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George Beverly Shea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| George Beverly Shea | |
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| Birth name | George Beverly Shea |
| Born | February 1, 1909 (age 98) Winchester, Ontario, Canada |
George Beverly Shea (born February 1, 1909 in Winchester, Ontario, Canada) is a prominent singer/songwriter of gospel music, the author of several hymns and hymn tunes. The son of a Wesleyan Church minister, Shea began singing in the church choir in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. His family later moved to Upstate New York and from there, he went on to work in commercial radio. Living in Chicago, he wrote and sang religious music that led to his performing on religious radio broadcasts and to a calling in gospel music that spanned more than fifty years with the Billy Graham organization, beginning in January 1945, while Graham was pastor of the Village Church in Western Springs, Illinois with the inauguration of Graham's "Sings in the Night" radio progam.
Over his long career, Shea has recorded more than seventy albums of religious music. He is best known for his rendition of "How Great Thou Art", the 1920s English translation by Rev. Stuart K. Hine of the Swedish song "O Store Gud", written in 1886 by Rev. Carl Boberg (1859-1940). During his television career, he was nominated for ten Grammy Awards, winning in 1966 for Best Inspirational Performance. In 1978, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame by the Gospel Music Association and for his lifelong contribution to gospel music, in 1996 the association of National Religious Broadcasters voted him into their "Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gospel Music Association Canada (GMA Canada) in 2004."
He has authored a number of books including the recent editions, How Sweet the Sound (2004) and Stories Behind 50 Southern Gospel Favorites, Vol. 2 (2005).[1]
Arguably Shea's most popular hymn is "The Wonder of It All", the title of which was also used by the University of North Carolina Center for Public Television for their 1998 production of his life story. He also composed the tune to "I'd Rather Have Jesus", the words of which were written by Rhea F. Miller.[2]
Shea resides with his wife in North Carolina.
- ^ George Beverly Shea Profile. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Archived from the original on 2006-05-05. Retrieved on 2007-02-01.
- ^ George Beverly Shea Bio. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Archived from the original on 2006-05-24. Retrieved on 2007-02-01.