The Gospel Music Hall Of Fame
Elvis Connection

Albert E. Brumley of Powell, Missouri, is known and loved as one of the greatest gospel song writers of all time having written such standards as "I'll Fly Away," "I'll Meet You In The Morning," "Jesus Hold My Hand," "There's A Little Pine Log Cabin," and "If We Never Meet Again". His hit gospel songs are too numerous to name as he has written hundreds of songs and they were all hits. He was a friend and associate of such gospel greats as V.O. and Frank Stamps, E.M. Bartlett, and J.R. Baxter, Jr. Together with his sons he owns and operates two gospel music publishing firms, Albert E. Brumley & Sons and Hartford Music Company. His humility and "down-to-earth" manner endear him to all he meets.

Roy Blackwood, age 34, oldest brother in the Blackwood Family, formed the Blackwood Brothers Quartet in 1934 in Choctaw County, Mississippi. Roy Blackwood, Doyle Blackwood (26), their youngest brother James (16), along with Roy's oldest son R.W. Blackwood (13), comprised the original quartet...R.W. Blackwood, baritone singer from 1934 to 1954, and Bill Lyles, bass singer, were killed in an airplane crash on June 30, 1954 in Clanton, Alabama. Following the plane crash, the Blackwoods returned, with Cecil Blackwood singing baritone and J.D. Sumner singing bass...While J.D. was with the group they were the first quartet to travel in a customized bus. he Blackwood Brothers organized the National Quartet Convention in 1956. They also helped charter the Gospel Music Association, were founders of the Skylite Record Company, owned the Stamps Music Company and other music companies...The Blackwoods recorded with RCA for 21 years, won eight Grammy awards and sung on Barbara Mandrell's Grammy Award-winning gospel album. They were two-time winners on the Arthur Godfrey television program and have appeared on TV with Johnny Cash and Tennessee Ernie Ford. They also co-hosted the syndicated TV program "Singing Time in Dixie."..Through the years the group's personnel included piano greats Jack Marshall, Wally Varner and Tommy Fairchild, Jimmy Blackwood followed his father's footsteps in singing lead for quartet for 16 years. The bass singing of "Big" John Hall, London Parris and Ken Turner and the tenor voice of pat Hoffmaster have also played important parts in the Blackwood Brothers' long history.

Ben Lacy Speer, the youngest child of G.T. and Lena Speer, was born in Double Springs, Alabama. He started singing at the age of two and is still very active in gospel music today. He has been one of the most enduring and outstanding lead singers and piano performers in gospel music...In 1946 he opened the Ben Speer Music Company - the first music company to publish Southern Gospel Music in sheet music form. The company is still operating today...Ben chose experimenting with sound equipment as a hobby. He has excelled in this field and is often used as a consultant for sound by his colleagues in gospel music. He has recorded over 75 albums with the Speers, including recordings for Columbia, RCA, and Riversong records. He studied music at Trevecca Nazarene College,Stamps-Baxter School of Music, and with some of the most outstanding voice teachers in the business. Currently, he is General Manager of Stamps-Baxter Music Company; President of Ben Speer Music, and owner and chief engineer of Ben Speer Recording Studios.

The rich heritage of The Speer Family began in 1921 when G.T. "Dad" Sper, a Georgia farm boy turned music teacher, formed the first Speer Quartet, comprised of Dad, his wife Lena (who also played the piano), and his sister and brother in law, Pearl and Logan Claborn. The group gained notoriety, not only for its distinct sound, but for its integration of female voices in a field that was dominated at the time by male-only quartets...As Dad and Mom Speer's children - Brock, Rosa Nell, Mary Tom and Ben - were born, they were taught music and soon began stepping into the group following the Claborns' departure in 1925...When the Speer daughters left to marry and raise their own families, Brock's wife Faye joined the group, and other fine female singers, such as Ann Sanders Dwoning, Sue Chenault Dodge and Jeanne Johnson have made their own mark upon the group's history. After Dad Speer's death, the group needed tenor singers and there have been many, such as Sherrill Nielsen, Charles Yates and Harold Lane...At different intervals in its history, Brock's three children Suzan, Marc and Brian and two of Ben's, Stephen and Darin, have also played roles is the gorup...Currently recording for the Homeland label, The Speers have a recorded legacy that includes more than 70 albums released on a variety of labels, including RCA, Columbia and Benson. Their honors have been numerous, including Grammy nominations and Dove Awards, throughout a career that is 75 years old and still going...Four Speers are already in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame - Dad Speer was inducted the Hall of Fame's first year, Mom Speer in its second, Brock in its fifth year and Ben in 1995. Last year, The Gospel Music Association bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on the group, making them the only group to ever receive that award. This year, The Nashville Entertainment Association honored them with its Heritage Award.

