Gary Jenkins

Gary Jenkins
Gary Jenkins in live stage performance 2005
Background information
Birth name	Gary E. Jenkins
Born	Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Genres	R&B
Instruments	Singer, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, keyboards
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Anaphora
Associated acts	Silk, Blayse
Website	http://www.garygjenkins.com

Gary "Lil G" Jenkins is an American musician. He is the lead singer of the R&B group Silk. Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, he is the youngest of seven children.

Gary began singing in church at the age of seven, which earned him a role as a featured soloist on BET's The Bobby Jones Gospel Show for many years. By the age of nine, Gary had mastered the guitar after only a few lessons and had self-taught an assortment of keyboards, drums and guitars.

While attending Tennessee State University (TSU) in Nashville, Gary majored in music, with an emphasis in piano and voice. As a member of the prestigious TSU Jazz Collegians, he was selected to accompany Dizzy Gillespie on piano during Gillespie's visit to the school. He also appeared in several opera productions and performed with the , TSU's marching band program.

In 1992, Gary answered an audition call and earned the role as lead singer for Keith Sweat's newly formed R&B group Silk. Their career began with the success of "Freak Me" and "Lose Control" from Silk's 1992 debut album Lose Control. Their career spanned the globe for nearly ten years, with more than five million records sold. In September 1994, Jenkins appeared in the R&B group, Black Men United and with his group Silk and mentor Keith Sweat on the single, "U Will Know" from the soundtrack to the movie, Jason's Lyric. The success of their second album, Silk, led to the follow-up, Tonight. Remaining consistent, they released their fourth album, Love Session in 2001. The group gained national recognition with his appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live with Regis and Kathi Lee, MTV, BET, Soul Train, Jenny Jones, Ricki Lake, Moesha, Showtime At The Apollo and Motown Live among others. Achieving international acclaim, Gary has toured throughout the world in such countries as Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, France, the Netherlands and Germany.