George Thomas "Dad" Speer was the patriarch of the Singing Speer Family that paved the way for Southern Gospel Music, especially mixed gospel groups. The musical tradition of the Speer Family started in 1921. G.T. Speer was a noted shaped note singing school teacher and songwriter. G.T. and his wife Lena were singing school teachers and wrote an estimated 600 gospel songs. Dad Speer once said, "I met a singer's daughter at a singing convention, got married in a singer's home and raised a singing family."
G.T. was born in Fayette, Georgia, but lived and farmed in Winston County, Alabama. G.T. served in World War I and after returning, he met Lena Brock at a singing convention. They would marry in 1920. G.T. and Lena settled on a farm outside Double Springs, and during their first year of marriage, they attended singing conventions throughout Alabama and Tennessee and taught music schools to supplement their income from their farm, billing themselves as "vocal instructors" and "evangelistic singers." G.T.'s heart was not behind the plow, but in gospel music. He and Lena sang with his sister and her husband, Logan and Pearl Claborn in the Speer Quartet. Later, the Speers sold their farm and moved to Lawrenceburg, TN for G.T. to sell insurance. It was there that he developed a working relationship with James D. Vaughan in 1934. There, G.T. became part of the staff and wrote songs for the James D. Vaughan Music Company and taught sight singing as well as conducting shaped note gospel music.
As children were added to the Speer home, each child was strictly taught in music. They began to perform on stage and won the hearts of the people instantly.
In 1941, G. T. left the Vaughan Company at the death of James D. Vaughan. The Speers were invited by another shaped-note publishing company, the Stamps-Baxter Music Company, to do a 15-minute live gospel radio program on WSFA in Montgomery, Alabama. The show became so popular that an afternoon version was soon added to the WSFA schedule. Rosa Nell once shared that their radio show was followed by a young man and his band who "had the prettiest eyes" and "would come early to hear our program." That man was Hank Williams Sr.
In the early 1950s, the Speer Family transitioned from radio to television on Nashville's WLAC Channel 5, where they hosted a popular early morning program. In 1955, the family made its first recording on 78 rpm discs, on the Bullet label. The Speer Family recorded with a number of different labels over the years, including Skylite, Columbia, and RCA, eventually producing more than 60 albums spanning 1955 to 2003. In 1964, they became regular performers on Singing Time in Dixie, a popular syndicated gospel show filmed in Atlanta. Three years later, they began to work with the LeFevres, on the Gospel Singing Caravan, a nationally syndicated television show out of Atlanta.
The Speer Family was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Hall of Fame in 1998, following individual inductions for "Dad" Speer (1971); "Mom" Speer (1972). Dad Speers songs are still used in churches and singing conventions today. His legacy continues.
G.T. was born in Fayette, Georgia, but lived and farmed in Winston County, Alabama. G.T. served in World War I and after returning, he met Lena Brock at a singing convention. They would marry in 1920. G.T. and Lena settled on a farm outside Double Springs, and during their first year of marriage, they attended singing conventions throughout Alabama and Tennessee and taught music schools to supplement their income from their farm, billing themselves as "vocal instructors" and "evangelistic singers." G.T.'s heart was not behind the plow, but in gospel music. He and Lena sang with his sister and her husband, Logan and Pearl Claborn in the Speer Quartet. Later, the Speers sold their farm and moved to Lawrenceburg, TN for G.T. to sell insurance. It was there that he developed a working relationship with James D. Vaughan in 1934. There, G.T. became part of the staff and wrote songs for the James D. Vaughan Music Company and taught sight singing as well as conducting shaped note gospel music.
As children were added to the Speer home, each child was strictly taught in music. They began to perform on stage and won the hearts of the people instantly.
In 1941, G. T. left the Vaughan Company at the death of James D. Vaughan. The Speers were invited by another shaped-note publishing company, the Stamps-Baxter Music Company, to do a 15-minute live gospel radio program on WSFA in Montgomery, Alabama. The show became so popular that an afternoon version was soon added to the WSFA schedule. Rosa Nell once shared that their radio show was followed by a young man and his band who "had the prettiest eyes" and "would come early to hear our program." That man was Hank Williams Sr.
In the early 1950s, the Speer Family transitioned from radio to television on Nashville's WLAC Channel 5, where they hosted a popular early morning program. In 1955, the family made its first recording on 78 rpm discs, on the Bullet label. The Speer Family recorded with a number of different labels over the years, including Skylite, Columbia, and RCA, eventually producing more than 60 albums spanning 1955 to 2003. In 1964, they became regular performers on Singing Time in Dixie, a popular syndicated gospel show filmed in Atlanta. Three years later, they began to work with the LeFevres, on the Gospel Singing Caravan, a nationally syndicated television show out of Atlanta.
The Speer Family was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Hall of Fame in 1998, following individual inductions for "Dad" Speer (1971); "Mom" Speer (1972). Dad Speers songs are still used in churches and singing conventions today. His legacy continues.
