44-569: William James Gaither (born March 28, 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music . He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria ; he is also known for performing as part of the Bill Gaither Trio and the Gaither Vocal Band . In the 1990s, his career gained a resurgence (as well as the careers of other southern gospel artists), as popularity grew for
88-496: A communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as (in terms of the varying music styles) to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music . Sometimes known as " quartet music" for its traditional "four men and a piano" set up, southern gospel has evolved over the years into a popular form of music across the United States and overseas, especially among baby boomers and those living in
132-418: A devout love for God or an earthly love for a man or woman. Becoming popular through songbooks, such as those published by R. E. Winsett of Dayton, Tennessee , southern gospel was and is one of the few genres to use recordings, radio, and television technologies from the very beginning for the advancements of promoting the genre. One of the longest-running print magazines for southern gospel music has been
176-534: A distinct genre, is generally considered to be 1910. The year the first professional quartet was formed for the purpose of selling songbooks for the James D. Vaughan Music Publishing Company in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee . Nonetheless, the style of the music itself had existed for at least 35 years prior—although the traditional wisdom that southern gospel was "invented" in the 1870s by circuit preacher Everett Beverly
220-557: A few years it developed a list of its own, and began publishing Bible editions. The Berkeley Version appeared in 1959, and the Amplified Bible in 1965. The New International Version New Testament was published in partnership with the International Bible Society in 1973, and the complete NIV Bible appeared in 1978. The company was bought by HarperCollins , a division of News Corp , in 1988, and
264-537: A major in English and a minor in music, after which he worked as an English teacher. He married the former Gloria Sickal in 1962. Gaither earned his master's degree from Ball State in 1961, Gaither entered into the fledgling Gospel Music Association, founded in 1964, and helped organize the first Dove Awards ceremony in 1969. He tried for a few years to manage both a music career and his full-time teaching job, but he quit his teaching job in 1967 and worked full-time in
308-403: A sound with an edge to it. The traditional style southern gospel singers employ a more classical singing style. Lyrically, most progressive southern gospel songs are patterned after traditional southern gospel in that they maintain a clear evangelistic and/or testimonial slant. Southern gospel purists view lyrical content and the underlying musical style as the key determining factors for applying
352-502: Is spurious. The existence of the genre prior to 1910 is evident in the work of Charles Davis Tillman (1861–1943), who popularized "The Old Time Religion", wrote "Life's Railway to Heaven" and published 22 songbooks. Some of the genre's roots can be found in the publishing work and "normal schools" or singing schools of Aldine S. Kieffer and Ephraim Ruebush . Southern gospel was promoted by traveling singing school teachers, quartets, and shape note music publishing companies such as
396-935: Is the company's principal Christian book publishing division. Scott Macdonald was appointed president and CEO in May 2011. Zondervan also publishes many other books by Christian authors focusing on topics of interest to Christians. In the 1970s it published The Late, Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey , which has sold more than 30 million copies. The publisher is also known for the Bible storytelling books of Ethel Barrett , Joni by quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada , Baptist minister and author Rick Warren 's The Purpose Driven Life , which has sold more than 35 million copies, and Sacred Marriage, by Gary Thomas . In 2004, Zondervan expanded to include Renee Altson , Shane Claiborne , Sarah Raymond Cunningham and Margaret Feinberg , authors writing for young readers . The children's arm of
440-610: Is usually a collaborative project between the two. As of 2005, they had composed 600 songs and by 2012 that number had increased to over 700. After graduating high school, Gaither took a job in 1955 at Worthington, Ohio 's radio station WRFD as a member of the station's gospel quartet. Since Gaither first began singing with the Bill Gaither Trio in the 1950s, he has constantly been performing. The trio originally consisted of Bill, his brother Danny Gaither and his sister Mary Ann Gaither. In about 1964 Bill's wife, Gloria, took
484-711: The Gaither Homecoming series. In 2023 he released a secular music album with the Gaither Vocal Band entitled “Love Songs”. Bill Gaither was born in Alexandria, Indiana , in 1936 to George and Lela Gaither. He formed his first group the Bill Gaither Trio (consisting of Bill, his sister Mary Ann (1945–2018), and brother Danny Gaither (1938–2001) in 1956 while a college student at Anderson College , to which he had transferred after one year at Taylor University . He graduated from Anderson in 1959 with
