Gospel singer Delois Barrett Campbell dies at 85

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CHICAGO (AP) -- When she sang "Fly Away," Delois Barrett Campbell's voice soared to the church rafters and her joy raised the roof.

The gospel legend (middle of the photo) was the oldest of the three singing Barrett Sisters, who electrified audiences worldwide with their powerful harmonies. She died Tuesday at a Chicago hospital at age 85, daughter Mary Campbell said. Delois Campbell's health had been deteriorating and she had been hospitalized at least twice in recent months.

"I believe she was born to sing," Mary Campbell said of her mother. "Each time she sang it was as if she were performing to a cathedral full of people, no matter how small the group was."

The Barrett Sisters, raised on Chicago's South Side and coached to sing by an aunt, grew up to become what music critic Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune has called "the greatest female trio in gospel history."

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