Jake Hess

News Obituary Article

COLUMBUS: Jake Hess, singer, gospel 'visionary'

By KAY POWELL

In the early 1960s, Elvis Presley was asked who his favorite singer was. Reporters were stumped when he replied, "Jake Hess."

"After Elvis said that, people who didn't know me from a sack of sand were calling me and offering the moon," Mr. Hess said in a 1993 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article.

Mr. Hess was a four-time Grammy winner who sang with some of the country's top gospel quartets, including the Statesmen and Masters Five. He founded the Imperials, who sang backup for Mr. Presley.

Mr. Hess, 76, of Columbus died of pneumonia Sunday at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika. The funeral is 2 p.m. Wednesday at Morningside Baptist Church in Columbus. McMullen Funeral Home of Columbus is in charge of arrangements.

"Jake was a pioneer, a visionary," composer and performer Bill Gaither said in the 1993 article. "He paved the way for contemporary gospel music.." Mr. Hess was a regular member of "Bill Gaither's Homecoming Friends" for the last 10 years of his 60-year career.

When a teenaged Elvis Presley became a fan, Mr. Hess was singing gospel in gymnasiums and auditoriums throughout the South. When Mr. Presley died in 1977, his father invited Mr. Hess and the Statesmen to sing at the funeral. Mr. Hess had sung at country star Hank Williams Sr.'s funeral in 1953.

That was the same year television was making its mark on American culture, and the Statesmen made their mark on television. The prime time Statesmen were sponsored for decades by Nabisco. Music was pre-recorded in the ballroom of Atlanta's old Biltmore Hotel. The group then lip-synced on film from locations such as Stone Mountain.

Mr. Hess was named to more than one gospel music hall of fame, and his honors include the 2002 Southern Gospel Music Association award for best video with the Old Friends Quartet.

Survivors include a daughter, Becky Buck of Columbus; two sons, Chris Hess of Columbus and W. Jake Hess Jr. of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; a sister, Oma Dee of Haleyville, Ala.; 10 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

© 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution