George Beverly Shea promoted to glory @ 104

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/04/16/george-beverly-shea-dies-billy-graham/2089545/

George Beverly Shea dies; sang with Billy Graham

Tony Kiss, Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times 2013/04/17 12:53 EDT

The booming baritone that accompanied Billy Graham's crusades has fallen silent.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Legendary Gospel music singer George Beverly Shea, whose career spanned much of the 20th century and who long served the Rev. Billy Graham, died Tuesday at 104 here after a short illness.

The Canadian-born Shea was a Grammy-winning singer, whose deep rich voice led him to be known as "America's beloved gospel singer." He recorded 70 albums, toured the world, and earned 10 Grammy nominations. He won a Grammy in 1965, and the Grammy organization gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Shea was also a member of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame, inducted in 1978, was inducted into the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame in February 1996 and was a member of the inaugural class of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists' Hall of Faith in 2008.

But Shea was best known for his partnership and friendship with Graham, which dated to 1943 while the singer was appearing on a Chicago radio program. In 1947, Graham asked Shea to join his ministry.

"We had the privilege of ministering together across the country and around the world," Graham said in a statement released Wednesday. "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."

In a 2011 Citizen-Times interview, Shea recalled that fateful day.

"I said 'Billy, the only gospel singers I have known will sing a verse or two and then start talking. Would I have to do that?' And he said 'I hope not.' "

Shea accompanied Graham on countless crusades and frequently appeared on radio and television. Well past age 100, he continued to perform concerts. He held the Guinness Book of World Records mark for singing in front of the most people ever, a combined audience of 220 million, most of it with Graham.

"I've been listening to Bev Shea sing for more than 70 years, and I would still rather hear him sing than anyone else I know," Graham said Wednesday.

Besides his distinctive voice, Shea was known for his trademark rendition of How Great Thou Art and his inspirational The Wonder of It All.

But Shea never considered himself a star.

"They didn't come to hear me," he said in 2011. "They were a captive audience. They had to listen to me before Billy spoke."

Shea lived in quiet home in Montreat, N.C., not far from Graham. The house was filled with music and memorabilia. A gold record hung on a wall, and his Grammy was perched on a small table.

He continued to talk by telephone with Graham on a regular basis.

"He is such a gentleman," Shea said two years ago. "He could have gotten a great singer with him, but he stuck with me. He never disappointed me."

She was born Feb. 1, 1909, in the small town of Winchester, Ontario. His father, Adam J. Shea, was a Wesleyan Methodist minister. Shea's first public singing was in the choir of his father's church. He credited his mother, Maude, for encouraging him to sing as a boy.

Shea never planned on a career in music, and in his 20s he headed to New York where he worked at the Mutual of New York insurance offices. It was there he landed his big musical break, singing on "the amateur portion" of comic Fred Allen's weekly NBC radio show.

"It was in (NBC) studio 8H," he said, the same space used today for NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live.

"Radio was big," Shea said. "I did my song, and I got a pretty good low note. I got second prize. First prize went to a yodeler. He was so nervous in the green room, he was smoking two cigarettes at a time."

That led to more singing opportunities. At age 23 he composed the music to one of his best known solos, I'd Rather Have Jesus. Eventually, he found radio with broadcast preachers.

He moved on to Chicago, announcing and singing on WMBI-AM, operated by the Moody Bible Institute.

After joining with Graham, the men quickly went to work. He accompanied Graham in 1947 and his first crusade at the old armory in Charlotte, N.C.

As Graham traveled the country and globe, so did Shea, who became a familiar presence alongside the minister on stage, radio and television.

Traveling with Graham was a remarkable life, he said. "I've been to Japan about three times, Australia four or five times. It was marvelous. I could bring my wife and two children."

Shea's marriage to his sweetheart, Erma, continued for 42 years until her death in 1976. Survivors include his children from that marriage, Ronald and Elaine. In 1985, he married again to Karlene Aceto and they remained a devoted couple.