on gospel music, sit me on her lap and rock me. God used her to help me get through it.”

A turning point

Corey Laney, age 3,  singing in church.

At age 3, Corey’s life took a positive turn when his mother agreed to allow him to live with her brother who was a minister.

“He’s the only family member on my mom’s side who’s not a drug addict. I was one of seven nieces and nephews that my uncle was raising because his brothers and sisters couldn’t care for their own children,” he says. “It was a crazy household with all those kids, but it was warm and loving.”

It was also a place that ignited Corey’s passion for music. “You can’t live in a minister’s house and not listen to gospel music. It was on the radio all the time,” he says.

During this time, Corey’s grandmother and her husband, Lyle (he affectionately refers to them as Ma-maw and Pa-paw), also became more involved in his life. “We lived an hour and a half from Corey, but he’d visit and we’d take him to church with us,” says Norma. “Lyle and I married 17 years ago. He has always been Pa-Paw to Corey.”  

At his uncle’s church, Corey met Tina, a woman who would shape his life forever, even though she was tragically killed in a car accident four years ago.

“Tina was the church’s choir leader and a very special lady. She would always have me come up to the pulpit and sing with them. I knew then that this was what I wanted to do,” says Corey. “When I first started singing in churches, most of the songs I sang were ones that Tina taught me.”

Called for a purpose

When Corey was 7, the court awarded his grandparents full custody of Corey. “My uncle and his family loved me, but Ma-maw and Pa-paw gave me a kind of parental love that I had never had before,” he says. “They helped heal my past.”

Corey Laney.

Norma says raising Corey was all in God’s plan. “Over the years, my husband has battled a rare cancer, congestive heart failure and bacterial meningitis,” says Norma. “Each time, God intervened. I believe he is here because God knew Corey needed a father.”

Corey needed a personal relationship with his heavenly Father, too. When he was 9, on the way home after football practice, Corey and his grandparents passed a country church holding a revival.

“I felt God wanted us to stop. So, in my muddy football uniform I went inside. A few minutes later, the pastor gave an altar call,” says Corey. “I went forward and accepted Christ as my Savior.”

As time passed, he felt God telling him to quit football and focus on developing his music ministry.

“A man we met owned a studio and helped me produce my first two CDs. I sang in local churches and started sending songs out to radio stations,” says Corey. “Soon I was singing in bigger churches and meeting people who helped me expand my audience.”

Faith Harmony Boys Quartet with Corey Laney.

Southern gospel group, Faith Harmony Boys Quartet.

In addition to his solo touring, Corey is also lead singer for the Faith Harmony Boys Quartet, a group of men who have sung together for 25 years. But it almost never happened. “The other group members weren’t too excited about bringing a 14-year-old boy into the group,” says Norma. “Finally, they listened to Corey’s CD and were blown away by his voice. And when they met him, they saw his maturity.”

Stepping out, standing firm

Stepping out into ministry was costly. Corey lost friendships and was ridiculed by peers. “They called me ‘Jesus Freak’ and ‘Bible Boy’ and all kinds of nasty names. Those words hurt,” says Corey.

His courage and conviction eventually earned their respect. “Kids still stay things behind my back, but when they have problems, they usually come to me,” he says. “One day, a girl told me that she thought about something I said and began wondering where she’d go if she died. We knelt down right there in the school cafeteria and she accepted Christ.”

Corey also shares his story with young people at the churches where he performs. “I tell them that they’re never too young to do something for God and that their lives are never too messed up for God to fix,” he says.   

Corey has more than 150 tour dates this year, primarily in the South, although he expects the number of dates and locations to increase as he promotes his new CD.

“We are hoping to tour nationwide,” he says. “My dream is to one day have a family group with my wife and kids. Singing full time is what I want to do.”

He knows, after all, that anything is possible with God.

To listen to Corey’s music or purchase his CD,  visit www.coreylaneyministries.com. To listen to the Faith Harmony Boys or purchase their CDs, visit http://faithharmonyboys.com.