Born in Cochran, Georgia, Mosie Lister became interested in writing at an early age, influenced by his parents who sang in the church choir. They attempted to teach Mosie to sing but discovered that he was tone deaf. He began to study the violin in the eighth grade and this aided his ability to distinguish pitches, and by the age of 17 he was studying harmony and composition, his tone deafness having disappeared...After a tour with the Navy in World War II, in which he studied engineering under the V-12 program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Lister entered Middle Georgia College where he majored in English, studied harmony, counterpoint and arranging for piano and organ...His first serious writing was done for gospel groups that sang in Atlanta in the late 1940's. Professional gospel groups that performed early Lister songs were the Statesmen, the Blackwoods, the Blue Ridge Quartet, the Jordanaires and the LeFevres. In 1948 the Statesmen employed Mosie as an arranger, and in this capacity he introduced a number of new sounds to gospel quartet singing, including the harmony which is used extensively today...Mosie Lister's most-used songs include the following titles: "How Long Has It Been?" "Then I Met The Master," "Where No One Stands Alone," "'Til the Storm Passes By," "The King And I," "I've Been Changed," "I'm Feeling Fine." They have been recorded by such soloists as George Beverly Shea, Jimmy Davis, Elvis Presley, Porter Waggoner, Webb Pierce, Connie Smith, as well as practically all the gospel quartets...From 1953 until late 1969, the songs of Mosie Lister were published under the banner of Mosie Lister Publications, in Tampa, Florida, where he has lived since 1956...A devoted Christian in his personal life as well as in his occupation, Mosie is an ordained deacon at the Riverside Baptist Church of Tampa, where he also finds time to teach a college age Sunday school class and direct the church choir...Their twin daughters, Brenda and Barbara, now both married, Mosie and Wylene, with their toy schnauzer, are now the sole occupants of the home in the carrollwood section of Tampa...In October 1969, Mosie Lister Publications merged with the Lillenas Publishing Company of Kansas City, MO., one of the oldest and largest publishers of music in the evangelical field. This has proved to be a very gratifying association and has freed Mosie from the responsibilities of publishing and distribution, allowing him more time for creative work

On February 14, 1914, Ira F. Stanphill was born in Bellview, New Mexico. He took his college work at Junior College in Coffeyville, Kansas. With only one year of piano instruction at an early age, his musical ability made him proficient in piano, organ, ukelele and the accordion...He began composing at the age of seventeen and started his career as a singer. When Twenty-two, Rev. Stanphill was called to preach. As a singing evangelist, he has preached all over the country and in forty other nations...He has written over 400 songs, many of them in public from titles suggested by his audience. "Mansion Over The Hilltop" has been printed over two million times and over one million copies have been printed of "Room At The Cross". His songs have been published in several foreign languages...His five most popular songs are: "Suppertime", "Mansion Over The Hilltop", "Room At The Cross", "I Know Who HoldsTomorrow", and "Follow Me".

Thomas A. Dorsey was a jazz pianist when he met Christ as Savior in 1921 and dedicated his life to writing gospel songs. Mr. Dorsey has served as head of the National Baptist Convention, and traveled as a song evangelist. At the age of 80, Mr. Dorsey is serving as choir director at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago, a position he has held since 1932. Of the over four hundred songs he has written the most popular, and most often recorded has been a prayer song he worte following the death of his wife and child in 1932, "Take My Hand Precious Lord."

