The
Gospel Music Hall of Fame, created in 1971 by the
Gospel Music AssociationThe Gospel Music Association was founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of Gospel music. There are currently more than 4,200 members worldwide...
, is a
Hall of FameA hall of fame is a type of museum established for any a field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field.In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or museums which enshrine the honorees with sculptures, plaques, and displays of memorabilia...
dedicated exclusively to recognizing meaningful contributions by individuals in all forms of
gospel musicGospel music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
.
Some of the more significant inductees to GMA's Hall of Fame are listed below. A number of these artists are now deceased; nevertheless, they are recognized for their contribution towards their influence on gospel music and for the longevity of their work.
- James Blackwood
James Blackwood was an American Gospel singer and one of The Blackwood Brothers.-Biography:Born in Choctaw County Mississippi, Blackwood formed a singing group with his nephew R. W. and his brothers Roy and Doyle. The Blackwood Brothers first broadcast was on radio station WHEF, AM 1500, in...
, Sr.
The
Gospel Music Hall of Fame, created in 1971 by the
Gospel Music AssociationThe Gospel Music Association was founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of Gospel music. There are currently more than 4,200 members worldwide...
, is a
Hall of FameA hall of fame is a type of museum established for any a field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field.In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or museums which enshrine the honorees with sculptures, plaques, and displays of memorabilia...
dedicated exclusively to recognizing meaningful contributions by individuals in all forms of
gospel musicGospel music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
.
Partial list of inductees
Some of the more significant inductees to GMA's Hall of Fame are listed below. A number of these artists are now deceased; nevertheless, they are recognized for their contribution towards their influence on gospel music and for the longevity of their work.
- James Blackwood
James Blackwood was an American Gospel singer and one of The Blackwood Brothers.-Biography:Born in Choctaw County Mississippi, Blackwood formed a singing group with his nephew R. W. and his brothers Roy and Doyle. The Blackwood Brothers first broadcast was on radio station WHEF, AM 1500, in...
, Sr. (The Blackwood BrothersThe Blackwood Brothers Quartet is an American gospel music singing group.-Musical career:The Blackwood Brothers Quartet formed in 1934, in the midst of the Great Depression when preacher Roy Blackwood , moved his family back home to Mississippi...
, National Quartet ConventionThe National Quartet Convention is an annual gathering of Southern Gospel quartets and musicians. It is currently held at Freedom Hall on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky.-History:...
; inducted 1974)
- Pat Boone
Charles Eugene Boone , known professionally as Pat Boone, is an American singer, actor and writer who was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold over 45 million albums, had 38 Top 40 hits and starred in more than 12 Hollywood movies...
(inducted 2003)
- Shirley Caesar
Shirley Caesar is an American Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned six decades...
("First Lady of Gospel",inducted 2000)
- Ralph Carmichael
Ralph Carmichael is a composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music, being regarded as one of the pioneers of the latter genre...
(Lexicon Music, Light RecordsLight Records was a seminal gospel record label founded in 1966 by Ralph Carmichael as a joint venture with the Waco, Texas-based Word Records.-History:...
; inducted 1985)
- Fanny Crosby
Frances Jane Crosby usually known as Fanny Crosby, was an American lyricist best known for her Protestant Christian hymns. A lifelong Methodist, she was one of the most prolific hymnists in history, writing over 8,000 despite becoming blind shortly after birth...
(inducted 1975)
- Andrae Crouch
Andraé Edward Crouch , is an American Gospel musician, recording artist, songwriter, arranger and record producer.- Early childhood years :...
(inducted 1998)
- Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country & western, pop and gospel musical genres.- Early years :...
(inducted 1994)
- Vestal Goodman
Vestal Goodman was a singer who performed in the Southern Gospel genre for more than half a century. She is known both as a solo performer and as a founding member of The Happy Goodman Family, one of the pioneering groups in southern Gospel.Vestal Goodman was the fourth of six children...
(inducted 2004)
- Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, author, media personality and occasional actress, best known for her contemporary Christian music. Grant was born in Augusta, Georgia....
(inducted 2003)
- Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer who was popular in the 1970s, and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.-Early years:...
(inducted 2004)
- Keith Green
Keith Gordon Green was an American gospel singer, songwriter, musician, and Contemporary Christian Music artist originally from Sheepshead Bay, New York. Green is best known for his strong devotion to Christian evangelism and encouraging others to the same...
(inducted 2001)
- Stuart Hamblen
Stuart Hamblen, was one of radio's first singing cowboys in 1926, and later became a Christian songwriter, temperance supporter and recurring candidate for political office.- Biography :...
(inducted 1994)
- Larnelle Harris
Larnelle Harris is a Gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist. During his 30-plus years of ministry, Harris has recorded 18 albums, won five Grammy Awards and 18 Dove Awards, and has had several number one songs on the Inspirational Music charts....
