Phipps was born in Trinidad and Tobago, but at an early age moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He attended Kingsway College in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, and later Oakwood College, a Seventh-day Adventist college in Huntsville, Alabama, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology. Phipps earned a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. He currently serves as pastor of the Palm Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church in Palm Bay, Florida. Wintley is married to Linda Galloway, whom he met at Oakwood, and they have three sons.
Wintley has performed for American presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama at several National Prayer Breakfast events and other celebrations. He performed for the 1984 and 1988 Democratic National Conventions, Rosa Parks' 77th Birthday gala at the Kennedy Center, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and former South African President Nelson Mandela.
He has appeared on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. television special, Dr. Robert Schuller's Hour of Power Telecast, and the Billy Graham Crusades; at the Vatican, and as guest soloist at Diana Ross' wedding ceremony in Switzerland, on Saturday Night Live, Soul Train, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He has conducted lectures in Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, and North and South America.
The history of "Amazing Grace" and sung by Whitley Phipps.