Bill Gaither, long a fan of gospel music, began to sing and write when he was an English teacher in his home town of Alexandria, Indiana. It wasn't long until his music began to spread in popularity and he (along with his wife, Gloria) gave his full time to writing and publishing. One of his earliest songs, "He Touched Me" is propbably his best known but has been followed by hundreds more including "Because He Lives" and "The King is Coming". He has served as a director and an officer of the Gospel Music Association and the membership of the GMA has selected him "Gospel Songwriter of the Year" since 1969.

Gloria Gaither was born on March 4, 1942 in Battle Creek, Michigan...She graduated Cum Laude from Anderson University in 1963 and did graduate work at Ball State University and Anderson Theological Seminary in Anderson, Indiana...She married William J. (Bill) Gaither in 1962 and became a member of a songwriting team that has seen her perform as a lyricist in over 500 songs...She is a noted writer having authored ten (10) books...As a performing artist and member of the Bill Gaither Trio, she has recorded over forty (40) albums. Gloria is co-author on numerous songs that have received the Gospel Music Association "Dove Award". In 1985, she received the "Dove Award" for Song of the Year and Songwriter of the Year...Gloria has received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane letters from four (4) colleges and universities.

As a boy, Bill Gaither dreamed of a career as a gospel singer, running home after school to listen to gospel radio programs. So it was only natural for him to form, along with siblings Danny and Mary Ann, the Bill Gaither Trio in 1956, singing gospel standards memorized from those radio broadcasts and performed around the family piano. The Trio recorded its first custom album in 1958. After graduating from college, Bill met and married a teaching colleague, Gloria Sickal, who eventually became his songwriting partner and joined Bill and Danny in the Trio. Their new upbeat gospel style found many willing listeners. After signing with a major label in 1964, the group went on to build a discography of 33 albums. Over the years the Trio's line-up has changed to include Gary McSpadden and Michael English, but one thing always remained the same - the Gaithers' talent for crafting heartfelt songs of praise. It was through the Trio that the world first heard songs such as "Because He Lives,""He Touched Me,""Something Beautiful" and "Let's Just Praise The Lord." Today audiences can still experience the magic of the Trio when it is occasionally revived on stage with one of the members of the Gaither Vocal Band joining Bill and Gloria in a classic song. Bill, Gloria and the Trio have won two Grammys and 17 Dove Awards, but equally thrilling is hearing a congregation whether large or small - sing one of their more than 500 songs.

The Reverend Cleavant Derrics was born in 1910 at Chattanooga, Tennessee. He studied at Cadek Conservatory of Music in Knoxville, A & I State University and American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville. At age 21, he directed a gospel choir of more than 100 voices in Washington, D.C. at the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church...Cleavant Derricks counted among his friends many well known artists, one of which was Mahalia Jackson. He pastored churches throughout Tennessee at Dayton, Knoxville and Jackson; also in Beloit, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C...Mr. Derricks has many outstanding credits--pastor, church builder, choir director, poet, musician, and composer of note, having written more than 300 songs and several song books. Among his more famous songs are the much-recorded and performed "Just A Little Talk with Jesus", "When God Dipped His Love In My Heart", "We'll Soon Be Done With Troubles and Trials", and "When He Blessed My Soul".

Known as "Georgia's Ambassadors of Good Will," The Statesmen Quartet was formed in 1948 by Hovie Lister, who played piano for his own family group The Lister Brothers Quartet, as well as The LeFevres and others, before organizing the Statesmen...The original group was made up of Mosie Lister (for six months then replaced by Jake Hess). Bobby Strickland, Bervin Kendricks and Gordon Hill. Other notable members have included Doy Ott, Jim (Big Chief) Wetherington, Rosie Rozell, Jack Toney, Cat Freeman, Acil Sword, Sherrill Nielsen and Jim Hill...Recording for many years on the RCA Victor label, the group appeared on such television shows as the Arthur Godfrey Show, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dave Garroway's Wide, Wide World and the Jimmy Dean Show.