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#1732798354364528-557: The A. J. Showalter Company (1879) and the Stamps-Baxter Music and Printing Company . Over time, southern gospel came to be an eclectic musical form with groups singing traditional hymns, a capella (jazz-style singing with no instruments) songs, country, bluegrass, spirituals, and "convention songs". Because it grew out of the musical traditions of white musicians from the American South, the name Southern gospel
572-834: The Brentwood, Tennessee -based Chapel Hill Music Group, which later changed its name to Spring Hill Music Group . It was created as part of the Gaither Music Company to handle in-house productions, including the Gaither Homecoming series. Gaither has been a father figure and career booster to many younger performers in the Christian music industry , while helping to prolong the careers of those who came before him for example by producing Homecoming recordings and tours. The following are all CCM artists who either got their start or became popular while touring with
616-910: The Christian music industry . He recorded his breakthrough song " He Touched Me " in 1964. Gaither was influenced by Southern gospel singers such as Jake Hess and Hovie Lister and by groups such as the Speers , the Statesmen , and the Happy Goodmans . Gaither and his wife, Gloria, have written many songs including: "The Longer I Serve Him," " Because He Lives ," "The King Is Coming," "Sinner Saved By Grace", "Something Beautiful," " He Touched Me ", "It Is Finished," "Jesus, There's Something About That Name" "I'm Gonna Sing", and "Let's Just Praise The Lord." His songs have been performed by Christian artists ( David Crowder Band , Carman , The Imperials , Sandi Patty , The Cathedral Quartet , The Speers and
660-710: The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). It is a part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc . and has multiple imprints including Zondervan Academic, Zonderkidz, Blink, and Editorial Vida. Zondervan is the commercial rights holder for the New International Version (NIV) Bible in North America. According to the Zondervan website, it is the largest Christian publisher. Zondervan
704-522: The Heritage Singers ), country singers ( The Statler Brothers ) and pop artists ( Elvis Presley ). A video of a man surreptitiously recorded playing "Jesus, There's Something About That Name" on a piano in his destroyed house was shared by many people following the Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021 . Gloria Gaither often writes the lyrics while Bill writes the music, although composing
748-480: The New York Times Best Sellers list. Zondervan Academic publishes reference volumes, textbooks, and monographs, for both use in schools and by many pastors. It is widely known for its biblical language resources, including the bestselling textbooks Basics of Biblical Greek , Basics of Biblical Hebrew , and many others. The imprint also publishes several popular commentary series, including
792-492: The Singing News . They started in the early 1970s supplying radio airplay charts and conducting annual fan based awards. They also supply popular topic forums for southern gospel fans to meet and discuss the genre. The move to internet services has brought along companies such as SoGospelNews.com which has become a noted e-zine forum for southern gospel and has remained a supporter for the past twelve years. It too contains
836-473: The Southeast and Southwest , it has a nationwide and even international audience. The music remains "more country than city, more down-home than pretentious". In 2005, The Radio Book , a broadcast yearbook published by M Street Publications, reported 285 radio stations in the U.S. with a primary format designation as "southern gospel," including 175 AM stations and 110 FM stations. In fact, southern gospel
880-484: The Southern United States . Like other forms of music, the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of southern gospel varies according to the cultural and social context. It is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or as an entertainment product for the marketplace. The date of southern gospel's establishment, as
924-405: The holiness movement churches that arose throughout the south. Early gospel artists such as The Speer Family , The Stamps Quartet, The Blackwood Family, and The Lefevre Trio achieved wide popularity through their recordings and radio performances in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. On October 20, 1927, The Stamps Quartet recorded its early hit "Give The World A Smile" for RCA Victor, which become
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#1732798354364968-559: The 1990s thanks to the efforts of Bill and Gloria Gaither and their Gaither Homecoming tours and videos, which began as a reunion of many of the best known and loved SGM individuals in 1991. Thanks in part to the Homecoming series, southern gospel music now has fans across the United States and in a number of foreign countries like Ireland and Australia. By the 1990s, the "old-timey" quartet-style music began to develop to include more soloists and duos. Although still mostly popular in
1012-594: The Gaither organization reside. He also ran the Gaither Family Resources retail center. Included as part of the company is Live Bait Productions, an animation company run by Benjy Gaither, one of Bill's three children. In the 1980s, Gaither was involved with Paragon Associates, which formed a partnership with Zondervan to buy Benson Records , which is now part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment . In 1994, Gaither and entrepreneur Leland Boren founded
1056-692: The Gaithers: Mark Lowry , Michael W. Smith , Carman , Sandi Patty , Steve Green , Don Francisco , Amy Grant , Michael English , Jonathan Pierce , Karla Worley, and Cynthia Clawson . He has maintained the Gaither Vocal Band with a variety of singers through the years, including Gary McSpadden , Steve Green, Lee Young, Jon Mohr, Larnelle Harris , Michael English, Lemuel Miller, Jim Murray, Mark Lowry , Terry Franklin, Buddy Mullins, Jonathan Pierce , Guy Penrod , David Phelps , Russ Taff , Marshall Hall , Wes Hampton , Adam Crabb , Todd Suttles and Reggie Smith. Penrod, Lowry and Hampton were
1100-670: The Quartet's theme song. The Stamps Quartet was heard on the radio throughout Texas and the South. A handful of groups were considered pioneers in southern gospel music for a series of "firsts." The Blackwood Brothers, with James Blackwood and J.D. Sumner became the first group to travel in a bus, which is on display at the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee . Sumner also
1144-623: The Singspiration and Zondervan Victory labels in the 1960s, Singcord in the 1970s, and the Milk & Honey Records label, starting in the late 1970s. In 1980, Zondervan and Paragon Associates bought Christian record label Benson Records in a partnership to own and operate for $ 3 million. The resulting company was (measured by sales) one and a half times the size of its closest competitor, Word . Zondervan bought out Paragon in 1983, and eventually sold Benson to Zomba Label Group in 1993, now
1188-550: The Zondervan Exegetical Commentary, Story of God Bible Commentary, and Word Biblical Commentary. Noted authors include N.T. Wright, Douglas Moo, Scot McKnight, Michael Bird, John Walton, Michael Horton, Dan Wallace, Bruce Waltke, Tremper Longman, Thomas Kidd, Craig Keener, Thomas Schreiner, Nijay Gupta, Lynn Cohick, and D.A. Carson. Zondervan was in the Christian record business for many years with
1232-469: The air, Southern Gospel USA, a weekly half-hour countdown show hosted by Gary Wilson, Classic radio programs such as The Old Gospel Ship and Heaven's Jubilee with Jim Loudermilk. Another online station is "The Gospel Station." Zondervan Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan , United States. Zondervan is a founding member of
1276-431: The all-male quartets that would develop years later. The Statesmen were known for their showmanship and introduction of jazz, ragtime, and even some early rock and roll. Elements into their music and their stage appearance with trendy suits and wide audience appeal and were known for their signature song, "Happy Rhythm" (Rockin and a'Rollin). Traditional southern gospel music underwent a tremendous surge in popularity during
1320-563: The company Zonderkidz published The Jesus Storybook Bible in 2007, written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jago . It has sold in excess of 2 million copies in 19 languages. The NIV Zondervan Study Bible was released in 2015 during the 50th anniversary of the New International Version (NIV) translation. The study Bible , edited by Dr. D. A. Carson, features over 60 evangelical contributors from multiple denominations. On 11 March 2019, Zondervan announced
1364-700: The formation of two new imprints, Zondervan Reflective and Zondervan Academic. Although both imprints ran informally at Zondervan for several years this announcement formalized their public brand. Zondervan Reflective focuses on publishing books discussing the relationship between faith and culture, leadership, and how Christians can lead biblically faithful lives privately and in the public square. Noted authors include Andy Stanley, Clay Scroggins, J.D. Greear, Colin Hansen, Tim Challies, Michael Horton, Jared Wilson, John Lennox, Jemar Tisby, and Peter Scazzero. On 28 June 2020, Jemar Tisby's The Color of Compromise reached #13 on
Bill Gaither (gospel singer) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1408-555: The members of the Gaither Vocal Band with the longest tenure besides Bill Gaither himself. Penrod was with the group from 1995 to 2008; Lowry from 1988 to 2001; and Hampton has been with the Gaither Vocal Band since 2005. It was announced in January 2009 that Lowry, English and Phelps were rejoining the group; at the same time the announcement was made that Penrod and Hall were leaving to pursue solo careers. Gaither's Homecoming tours, which started in 1991, brought together major stars of
1452-416: The music charts with forums and chat rooms available to the fans. Internet Radio has broadened the southern gospel music fan base by using computer technologies and continual streaming. Some of these media outlets are: Sunlite Radio which features many of the southern gospel programs likewise heard on traditional radio. This list includes The Gospel Greats with Paul Heil, which recently celebrated 30 years on