(inducted 2007)
- Jake Hess
Jake Hess was a Grammy Award-winning gospel singer in the southern United States.-Life:He was born Manchild Hess December 24, 1927, in Limestone County, Alabama...
(inducted 1982)
- Billy Ray Hearn (launched Myrrh Records
Myrrh Records, also known as Myrrh Worship, is a Christian music record label. According to Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, the label was instrumental in developing a popular following for Contemporary Christian music as the label that first published music by Barry McGuire, 2nd Chapter of...
, inducted 1997)
- Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson was an African-American gospel singer. With her powerful, distinct voice, Mahalia Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and is the first Queen of Gospel Music...
(inducted 1978)
- Kurt Kaiser
Kurt Kaiser, is an award winning singer-songwriter of Contemporary Christian music and member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He has produced and arranged albums for the likes of: Kathleen Battle,Ernie Ford, Larnelle Harris, Burl Ives, Ken Medema, Christopher Parkening, George Beverly Shea, Joni...
(Pass It On; inducted 2001)
- Phil Keaggy
Philip Tyler Keaggy is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets...
(inducted 2007)
- Haldor Lillenas
Haldor Lillenas was "one of the most important twentieth-century gospel hymn writers and publishers" and is regarded as "the most influential Wesleyan / Holiness songwriter and publisher in the 20th century"...
(inducted 1982)
- John Newton
John Henry Newton was an English Anglican clergyman and former slave-ship captain. He was the author of many hymns, including Amazing Grace.-Early life:...
(Amazing Grace, inducted 1982)
- Larry Norman
Larry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and humorist. Norman's recordings are noted for their Christian and social subject matter, and he is often described as the "father of Christian rock music"...
(inducted 2001)
- Sandi Patty
Sandi Patty , known as "The Voice" is an American Contemporary Christian music singer.-Early life:...
(inducted 2004)
- John W. Peterson
John W. Peterson was a songwriter who had a major influence on evangelical Christian music in the 1950s through the 1970s. He wrote over 1000 songs, and 35 cantatas....
(inducted 1986)
- Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
(inducted 2001)
- Homer Rodeheaver
Homer Alvan Rodeheaver was an American evangelist, music director, music publisher, composer of gospel songs, and pioneer in the recording of sacred music.-Early career:...
(Billy SundayWilliam Ashley "Billy" Sunday was an American athlete who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century.Born into poverty in Iowa, Sunday spent some...
's music director, inducted 1973)
- Thurman Ruth
Thurman Ruth , who got his start in vaudeville in 1927, was a gospel singer, deejay and concert promoter, and a forefather of such rhythm and blues producers as Ralph Bass...
introduced gospel to the Apollo TheaterThe Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with African-American performers. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is the home of Showtime at the Apollo, a...
and organized first organized secular gospel touring groups
- Ira D. Sankey
Ira D. Sankey , known as The Sweet Singer of Methodism, was an American gospel singer and composer, associated with evangelist Dwight L...
(inducted 1979-80)
- George Beverly Shea
George Beverly "Bev" Shea is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian centenarian, bass-baritone singer of gospel music and the composer of several hymns and hymn tunes...
("America's Beloved Gospel Singer"; inducted 1978)
- Charles Davis Tillman
Charles Davis Tillman —also known as Charlie D. Tillman, Charles Tillman, Charlie Tillman, and C. D. Tillman—was a popularizer of the gospel song...
(1861-1943, pioneer of southern gospelSouthern Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
)
- Albertina Walker
Albertina Walker is an African-American gospel singer.-Early years:Walker was born in Chicago, Illinois. She began singing in the youth choir at the West Point Baptist Church at an early age, and joined several Gospel groups thereafter, including The Pete Williams...
("Queen of Gospel", Song of the Church; inducted 2001)
- Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues and jazz vocalist and actress.She frequently performed jazz, big band, rock and roll and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues...
(His Eye Is On The Sparrow; inducted 1984)
- Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley was a leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...
(Hark The Herald Angels Sing, inducted 1995)
Groups:
- The Blackwood Brothers
The Blackwood Brothers Quartet is an American gospel music singing group.-Musical career:The Blackwood Brothers Quartet formed in 1934, in the midst of the Great Depression when preacher Roy Blackwood , moved his family back home to Mississippi...
, (inducted in 1998)
- The Blind Boys of Alabama
The Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel group from Alabama that first formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind at Talladega, Alabama in 1939. The three main vocalists of the group and their drummer/percussionist are all blind....
(inducted 2002)
- The Fairfield Four
The Fairfield Four is a gospel group that has existed for over 80 years. They started as a trio in Nashville, Tennessee's Fairfield Baptist Church in 1921. They were designated as National Heritage Fellows in 1989 by the National Endowment for the Arts. The group won the 1998 Grammy for Best...