Formed originally in 1924, this quartet boasts the longest history of any male quartet. The name Stamps has been associated with gospel music since the early 30's, due to their influence on singing conventions, singing schools, gospel song books, printing and plate making, and much more. The original quartet was the first to record gospel songs for a major recording company. Released on the victor label, "Give the World a Smile" backed with "Love Leads The Way" sold just under a million copies...J.D. Sumner and the Stamps came together in 1963. Sumner, then a member of the Blackwood Brothers, met Frank Stamps while performing in Ft. Worth, TX, and Stamps offered him the opportunity to purchase the Stamps Publishing Company. In 1965, J.D. felt that the tradition of the Stamps Quartet needed to be received and reorganized the group, which performed regularly with Elvis Presley during the height of their success. Elvis, who called the group his favorite singers, once said that, given the choice of voices, he would have chosen to be a bass singer, "just like J.D."..Known in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Lowest Bass Singer, J.D. Sumner is also a GMA Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy Award winner.

W.J. "Jake" Hess was born December 24, 1927, in Limestone County, Alabama. He started his musical career at the age of five with the Hess Brothers Quartet. Later he sang with the Haleyville Melody Boys, John Daniel Quartet, Melody Masters Quartet, and was an original member of the Statesmen Quartet. As lead singer for the Statesmen, he set forth a style which has often been imitated through the years...In 1964 he formed the Imperials Quartet. He was a leader in southern gospel music publishing and television programing...The winner of three Grammy Awards for solo albums and one Dove Award, Jake now sings with the Masters V, and this group won a Grammy for its first album in 1982...He and his wife, Joyce, reside in Brentwood, Tennessee.

In 1964, The Beatles invaded America. At the same time, Jake Hess of the Statesmen Quartet decided to Hand-pick the best singers he could find to put together what he would call a "super group" that would be known as The Imperials: Hess, Armon Morales, Sherrill Nielsen, Gary McSpadden, and Henry Slaughter at piano. Six years later, The Beatles broke up. More than 30 years on, The Imperials and Armond Morales sail on...By the late '60s, the Imperials had changed members substantively, with Hess, Nielsen, McSpadden and Slaughter replaced by Roger Wiles, Jim Muray, Terry Blackwood and Joe Moscheo. The group's new look and sound drew criticism from some circles, but new friends and fans were just around the corner...They recorded and toured with Elvis Presley, as well as Jimmy Dean, with whom they appeared as regulars on his weekly TV show. Appearances in Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe and a myriad of other major TV guest shots of the day were commonplace in the early '70s. But instead of pursuing a secular career like their contemporaries The Oak Ridge Boys, The Imperials made the pivotal decision to return to the gospel world, making a series of landmark recordings that not only raised the standards for the industry at large, but contributed a catalog of songs that remains among the most enduring of all of gospel music...Over the decades the Imperials have seen many member changes, including singers like Sherman Andrus, Russ Taff and Paul Smith, who have gone on to successful solo careers. The group released over 40 albums and has seen 14 of their songs hit #1. The Imperials have won 12 Grammys and 13 Dove Awards, and also had the distinction of being the first Christian act to perform on the Grammy Awards telecast. These were all fitting milestones at the time, for a group that took traditional southern gospel music farther than some thought it should go, and then pioneered a new kind of quartet, helping to define an emerging genre of contemporary Christian music.