1496-473: The originally all-male, tenor-lead-baritone-bass quartet makeup. Early quartets were typically either a cappella or accompanied only by piano or guitar, and in some cases a piano and banjo in areas that were influenced by bluegrass music such as Appalachia . Over time, full bands were added and even later, pre-recorded accompaniments (soundtracks) were introduced. In the first decades of the twentieth century, southern gospel drew much of its creative energy from
1540-633: The place of Mary Ann. The trio sang traditional gospel songs along with original compositions by the Gaithers that gave them a more contemporary feel. Gaither has a high bass voice (or low baritone), and often sang while playing piano with the Bill Gaither Trio. Gaither founded the Gaither Music Company, which includes the functions of record company, concert booking (Gaither Management Group), television production, copyright management (Gaither Copyright Management), retail store, recording studio (Gaither Studios, formerly Pinebrook Studios) and telemarketing for
1584-589: The purpose of getting together regularly and singing songs in this style. Convention songs were employed by training centers like the Stamps-Baxter School Of Music as a way to teach quartet members how to concentrate on singing their own part. Examples of convention songs include "Heavenly Parade", "I'm Living In Canaan Now", " Give the World a Smile ", and "Heaven's Jubilee". Southern gospel is sometimes called "quartet music" by fans because of
1628-574: The same feed entitled, " enLighten on SiriusXm". Enlighten plays southern gospel and has several featured programs which air weekly including Paul Heil's Gospel Greats and Bill Gaither 's Homecoming Radio . Over the last decades, a newer version of southern gospel has grown in popularity. This style is called progressive southern gospel and is characterized by a blend of traditional southern gospel, bluegrass, modern country, contemporary Christian and pop music elements. Progressive southern gospel generally features artists who push their voices to produce
1672-602: The southern gospel and CCM industry, sparking a revival of the genres. The tours have sold more than 1.1 million tickets across the world, and have included such notable venues as the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall . Pollstar listed the tour as selling more tickets in 2004 than Elton John , Fleetwood Mac or Rod Stewart . Lynda Randle, the Isaacs, Russ Taff, the Hoppers, Jessy Dixon and many more have performed on
1716-447: The southern gospel label to a song. Although there are some exceptions, most southern gospel songs would not be classified as Praise and Worship . Few southern gospel songs are sung "to" God as opposed to "about" God. On the other hand, southern gospel lyrics are typically overt in their Christian message unlike Contemporary Christian music (CCM) which sometimes has had "double entendre" lyrics, which could be interpreted as being about
1760-464: The tours. Bill and Gloria live in Alexandria, Indiana, and have three grown children. (This list excludes books of music and books that are companions to his "Homecoming" series.) Southern gospel See also: Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music . Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States . Its lyrics are written to express either personal or
1804-606: Was founded in 1931 in Grandville, MI , a suburb of Grand Rapids , by brothers Peter ("P.J.", "Pat") and Bernard (Bernie) Zondervan, who were the nephews of publisher William B. Eerdmans . The company began in the Zondervans' farmhouse and originally dealt with selling remainders and publishing public domain works. The first book it published was Women of the Old Testament by Abraham Kuyper , in 1933. Within
Bill Gaither (gospel singer) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1848-548: Was instrumental in creating the National Quartet Convention , an annual music festival where many groups, both known and well known perform for a week. The Speer Family was known for bringing blended groups to mainstream popularity where both male and female performers toured together. The best known group of the 1950s and 1960s was the Statesmen Quartet , which set the trend for broad appeal of
1892-497: Was the 9th most popular format for AM stations and the 21st most popular for FM. Southern gospel radio promoters routinely service more than a thousand radio stations which play at least some southern gospel music each week. Recent years have also seen the advent of a number of internet-only southern gospel "radio" stations. Two popular satellite stations that feature southern gospel are channel 34 on XM Satellite Radio and Channel 65 (changed from 67). On Sirius Satellite Radio. Both play
1936-418: Was used to differentiate it from the black gospel tradition. Convention songs typically have contrasting homophonic and contrapuntal sections. In the homophonic sections, the four parts sing the same words and rhythms. In the contrapuntal sections, each group member has a unique lyric and rhythm. These songs are called "convention songs" because various conventions were organized across the United States for
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