(Standing in the Safety Zone; inducted 1999)
- Fisk Jubilee Singers
The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University, that was first organized in 1871. Their early repertoire centered on spirituals, but also included some Stephen Foster songs...
(inducted 2000)
- Bill Gaither (inducted 1983), Gloria Gaither
Gloria Gaither is a songwriter for Gospel music, along with her husband, Bill Gaither. She also sang in the Bill Gaither Trio, one of the most influential groups in recent Christian music.-Awards:*Dove Awards**1984...
(inducted 1997), and their group, The Gaither Trio (inducted 1999)
- The Imperials
The Imperials are a four time Grammy winning American gospel music group and a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. They were founded in 1964 by Jake Hess and continue to perform today.- Biography :...
(inducted 1998)
- The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires are an American singing group formed in 1948 best known for backing many of Elvis Presley's recordings.- Members :The group formed in 1948 in Springfield, Missouri, with members Bill Matthews , Bob Hubbard , Bill's brother Monty Matthews , Culley Holt , and pianist Bob Money...
(inducted 1998)
- Mighty Clouds of Joy
The Mighty Clouds of Joy is an American gospel quartet.-Early years:The Mighty Clouds of Joy were formed in 1960 and started out in a tradition-based style. Eventually they added soul, R&B, and rock flourishes into their musical mix without diluting theessential religious essence of their material...
(inducted 1999)
- Oak Ridge Boys (inducted 2000)
- Petra
Petra was a prominent Christian rock band, regarded by many as a pioneer of the Christian rock and of the Contemporary Christian music genres. Petra was formed in 1972, in Fort Wayne, Indiana by Bob Hartman, Greg Hough and John DeGroff while they were students of the Christian Training Center...
(inducted 2000)
- Second Chapter of Acts (inducted 1999)
- The Singing LeFevres (Mylon LeFevre
Mylon LeFevre is the former Christian rock singer of the Grammy Award-winning band Mylon and Broken Heart and a Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame member. He currently travels around the United States, ministering, teaching and singing...
's "BTS Quartet"; inducted 1998)
- The Statler Brothers (inducted 2007)
- The Winans
The Winans are an American Gospel music quartet from Detroit, Michigan consisting of brothers Marvin, Carvin, Michael and Ronald Winans.-Members:Please refer to the Winans family page for more detail on the individual members.-Origins:...
(inducted 2007)
Billy Graham was inducted to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999 for providing a platform to many Christian artists who have had the honor of performing at the Billy Graham events (Graham has preached the gospel to over 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories). These artists include:
Michael W. SmithMichael W. Smith is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, musician, recording artist, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian Music, and he has achieved considerable success in the mainstream music industry as well...
,
Amy GrantAmy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, author, media personality and occasional actress, best known for her contemporary Christian music. Grant was born in Augusta, Georgia....
,
Sandi PattySandi Patty , known as "The Voice" is an American Contemporary Christian music singer.-Early life:...
,
Larnelle HarrisLarnelle Harris is a Gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist. During his 30-plus years of ministry, Harris has recorded 18 albums, won five Grammy Awards and 18 Dove Awards, and has had several number one songs on the Inspirational Music charts....
,
Steven Curtis ChapmanSteven Curtis Chapman is a Contemporary Christian musician.After starting his career in the late 80s as a songwriter, Chapman has turned into one of the most prolific singers in the genre, releasing more than 20 albums to this date...
,
dc TalkDC Talk , is a Grammy-winning Christian music trio from Lynchburg, Virginia. The group formed around 1988, consisting of Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max Smith. They have released five major studio albums together: DC Talk , Nu Thang , Free at Last , Jesus Freak , and Supernatural...
,
Jars of ClayJars of Clay is a Grammy Award winning Christian rock band from Franklin, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois....
. Others associated with Graham's ministries are also inductees:
George Beverly SheaGeorge Beverly "Bev" Shea is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian centenarian, bass-baritone singer of gospel music and the composer of several hymns and hymn tunes...
(soloist of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team);
Cliff BarrowsClifford Burton Barrows is the longtime music and program director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He has been a part of the Graham organization since 1949...
(inducted 1988 - music director and choir master for all Billy Graham Evangelistic Campaigns); Ralph Carmichael (producer for the music in Billy Graham films such as "Mr. Texas", "For Pete's Sake", "The Restless Ones", and "His Lane"); and singers
Ethel WatersEthel Waters was an American blues and jazz vocalist and actress.She frequently performed jazz, big band, rock and roll and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues...
and
Stuart HamblenStuart Hamblen, was one of radio's first singing cowboys in 1926, and later became a Christian songwriter, temperance supporter and recurring candidate for political office.- Biography :...
.