J.B. Coats was born on April 6, 1901, in Summerland, Mississippi. He attended the schools of his area and was both a student and lover of music all his life...His formal education was continued with study at Mississippi Southern College and Louisiana State University. He also studied music with Julius Rishing, J.E. and Alvis O. Thomas and T.B. Mosley. When just a lad about fourteen, he began teaching music classes and conducting evangelistic singing. Mr. Coats was a teacher in public schools most of his life...He was the composer of many loved gospel songs with "Where Could I Go" haveing been printed and sung most widely. Others of his outstanding songs are "A Wonderful Place", "My Soul Shall Live On", "I'm Winging My Way Back Home", and "Tomorrow May Mean Goodbye". Many of his songs have beenrecorded by leading quartets and singers...Mr. Coats was associated with Stamps-Baxter Music Company and a lifetime staff writer for them...He joined the Baptist Church and served more than thirty years as a Deacon before answering the call to the ministry. He died on December 15, 1961.

Dottie Rambo began her Gospel Music career at age twelve singing at churches, camp meetings, and youth rallies throughout the South. While performing in her home state of Kentucky, Dottie met the man who was to become her husband and ministry partner, Buck Rambo. Together they answered God's Call, sharing their ministry nationwide including, at age thirteen, the talents of their daughter Reba...As a noted songwriter, Dottie Rambo has written more than 1,500 songs including the 1982 Gospel Music Association Song of the Year, "We Shall Behold Him". Her 1968 solo album, "The Soul of Me", earned her a Grammy Award and her 1982 "Rambo Reunion" and another solo album in 1983, "Makin' My Own Place", both earned Grammy nominations...Currently, Dottie is mainaining a ministry via Christian television. She has spread the Gospel message to children through the musical "Down By The Creek Bank" and "Camp Goo-la-mock-EE". She is a Heart Warming Records (Benson) recording artist.

Ralph Carmichael, President of Lexicon Music, Inc., continues to influence the national church music scene after a quarter of a century of composing, arranging and conducting...From his days in college and before Carmichael has established a precedent for colorful, unique arrangements of original and traditional material. While still in college, one of his first public ventures was the production of a television series which won an Emmy Award in 1951. He has gone from there to attain worldwide attention for his long-play albums, radio and television arrangements and religious film scores. He is remembered for the music in such Billy Graham films ad "Mr. Texas," "For Pete's Sake," "The Restless Ones" and "His Lane," and for producing the music for the Oral Roberts television specials...He has composed over two hundred songs which are being sung around the world, having been translated into a dozen languages. Lexicon Music, Inc., of which he is president, has been a leader in the field of youth music and folk musicals for the past ten years. Ralph has collaborated with Kurt Kaiser to write "Tell It Like It Is," "Natural High" and "I'm Here, God's Here, Now We Can Start," three youth musicals which have set publishing records. A new publication for Christmas, "Specially for Shepherds," premiered in 1977 in over six thousand churches!..In addition to the publishing venture, Carmichael heads a recording company called Light Records. Besides being good listening, their albums are often used as teaching tools, becoming "demonstrations" of the music published by Lexicon. Choirs, by listening to the records and reading the published music, can more rapidly learn the new material. This concept is now being used by most major religious music publishers. The Light label has come to mean innovation and quality, and the catalog lists over two hundred albums, with at least twenty new releases annually. Not content just to "push a pencil," Carmichael has committed himself to a vigorous program of public appearances each year, arranged by the Special Services division of Lexicon. He has flown over a quarter of a million miles, reaching people from coast to coast. MUSICalifornia, a most spectacular gathering of choir directors and church musicians, happens annually under Carmichael's leadership. This concept will soon be expanded to include twelve other major sections of the United States, and he will be joined by most major religious music publishers...In an attempt to further increase the influence of Christian music in America, Carmichael has created a radio division of the Light Records' outreach. Six program formats air over six hundred times monthly...God is honoring his dedication as more than twenty songs have reached over a million copies in print. Historically speaking, his most-known contribution to the field of church music may prove to be the publication of his hymnal, The New Church Hymnal. A quarter of a million in print in less than two years has proved this popular hymnal to be a significant addition. In fact, according to Carmichael, "Lexicon has released the hymn book of the future, because the kids who are singing our tunes today will be leaders of tomorrow." If you'd check the singing in a thousand churches across the country, you might just find out he's right!..In his lifetime, by his own admission, Carmichael has written "every kind of music there is." But you'll never know what kind of music he likes personally. "That is not important," he says. "What is important is the fact that music must communicate the gospel. God has never promised to bless any particular musical form, only to bless His Word. I don't know how many notes I've got left in my pencil, but I want them used to glorify God and present his message to the world."

