Clifford Burton Barrows (April 6, 1923 – November 15, 2016) was a longtime music and program director for the

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is a non-profit Christian outreach organization that promotes multimedia evangelism, conducts evangelistic crusades, and engages in disaster response. The BGEA operates the Billy Graham Train ...

. He had been a part of the Graham organization since 1949. Barrows was best known as the

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

of Graham's weekly ''

Hour of Decision The ''Hour of Decision'' was a live weekly radio broadcast produced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. First broadcast in 1950 by the American Broadcasting Company, it was a half-hour program featuring sermons from noted evangelist ...

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

program, and the song leader and choir director for the crusade meetings.

Life

Cliff Barrows was born on April 6, 1923, in Ceres, Calif., the son of Harriet M. and Charles Tilson Barrows (both deceased). Barrows graduated from Bob Jones University in 1944 with a B.A. in Sacred Music. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister in 1944, and served as an assistant pastor at Temple Baptist Church in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

through 1945. In 1945, Barrows married Billie Newell (deceased). It was on their honeymoon in western North Carolina they first met a young evangelist named Billy Graham. Barrows joined Graham at a rally in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

that year, and remained with Graham ever since. He appeared in the 1970 film ''His Land'' with British pop singer

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

. The film reviews Biblical events as both Cliffs took a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

to Israel. It was produced by Graham's production company, World Wide Pictures. In 1988, Barrows was inducted into the

Gospel Music Hall of Fame The Gospel Music Hall of Fame, created in 1972 by the Gospel Music Association, is a hall of fame dedicated exclusively to recognizing meaningful contributions by individuals and groups in all forms of gospel music. Inductees This is an incompl ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

by the

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership c ...

. In 1996, he was also inducted into the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the

National Religious Broadcasters National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is an international association of evangelical communicators. While theologically diverse within the evangelical community, NRB members are linked through a Declaration of Unity that proclaims their joint com ...

. Barrows' longtime colleague, the late Canadian-born singer

George Beverly Shea George Beverly Shea (February 1, 1909 – April 16, 2013) was a Canadian-born American gospel singer and hymn composer. Shea was often described as "America's beloved gospel singer"Michael Ireland, "America's 'Beloved Gospel Singer,' George Beve ...

, is also a member of both halls of fame. Barrows died at Carolinas Medical Center – Pineville, in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 15, 2016, at the age of 93.

Personal life

Barrows and his first wife Wilma Newell (1925–1994)Billy Graham Center Archives, Wheaton College, http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/622.htm had five children; Bonnie (born 1948), Robert (1950), Betty Ruth (1953), Clifford ("Bud") (1955), and William Burton (1962). In 1995, Barrows married Ann Prince and resided in

Marvin, North Carolina Marvin is a village in Union County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,579 at the 2010 census. It is a more rural suburb of Charlotte. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , o ...

Life

Personal life

See also