Yesterday marked the passing of one of the most well known voices in Christian music, Mr. George Beverly Shea.
He was born on Feb. 1, 1909 in Winchester, Ontario where his father was a Wesleyan Methodist minister. Shea’s first public appearance was in the choir of his father’s church.
His musical career included nearly 500 recordings on 70 different albums. He was a writer, composer, and singer. For 60 years he proceeded Billy Graham in song at his rallies. He shared his voice with people throughout the world while traveling with Graham. Graham first met Shea while in Chicago when he was on Moody Radio. Shea first sang for Graham in 1943 during the radio program, “Songs in the Night.” Shea faithfully carried the Gospel in song to every continent and every state in the U.S.
The Billy Graham Evangelical Association released a statement on his death yesterday which included this:
“I first met Bev Shea while in Chicago when he was on Moody Radio,” said Billy Graham. “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. My prayer for his wife, Karlene, and his children, Ron and Elaine, is that God will strengthen them during this time.”
He was the recipient of 10 Grammy nominations, and a Grammy Award in 1965. Shea was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Grammy organization in 2011. He was a member of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame (1978). He was also inducted into the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame in February 1996. And he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists’ “Hall of Faith” in 2008.
He will be missed, but his music will live on.
And a Hat Tip to Wikipedia for the background info on Mr. Shea
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Wandering Views 
I believe it was Bev Shea who introduced “How Great Thou Art” to America. I think he brought it over from Europe. I need to look that up.
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From Wikipedia:
“How Great Thou Art” is a Christian hymn based on a Swedish poem written by Carl Gustav Boberg (1859–1940) in Sweden in 1885. The melody is a Swedish folk song. It was translated into English by British missionary Stuart K. Hine, who also added two original verses of his own composition. It was popularized by George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows during the Billy Graham crusades.[1] It was voted the United Kingdom’s favourite hymn by BBC’s Songs of Praise.[2] “How Great Thou Art” was ranked second (after “Amazing Grace”) on a list of the favorite hymns of all time in a survey by Today’s Christian magazine in 2001.[3]
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It brings a smile to my face to know he has seen Jesus now. And it’s lovely to hear him singing–I haven’t listened to him for years, though he’s definitely a favorite. Thanks for posting these, AJ.
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George began his musical ministry singing on the Moody Bible Institute radio station WMBI in Chicago. He will be missed.
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You’re welcome Cheryl.
While I was putting this together late last night I was amazed at his list of accomplishments. I didn’t know alot of it until then. He spent most of his adult life, other than a brief stint at an insurance company, in service to our Lord and the spreading of His Gospel. Certainly a life well lived. I can’t help but think “Well Done” were the words he heard.
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Drivesay, in one of my broadcasting classes (I was required to take broadcasting as part of my major), we had a guest speaker who worked at WMBI. She asked the class a few trivia questions. One was which musician had the most records in the WMBI studio. Two of us raised our hands at the same time, and she called on the other student first. I think the other student guessed Amy Grant; it was some modern artist anyway. She was wrong. I guessed George Beverly Shea, correctly.
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What a rich voice that man had. I did not know much about George Beverly Shea, but I appreciated finding out more about him here and especially listening to the videos.
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