Rusty Goodman was born in the year 1932 in Vinemont, Alabama into a family of seven children steeped in gospel music...Rusty learned to sing and play the guitar at a very young age and was an accomplished artist on the steel guitar at the age of fourteen...He sang with his family in religious services until he entered the U.S. Army in 1955...After his military duty he spent time in the country music business singing with the popular Martha Carson group. In 1959 he joined the Plainsmen Quartet and travelled with Governor Jimmie Davis until 1962...Rusty moved to Madisonville, KY and rejoined the Goodman family and began to write gospel songs. Some of his most notable are, "I Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now", "Come A Little Closer", "Touch the Hand of the Lord", "Had It Not Been", "It's All Over But the Shoutin'", "Who Am I", and "Until You've Known"...Rusty Goodman the musician, songwriter and singer resided outside Nashville in the city of Gallatin with his wife Billie until his death in November of 1990.

In 1933 a 12-year-old boy arrived early for church every Sunday. Using only two fingers, he would pick out the notes to "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" on the old piano. A flame began in the soul of that young boy that year...one that would lead Howard Goodman to teach his seven younger siblings to sing the Gospel to audiences across America...Known thereafter as the Happy Goodman Family, the total commitment from each family member to do whatever it takes to share the message of God's love with others has brought the group worldwide fame...Howard and his now-deceased brothers, Rusty and Sam, along with Howard's wife Vestal, made up the best-known version of the Happy Goodmans. Howard and Vestal's son Rick joined and at different points in its 50-year history, the group had included brother Bobby Goodman, Howard and Vestal's daughter Vickie, Rusty's daughter Tanya and an assortment of musicians such as Dwayne Friend, Jimmy Dumas, Eddie Crook, Aaron Wilburn and Johnny Minnick...Howard and Vestal were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Christian Artists Seminar in 1997 and, along with Minnick, are continuing the musical journey today through the Gaither "Homecoming" videos and tours and their own personal appearances and recordings.

Charles Tindley was born July 7, 1851 in Berlin, Maryland. He was the son of slave parents and was separated from his parents at the age of four...He learned to read and write at age seventeen moved to Philadelphia where he attended night school and took a correspondence course from the Boston School of Theology...He was ordained to the ministry by the Methodist Church and served pastorates in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The Tindley Temple Methodist Church (formerly the Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church which he pastored) was named in his honor...He wrote many great gospel songs such as: "Nothing Between," "Leave It There," "Stand By Me," "By and By," and "When the Morning Comes." His song "I'll Overcome Someday" (We Shall Overcome) written in 1901 was the theme for the civil rights movement of modern times...The Reverend Charles Albert Tindley died July 26, 1933 in Philadelphia, PA.

Stuart Hamblen has excelled as a radio personality, screen actor, recording artist and songwriter whose songs have found their way to the very top of the popular recording charts aroung the world. He is the author and composer of such great Gospel songs as "It Is No Secret", "Until Then", "How Big Is God", "Let The Sun Shine In", "Open Up Your Heart", "Known Only To Him", "This Ole House", plus a host of others...Stuart was born in 1908 in Kellyville, Texas. His songs, "This Ole House", "Remember Me, I'm The One Who Loves You", and "It Is No Secret", enjoy the status of country standards (which have sold over seven million copies)...Since 1949 he has traveled across the country speaking and singing at Youth for Christ rallies, Billy Graham crusades, and churches with his wife of 43 years, Suzy...He has received the Academy of Country and Western Music Pioneer Award. In 1976 he was inducted in Hollywood's famed Walk of Fame. Stuart's "Cowboy Church of the Air" is heard weekly across the West Coast from Los Angeles to Seattle.

