Monroe High School graduate Bishop Rance Allen’s singing performance for President and Mrs. Obama will be broadcast at 9 p.m. tonight over PBS television.  Bishop Allen had performed in April in a concert at the White House for the Obamas when he sang “I Stood on the Banks of Jordan.”  The performance was part of a program entitled “The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House.”  It was recorded live for presentation tonight.

                Bishop Allen is believed to be the only Monroe High School graduate ever to perform before a sitting President.  During his career he has been nominated for Grammy Awards and also has received a Stellar Gospel Music Award.  Monroe residents will recall his career start as a member of the Rance Allen Group, which was an extremely popular singing team beginning in 1969 and that won numerous awards.

                Although Bishop Allen now is based in Toledo, he told the Monroe News, “Monroe is my home town.  It’s the place where I got started.”