Lee Roy Abernathy (1913 – 1993) – Find A Grave Memorial

LEE ROY ABERNATHY

Birth: Aug. 13, 1913

Death: May 25, 1993

Gospel Singer, Songwriter. He is considered by many consider to be one of Gospel music’s greatest piano players. While giving vocal and piano lessons out of his music store, he and his wife Louise began the first “mail-order piano courses,” which taught thousands throughout the world. He trained several performers who credit him for their success in the Gospel music field. He achieved great success on his own by writing some of the genre’s most well known songs, including “Everybody’s Going to Have a Wonderful Time Up There (aka ‘Gospel Boogie’),” “Moving Up To Gloryland,” and “He’s a Personal Savior.” In the 1950s, he ran unsuccessfully for Georgia Governor. His music honors include being inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (1978), the Southern Music Hall of Fame (1983), and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame (1989). In 1984, he received the Pioneer Award, the high honor given by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Each year, his hometown of Canton, Georgia, holds its “Annual Memorial Lee Roy Abernathy Singing.” (bio by: Evening Blues)

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Burial:

Cherokee Memorial Park

Holly Springs

Cherokee County

Georgia, USA

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Maintained by: Find A Grave

Record added: Jan 18, 2004

Find A Grave Memorial# 8291693

via Lee Roy Abernathy (1913 – 1993) – Find A Grave Memorial.

Lee Roy Abernathy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lee Roy Abernathy (August 13, 1913(1913-08-13) – May 25, 1993) was an American vocalist and composer.

Contents

[hide]

* 1 Early years

* 2 Musical career

* 3 External links

* 4 References

* 5 Notes

[edit] Early years

Abernathy was born in Canton, Georgia into a sharecropping family that frequently relocated during his teen years. He began singing at the age of five in his father’s group, the Atco Quartet,[1] and learned to play piano by the time he was 14. In addition to sitting under shape note instructors like James D. Vaughan and Adger Pace, Abernathy studied at the Conservatory of Music in Atlanta, Georgia.

[edit] Musical career

Abernathy wrote a number of gospel classics including “He’s A Personal Savior,” “A Newborn Feeling,” “Wonderful Time Up There (Gospel Boogie)” and a parody of that song called “Terrible Time Down There.” He was also noted as a Southern Gospel music instructor, particularly for his “Modern Gospel Piano Course By Mail.” Abernathy is credited as being one of the first to introduce sheet music and mail order piano courses to Gospel music. Along with Dwight Brock, Abernathy was one of the first to play “turnaround” type introductions on songs. He also served as a vocal coach to individuals (like London Parris) who went on to have great success in the industry.

Abernathy was also well known as a performer. He pulled stints with the Rangers and the Homeland Harmony Quartet. Abernathy and Carroll “Shorty” Bradford also performed together as the Happy Two, billed as a “two man quartet.” In 1983, a recording titled Command Performance paid tribute to the songs of Abernathy, with performances by the Rex Nelon Singers, Gold City, the Singing Americans, the Hemphills and others.

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via Lee Roy Abernathy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.