Stuart K. Hine was born in 1899 in Great Britain. In much of Stuart's earlier years he and his wife were missionaries in the Western Ukraine of Russia, where they evangelized as Christian workers and singers. In 1931, Stuart K. Hine and his wife returned to Britain and conducted gospel campaigns throughout Great Britain. During those years, Stuart published many song books and wrote many of his beloved gospel songs...Stuart retired from the active ministry but continued to publish his song books and his music and contributed the majority of his income to various missionary endeavors around the world...Stuart K. Hine's most popular composition is "How Great Thou Art," which is recognized in many polls as the number one Hymn in America. Among his other compositions are "Can There Be One," "O Savior Mine?", "Faith Is The Bridge," and "What Can Cleanse My heart?" Mr. Hine died in 1989.

In February of 1964 Andrae Crouch put a special group together he called "The Disciples," made up of sister Sandra (by then a successful studio percussionist) and vocalists Perry Morgan and Bili Thedford (who also played bass). Their reputation began to spread. Soon they were playing places as prestigious as Disneyland and as far off as Hawaii...In 1966, Andrae' signed a songwriting contract with manna Music. His immediate success as a songwriter led Manna's Tim Spencer to introduce Andrae' to Ralph Carmichael who urged him to record this new and exciting music God was giving him. Carmichael signed the group to Light Records and released their first album, Take The Message Everywhere, in 1970...A single on Liberty Records called "Christian People" in 1970 earned the group its first Grammy nomination, but there would be many more where that came from...Seven albums were recorded during the group's 14-year tenure, two of which would be honored with Doves and two with Grammy awards.

Andrae Crouch was one of a set of twins born to Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Crouch in Los Angeles, California. Andrae's father was in the cleaning business and pastored a church, and it was there that Andrae began to sing and formed his first singing group...Educated in California, he studied at Valley Junior College for a career in teaching. It was during this time that he was called to the ministry and formed the "Disciples". He worked with "Teen Challenge" and the "Addict Choir", while attending Life Bible College...In 1969, Ralph Carmichael urged him to record his compositions. Later many groups and artists began to sing and record his songs. Among the most popular of his hundred of compositions are: "It Won't Be Long", "Keep On Singing", "I Find No Fault In Him" and "Through It All"...Andrae was awarded by the Gospel Music Association the "Dove Award" for Soul Gospel Record of the Year 1977 and 1978 also Contemporary Black Gospel Album (1985) which he co-produced and performed.

One Sunday afternoon, in 1955, the Jordanaires played a show in Memphis with Eddy Arnold. They had just completed the "Eddy Arnold Show" for TV in 1954, and, were in Memphis, publicizing the series. The Jordanaires had sung "Peace In The Valley" on the show that afternoon. When the show was over, a young man, blond, quiet and courteous, and, plenty of combed-back hair, came backstage to meet them. He was Elvis Presley, a young, practically unheard of singer, just getting his start in the area. There were a few polite exchanges, then Elvis said, "If I ever get a recording contract with a major company, I want you guys to back me up." He was on "Sun" at that time. Thinking back to that night, The Jordanaires' first tenor, Gordon Stoker, remembers wishing Elvis well, "But we never expected to hear from him again," he said. "People were always coming up and saying that. We're still told that."

