Bill Gaither wasn’t good enough for gospel music. At least, that’s what he was told. So, with his dream of singing southern gospel music seemingly out of reach, Gaither went home and began writing.
More than 500 songs and dozens of popular videos later, Gaither and his wife, Gloria, were named Christian Songwriters of the Century in 2000.
“I became a teacher because I was not good enough to do gospel music,” said Gaither, who taught high school English in his hometown of Alexandria, Ind. “There were piano players and singers better than me. So I started writing songs. I never realized it would become this popular.”
The Gospel Music Hall of Famers together penned songs that are mainstays in hymnals around the world. Those songs include “The King Is Coming,” “Because He Lives” and “He Touched Me” — the song that catapulted Bill Gaither into the national spotlight in 1969 when Elvis Presley recorded it. He, Gloria and his brother Danny founded the Bill Gaither Trio in the 1970s, and later he formed the award-winning Gaither Vocal Band.
In recent years, the Gaithers have been best known by their popular “Homecoming Series” videos and concerts. What has become an international phenomenon actually started with an impromptu taping in a Nashville studio in 1991. The Gaither Vocal Band was wrapping up a recording session that had included several legendary southern gospel music artists.
After the planned session ended, the artists lingered and gathered around the piano, singing, swapping stories from the old days and sharing a few laughs and tears. The video camera was still rolling.
That spontaneous sing-along became the first “Homecoming” video released in 1992. The response to that video was so overwhelming that Gaither decided to reassemble the artists and try to reproduce the spontaneous style, fearing it might not work. Today, there are Homecoming concerts in just about every major venue in the country, and the videos consistently rank in the top 10 on the Billboard video charts.
Gaither, though, takes it all with characteristic humility. “Whatever I did, I couldn’t do without them [the artists],” he said. “I’m like the turtle on the fencepost — I didn’t get there by myself. All I did was expose them; I let people see them and hear them sing.”
Gaither is credited with rejuvenating southern gospel music and the careers of many legendary singers as well as launching the careers of many others.
Tim Riley, bass for the 2003 Male Quartet of the Year, Gold City, said, “Bill Gaither has done so much for gospel music. He quickened people’s spirit. They heard songs on the radio and saw the videos. They had to come see the groups in person. It gets into your blood.”
Guy Penrod [of the Gaither Vocal Band] said today’s gospel music is blending the sound of the old 1940s and 1950s quartets and pop groups with the technology of the current generation. “Kids are starting to hear that and say that’s cool,” he said. “We’re growing a new generation in gospel music, and Bill is helping to do that with the concerts and videos.”
And he shows no sign of slowing down. In his mid-60s, Gaither keeps an active schedule with his Gaither Vocal Band, Homecoming concerts, the annual Praise Gathering and the management of everything in between.
Fans can read more about the Gaithers and their journey into gospel music history in Bill’s new autobiography, “It’s More Than the Music” (Warner Faith) now in bookstores nationwide. (BP)
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