George Beverly
Shea dies; sang at Graham crusades
Published: April
16, 2013
The Associated
Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
— George Beverly Shea, the booming baritone who sang to millions of Christians
at evangelist Billy Graham's crusades, died Tuesday after a brief illness. He
was 104.
Spokesman Brent
Rinehart of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said Shea died in
Asheville after a brief illness.
Shea was
well-known as a gospel soloist before he and Graham met in the early 1940s. He
joined Graham's crusade team in 1947 and stayed until Graham's declining health
ended most of the evangelist's public appearances nearly 60 years later.
Besides his
distinctive voice, Shea was known for his trademark rendition of "How
Great Thou Art" and his inspirational "The Wonder of It All." He
performed live before an estimated 200 million at crusades over the years and
recorded more than 70 albums.
Graham said at
Shea's 100th birthday celebration in February 2009 that he couldn't have had a
ministry without Shea.
"I first
met Bev Shea while in Chicago when he was on Moody Radio," Graham said
then. "As a young man starting my ministry, I asked Bev if he would join
me. He said yes and for over 60 years we had the privilege of ministering
together across the country and around the world. Bev was one of the most
humble, gracious men I have ever known and one of my closest friends. I loved
him as a brother."
Shea was the
recipient of ten Grammy nominations, a Grammy Award in 1965, and was presented
with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Grammy organization in 2011. He was
also a member of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame and was inducted
into the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame in February 1996. Shea was also
inducted into the inaugural class of the Conference of Southern Baptist
Evangelists' "Hall of Faith" in 2008.
Born in
Winchester, Ontario, where his father was a Wesleyan Methodist minister, Shea's
first public singing was in the choir of his father's church. Between crusade,
radio, and television dates in many countries, he sang at hundreds of concerts
and recorded more than 70 albums. At age 23 he composed the music to one of his
best known solos, "I'd Rather Have Jesus."
Shea is survived
by his wife, Karlene, and his children from his first marriage, Ronald and
Elaine. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Erma, who died in 1976.
Famed
gospel singer George Beverly Shea, who regularly opened for Billy Graham at his
crusades for nearly six decades, died Tuesday evening "following a brief
illness." He was 104.
christian
history
The story of George Beverly Shea's
signature tune.
David Neff
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