Sure enough!! Elvis recorded his first session with RCA on January 10, 1956, with Scotty, Bill, and, D. J. . That day, "I Got A Woman", "Heartbreak Hotel", and, "Money Honey" were recorded. On January 11, 1956, Gordon Stoker was called by Chet Atkins to do a session with a "new-probably-wouldn't-be-around-long kid, named Elvis Presley"---oily hair, pink shirt, black trousers. RCA had, also, just signed "The Speer Family". Chet asked Gordon to sing with Ben and Brock Speer so he could use them. On that day, "I'm Counting On You" and "I Was The One" made history by being the first recording session that Elvis, did with vocal background. By April 1956, "Heartbreak Hotel" was "No. 1". After having done several more recording sessions in New York with Scotty, Bill and D. J., Elvis flew to Nashville on April 14, 1956, to record "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You". Gordon was called, again, to sing a vocal trio with Ben and Brock. After the session, Elvis took Gordon aside and told him (not knowing, at the time, why all the Jordanaires were not there) that he wanted "the" Jordanaires on all his future recording sessions. This time, Stoker saw to it that it was known - and - true to his word - Elvis used the Jordanaires on nearly every one of his recording sessions for the next 14 years. At a time when no backing musicians, producers, or engineers received a name recognition on any records, Elvis insisted that he have the "Jordanaires" on the "labels" of his records. The reflected glory was enough to earn the Jordanaires "Group of the Year" awards well into the Beatles era.

The Jordanaires were familiar with Elvis by 1956, partially because, Hank Snow had told the Grand Ole Opry artists that there was a young man "...tearing up the stage..." on some of the Country shows and that "...no one would follow him...", and, that, "...when he left the stage, the audience went with him...". Elvis was, certainly, familiar with the Jordanaires. Of all the music Elvis knew and loved, it was the gospel quartets that touched him so deeply. The Jordanaires were among Elvis' favorites, because, he heard them every Saturday night on the Grand Ole Opry. Formed in 1948 in Springfield, Missouri, the Jordanaires had arrived in Nashville in 1949, immediately securing a spot on the Opry. Their music was spirited and black-influenced, very much in keeping with Elvis's tastes. "We were the first white quartet to sing spirituals...", Gordon Stoker asserted. It was music that moves, that you can snap your fingers to.". Elvis could relate.

The group, Bill and Monty Matthews (brothers, and, no relation to Neal), Bob Hubbard, and, Culley Holt who all hailed from Springfield, MO., soon changed. In 1950, Gordon Stoker replaced the lead tenor, in '52 Hoyt Hawkins replaced the baritone, in '53 Neal Matthews became the second tenor, and, bass singer Culley Holt, left in December '54 to be replaced by Hugh Jarrett. It was this line-up consisting of Stoker, Hawkins, Matthews and Jarrett which made up the group that backed Elvis on most of his sessions in the mid '50s. They also appeared in his movies, and on some of his landmark television appearances. Hugh Jarrett left in 1958 and was replaced by bass singer, Ray Walker. This line-up remained for the next 24 years. Hoyt Hawkins died in 1982, and was replaced by Duane West, who had filled the baritone part, intermittently, since Hoyt had first fallen ill in the '70s. Duane became ill in 1999 and Louis Nunley stepped in. Neal passed away in April of 2000, and, Curtis Young has stepped in. Now the Jordanaires consists of Gordon Stoker, Ray Walker, Louis Nunley, and, Curtis Young.

The original LeFevre Trio was formed in 1921 in Smithville, Tennessee, by Alphus, his brother Urias and sister Maude. The group used the name of the BTS Quartet from 1929-32 while attending Bible Training School (not Lee College) in Cleveland, Tennessee, consisting then of Alphus, Urias, B.C. Robinson and James McCoy, who also sang with the Homeland Harmony Quartet...Eva Mae joined the group in 1934 when she was married to Urias, and the group has been a family affair ever since. During the early '40s the group experienced widespread popularity, with Jim "Pappy" Waites as bass singer and Hovie Lister on piano for a time, before leaving to form The Statesmen...One of the most revered incarnations of the group included Urias and Eva Mae's son Pierce LeFevre, Jimmy Jones and Rex Nelon in 1960. Pierce's brother Mylon, who wrote the classic "Without Him" at age 17, spent several years with the group in the '60s and '70s and went on to become a leader in the contemporary Christian music arena. The vision is being passed on to the third generation in the form of Mylon's son-in-law, Peter Furler, the driving force behind the Christian rock group Newsboys...Rex Nelon took over the reigns of the group in the '70s and is still functions today under the name The Nelons. Now in her 80s, Eva Mae LeFevre still regularly performs.