Hovie lister biography

Show Search Search Query. Play Live Radio. Next Up:. All Streams. Notice for Friday, January 24, State government offices and employees should follow the hazardous weather decisions made by the county government in the area where the state office is located. While only lead vocalist for the Statesmen for a couple of months, his musical influence would benefit the Statesmen for their entire career.

Fueled by his desire to compose original music, so began the career of one of the greatest songwriters in gospel music. And with that, so furthered the career of one of the greatest gospel voices of all time. At the time, Jake had a beautiful melodic voice, but not yet compatible with the sound Hovie wanted for his quartet. Though many attempted imitating his style, there was still only one Jake Hess.

Jake departed the Statesmen to open his piano store in , and was replaced by Les Roberson. A former baritone for the Weatherfords and Oak Ridge Quartet, Roberson possessed a broad, mellow, yet very commercial voice for the day. This was ideal for continuing the musical sound that had been centered around his predecessor. Roberson appears on four cuts from the Statesmen custom label.

Only one problem….

Hovie lister biography

His time with the group sadly came to an end within less a year. Fortunately, Jake Hess was again standing in the wings. With Jake back in the lineup, along with the addition of Rosie Rozell in , the Statesmen continued to flourish in the gospel music industry. Jake was sidelined briefly in by a bout with nephritis, during which young Gary McSpadden stepped in to fill his shoes.

Aside from this brief sabbatical, things were business as usual for the top quartet of the day. He accompanied a singing group composed of his father and three of his uncles The Lister Brothers Quartet at 14, and toured with Mordecai Ham at the same age. In , he formed The Statesmen Quartet , and remained the group's anchor for decades.

Lister's style, which differed from his predecessor's styles in its incorporation of jazz , soul and ragtime idioms over the staid, solemn accompaniment of prior generations, influenced the sound of gospel and CCM in the later 20th century. Lister remained a member of The Statesmen Quartet into the s. Aside from performing, Lister also had interests in music publishing and promotion.

Lister was inducted into the Southern Gospel Hall of Fame in This Southern Gospel -related article is a stub. In , Crumpler died after seeking medical attention for what was at the time diagnosed as a heart condition, but was revealed to be diabetic shock. Former tenor Cat Freeman came back briefly, but was replaced in by former Oklahoma police officer Roland "Rosie" Rozell.

Lister recruited Jack Toney to replace Hess. Before long, Toney's powerful voice helped The Statesmen to press on and continue with their success. Another setback occurred when Wetherington died suddenly of early heart disease on October 3, , while attending the National Quartet Convention in Nashville. It was around this time that the group was losing stability on its own and more changes to the line-up were inevitable.

The Statesmen would continue to travel with rotating lineups through , and began to tour again from to , until Lister's health failed. Doy Ott was the first of the original group that had survived Crumpler and Wetherington to die, having suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in that left him comatose, although he did not die until four years later.

Rozell died on February 28, , at the age of 66; Lister died on December 27, , at the age of 75 due to complications of lymphoma , and Hess succumbed to a long battle with heart disease on January 4, , at the age of The Statesmen influenced both gospel and non-gospel artists alike. Elvis Presley was a fan of the group growing up and wanted to emulate them in his career and got the chance to perform with them.

Jerry Lee Lewis also had a strong admiration for the group, but most notably Lister and his piano playing. Carl Perkins and Larry Gatlin also cited themselves as fans of the group, while Tammy Wynette said on numerous occasions that Tenor Denver Crumpler was her "favorite singer, ever. Hovie was first of all a minister, and he ministered with his music," said Sen.

The devil's got his kind of entertainment. We've got ours. The group permanently folded and retired in Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history.