Legendary Grammy winner, bass-baritone George Beverly Shea has recorded approximately 500 vocal solos, with orchestral accompaniment, as arranged and conducted by well known musical directors, such as Hugo Winterhalter, Ralph Carmichael, Bill Walker, Nathan Scott, Norman Leyden, Jimmy Owens, Kurt Kaiser, Danny Davis, Charles Grean, and Radio City Music Hall Organist, Ray Bohr.
These number 53 LP & CD albums, many of which were produced by RCA's Steve Sholes, Brad McCuen, Darol Rice, Cliff Barrows, Don Hustad, Bill Fasig, and John Innes.
Mr. Shea has been privileged in person to lift his voice in song to over 200 million people, in audiences coming to hear the famous preacher Billy Graham. Also he has been in concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, in the East Room at the White House with pianist Tedd Smith, and in several appearances at Washington's Presidential Prayer Breakfast.
The University of North Carolina Public Television featured the life of Mr. Shea for several years. All this has taken in a span of more than 60 years, and he is still being asked to sing at the age of 96.
George Beverly Shea had extensive experience in New York, Chicago, and ABC network radio as announcer and singer before the television years.
Mr. Shea holds the world record for singing in person to the most people ever. The text reads: "George Beverly Shea of Canada has sung to the most people during his career on every continent in front of 220 million people, since first becoming the soloist for gospel preacher Billy Graham in 1943 on the radio show 'Songs in The Night'."
God's message, as brought to us by the most talented ministers of our age penetrates all aspects of our beings. My son Noah and I are biochemists. Sometimes we work almost all waking hours for several months in our laboratory in order to complete unusually difficult research. For many years now, the music of George Beverly Shea has played in our laboratory as we work - and has markedly improved our lives and the quality of our scientific research.
With the cooperation of Sony-BMG (formerly RCA) we have now produced on 24 Audio CDs Mr. Shea's recordings. In 2009 with the cooperation of Word Records we have released 3 more CD’s containing an additional 47 of Mr. Shea's Recordings.
For now, we are only offering complete sets of 24 CDs. If you personally would wish to have only a few CDs, we suggest that you acquire a whole set and use some of these as gifts.
Our family has been greatly blessed by our complete record collection of these recordings, assembled by our family member Arynne Robinson. We have brought the 24 CD-ROMs together so that many other people can be similarly blessed. Said simply - we are sure that the world will be a better place if this wonderful ministry in song is known to be widely available.
It is an unusual privilege to be able to distribute this music by George Beverly Shea. We are sure that you will enjoy these wonderful recordings.
Art, Zachary, Noah, Arynne, Joshua, Fama, Bethany, Matthew, and Joseph Robinson
August 2005
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About George Beverly Shea:
The music of George Beverly Shea is characterized by the warmth and utter sincerity that one might expect from a man who often refers to his singing career as a "ministry through records." His deep, resonant voice is familiar the world over. Moreover, his enduring friendship with evangelist Billy Graham, with whom he has been associated for 60 years, has markedly enhanced the ministries of both men.
Throughout the course of a career that has encompassed numerous concert performances and more than 70 albums of sacred music, Mr. Shea has been a fixture at Billy Graham crusades in all 50 states and on every continent. "I've been listening to Bev Shea sing for more than 50 years," Mr. Graham once explained, "and I would still rather hear him sing than anyone else I know."
George Beverly Shea was born on February 1, 1909, in Winchester, Ontario, Canada. His father, A. J. Shea, was a Methodist minister, and young George first sang in public as part of a church choir. In 1928, he traveled to the United States to attend Houghton College in western New York State. Although he enjoyed his time at Houghton and sang in the glee club there, his family was unable to afford more than one year's tuition. George left college and got a job in New York working as a clerk in the medical department for Mutual Life Insurance of New York. During which time, while on duty, he met Lou Gehrig, Fred Alan and Frank Gannett among others.
By this time his parents had also moved, and his father had a new congregation in nearby Jersey City. George spent many hours singing and playing the organ in his father's church. During this period he also wrote the music to "I'd Rather Have Jesus," the most celebrated of several noteworthy Shea compositions that are indelibly linked with his name.
He wrote a letter to the noted American concert baritone John Charles Thomas (also the son of a Methodist minister) seeking advice on his musical pursuits. Thomas referred George to his vocal coach, Gino Monaco, with whom Shea also studied. George soon developed a regional reputation through radio appearances on stations WMCA and WHN, as well as his involvement in many outdoor Bible meetings.
In 1939, Mr. Shea received an offer to travel to Chicago to become a staff announcer and featured soloist at radio station WMBI. He eagerly accepted, despite the fact that the Depression made this a risky move. It was virtually unheard of for a gospel singer to attempt to support himself through music during this era.
The move to Chicago proved to be the turning point in his career. After several years, his magnificent voice came to the attention of Club Aluminum of Chicago, and in 1944 he began appearing on an ABC program entitled Club Time, with which he would remain until 1952. Of more lasting consequence were his appearances on Songs in the Night, a hymn program that also featured a sermonette by Billy Graham, who at that time was pastor of the Village Church in Western Springs, Illinois. This marked the beginning of a mutually rewarding association that continues to this day.
Mr. Shea sang at his first Billy Graham Crusade in 1947 and joined Mr. Graham's weekly Hour of Decision radio broadcast in 1950. The following year he embarked on another long and fruitful affiliation when he signed a recording contract with RCA Victor.
As of this writing in 2005, Mr. Shea continues to perform with remarkable vigor at the age of 96. He has received many significant honors and awards, including 10 Grammy nominations and a Grammy Award in 1965 for the album Southland Favorites, which he recorded with the Anita Kerr Singers.
Mr. Shea was elected to the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1978, and was similarly recognized by the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1996. He has a 1956 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Houghton College, a 1972 Honorary Doctor of Sacred Music from Trinity University, and a 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Gospel Music Association. He is also listed by the Guinness Book of Records for singing cumulatively to the most people - 220 million. His story has been chronicled in a 1968 autobiography, a 1998 television documentary, and, most recently, in How Sweet the Sound by George Beverly Shea, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois, 2004.
The life and work of this uniquely gifted artist are perhaps best summed up by the personal motto he takes from the 28th Psalm: "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song I will praise him."
Adapted from "A George Beverly Shea Christmas" by Joseph F. Laredo
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| Song List of 24 CD Collection: | |
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| Song List: 3 Newly Released CDs. | ||
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How Great Thou Art: Disk 25
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Angels Shall Keep Thee: Disk 26
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Victory in Jesus: Disk 27
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