He first debuted with his brothers on Light Records with the release of “Introducing The Winans” which was nominated for a Grammy. Then followed up with the release of “Long-time Coming” which was also nominated for a Grammy.
In 1985 Carvin was recognized with the most prestigious accolade in the industry when he won a Grammy Award for the album “Tomorrow” which he wrote the title track for. He and the brothers signed with Quincy Jones at Qwest records in 1986 where they recorded six albums, four of which were Grammy award winners. Such as “Live at Carnegie Hall”, and “The Winans Return” which was certified GOLD. Carvin has been nominated for a Grammy a total of 11 times and has won 5 in total!
Along with the Grammy’s he received several NAACP Image awards, Soul Train awards, Dove awards, and Stellar awards, as a member of the Winans. Carvin has written songs for Regina Belle (Make it like it was), which held the #1 R&B spot in Billboard magazine and also won him a Gold Record. Whitney Houston (LOVE IS), Peabo Bryson (Life Goes On), Winans Phase II (Too much heaven), and Vanessa Bell Armstrong (Here’s to you).
Carvin sang background vocals on “Man in the Mirror” produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson. He sang with Kenny Loggins on “Imaginary Life”, and Michael McDonald on “Love has no color”.
Carvin also performed on “The Winans Real Meaning of Christmas” show, which aired in 1992 and 1993. He was host and Executive Producer in 2000 of “All Access with Carvin Winans” which aired for two seasons on WDIV TV with numerous celebrity guests such as Debbie Allen, Gladys Knight, Kirk Franklin, and Brian McKnight to name a few.
In 2002 Carvin performed on a sold out world tour with the Winans family in front of millions of fans which closed out in Detroit at the Fox Theatre.