George Thomas "Dad" Speer was the patriarch of the Singing Speer Family that paved the way for Southern Gospel Music, especially mixed gospel groups. The musical tradition of the Speer Family started in 1921. G.T. Speer was a noted shaped note singing school teacher and songwriter. G.T. and his wife Lena were singing school teachers and wrote an estimated 600 gospel songs. Dad Speer once said, "I met a singer's daughter at a singing convention, got married in a singer's home and raised a singing family."
G.T. was born in Fayette, Georgia, but lived and farmed in Winston County, Alabama. G.T. served in World War I and after returning, he met Lena Brock at a singing convention. They would marry in 1920. G.T. and Lena settled on a farm outside Double Springs, and during their first year of marriage, they attended singing conventions throughout Alabama and Tennessee and taught music schools to supplement their income from their farm, billing themselves as "vocal instructors" and "evangelistic singers." G.T.'s heart was not behind the plow, but in gospel music. He and Lena sang with his sister and her husband, Logan and Pearl Claborn in the Speer Quartet. Later, the Speers sold their farm and moved to Lawrenceburg, TN for G.T. to sell insurance. It was there that he developed a working relationship with James D. Vaughan in 1934. There, G.T. became part of the staff and wrote songs for the James D. Vaughan Music Company and taught sight singing as well as conducting shaped note gospel music.
As children were added to the Speer home, each child was strictly taught in music. They began to perform on stage and won the hearts of the people instantly.
In 1941, G. T. left the Vaughan Company at the death of James D. Vaughan. The Speers were invited by another shaped-note publishing company, the Stamps-Baxter Music Company, to do a 15-minute live gospel radio program on WSFA in Montgomery, Alabama. The show became so popular that an afternoon version was soon added to the WSFA schedule. Rosa Nell once shared that their radio show was followed by a young man and his band who "had the prettiest eyes" and "would come early to hear our program." That man was Hank Williams Sr.
In the early 1950s, the Speer Family transitioned from radio to television on Nashville's WLAC Channel 5, where they hosted a popular early morning program. In 1955, the family made its first recording on 78 rpm discs, on the Bullet label. The Speer Family recorded with a number of different labels over the years, including Skylite, Columbia, and RCA, eventually producing more than 60 albums spanning 1955 to 2003. In 1964, they became regular performers on Singing Time in Dixie, a popular syndicated gospel show filmed in Atlanta. Three years later, they began to work with the LeFevres, on the Gospel Singing Caravan, a nationally syndicated television show out of Atlanta.
The Speer Family was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Hall of Fame in 1998, following individual inductions for "Dad" Speer (1971); "Mom" Speer (1972). Dad Speers songs are still used in churches and singing conventions today. His legacy continues.
G.T. was born in Fayette, Georgia, but lived and farmed in Winston County, Alabama. G.T. served in World War I and after returning, he met Lena Brock at a singing convention. They would marry in 1920. G.T. and Lena settled on a farm outside Double Springs, and during their first year of marriage, they attended singing conventions throughout Alabama and Tennessee and taught music schools to supplement their income from their farm, billing themselves as "vocal instructors" and "evangelistic singers." G.T.'s heart was not behind the plow, but in gospel music. He and Lena sang with his sister and her husband, Logan and Pearl Claborn in the Speer Quartet. Later, the Speers sold their farm and moved to Lawrenceburg, TN for G.T. to sell insurance. It was there that he developed a working relationship with James D. Vaughan in 1934. There, G.T. became part of the staff and wrote songs for the James D. Vaughan Music Company and taught sight singing as well as conducting shaped note gospel music.
As children were added to the Speer home, each child was strictly taught in music. They began to perform on stage and won the hearts of the people instantly.
In 1941, G. T. left the Vaughan Company at the death of James D. Vaughan. The Speers were invited by another shaped-note publishing company, the Stamps-Baxter Music Company, to do a 15-minute live gospel radio program on WSFA in Montgomery, Alabama. The show became so popular that an afternoon version was soon added to the WSFA schedule. Rosa Nell once shared that their radio show was followed by a young man and his band who "had the prettiest eyes" and "would come early to hear our program." That man was Hank Williams Sr.
In the early 1950s, the Speer Family transitioned from radio to television on Nashville's WLAC Channel 5, where they hosted a popular early morning program. In 1955, the family made its first recording on 78 rpm discs, on the Bullet label. The Speer Family recorded with a number of different labels over the years, including Skylite, Columbia, and RCA, eventually producing more than 60 albums spanning 1955 to 2003. In 1964, they became regular performers on Singing Time in Dixie, a popular syndicated gospel show filmed in Atlanta. Three years later, they began to work with the LeFevres, on the Gospel Singing Caravan, a nationally syndicated television show out of Atlanta.
The Speer Family was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Hall of Fame in 1998, following individual inductions for "Dad" Speer (1971); "Mom" Speer (1972). Dad Speers songs are still used in churches and singing conventions today. His legacy continues.
