Gloria Gaither (born March 4, 1942) is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, speaker,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

, and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. She is married to

Bill Gaither William James Gaither (born March 28, 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria; he is also known for performing as par ...

and together they have written more than 700 songs. In 2000,

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

named them Christian Songwriters of the Century. She performed, traveled and recorded with the Bill Gaither Trio from 1965 through 1991. Since 1991, she has served as a performer, recording artist, songwriter, scriptwriter and narrator for the

Gaither Homecoming ''Gaither Homecoming'' is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither. Beginnings On February 19, 1992, the ...

series of television broadcasts, video and DVD releases, and audio recordings.

Early years

She was born Gloria Lee Sickal in 1942 in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, a daughter of Pastor Lee Sickal and Dorothy Sickal. She spent some of her childhood and high school years in the

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

area of Michigan, working a brief time for the

Kellogg Company Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets convenience foods and snack f ...

Education

When Gloria graduated from Clare High School in

Clare, Michigan Clare is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located near the center of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, the city is located mostly in Clare County, while a small portion extends south into Isabella County. The city had a population of 3,254 at t ...

, she attended Anderson University in

Anderson, Indiana Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 54,788 at the 2020 census. It is named after Chief William Anderson. The city is the headquarters of the Church of God and its Anderson ...

. There, she triple majored in English, French, and Sociology. Her extracurricular activities at the college included participation in the Drama Club, Alpha Chi National College Honor Society and

Sigma Tau Delta Sigma Tau Delta () is a US-based, international honor society for students of English at four-year colleges and universities who are within the top 30% of their class and have a 3.5 GPA or higher. It presently has over 770 chapters in the Unite ...

honor society. Upon her graduation, she took a job at Alexandria Monroe High School as a French teacher. There, she met

, who was teaching English at the time. She married Gaither in 1962, and they began writing songs recreationally. In 1991, she attended

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

and received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in British and American

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

Career

Bill and Gloria Gaither began writing songs in the 1960s, and many of those songs (including "Because He Lives", "I Am Loved", "Something Beautiful") would go on to become church hymn book standards across North America and around the world. By the end of the 1960s, Gloria, Bill, and Bill's brother Danny Gaither were touring steadily as the Bill Gaither Trio, singing and recording songs Bill and Gloria had written. After touring with the Bill Gaither Trio for nearly thirty years, Gaither drew her focus to the

series. She has been an active presence in every video production. In 1996, she spearheaded the creation of Gaither Family Resources in

Alexandria, Indiana Alexandria is a city in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana, Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is about northeast of Indianapolis. According to the 2020 census, its population was 5,149, n ...

, and currently serves as co-owner and managing director. In 2002, Gaither launched Homecoming: The Magazine, and she currently acts as writer, interviewer, and contributing editor. In 2000, Bill and Gloria were named Christian Songwriters of the Century by the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

(ASCAP), an award based on the songwriters who have had the most songs recorded over the past 100 years. Gloria is the recipient of seven honorary doctorate degrees, and she is the author of more than 40 books including 20 children's books.

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

(

National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely known for its Gram ...

) **1973: Best Inspirational Performance, "Let's Just Praise The Lord", Bill Gaither Trio **1975: Best Inspirational Performance, "Jesus, We Just Want to Thank You", Bill Gaither Trio **1999: Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album: ''Kennedy Center Homecoming'' – Bill and Gloria Gaither and Their Homecoming Friends **2001: Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album: ''Bill & Gloria Gaither Present a Billy Graham Music Homecoming'' Bill & Gloria Gaither and the Homecoming Friends **2002: Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album, "A Billy Graham Music Homecoming", Bill and Gloria Gaither *

GMA Dove Awards A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee excep ...

(

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 ...

) **1976: Inspirational Album of the Year, ''Jesus, We Just Want to Thank You'', Bill Gaither Trio **1978: Inspirational Album of the Year, ''Pilgrim's Progress'', Bill Gaither Trio **1980: Mixed Group of the Year, Bill Gaither Trio **1981: Gospel Album of the Year, Children's Music, ''The Very Best of the Very Best, For Kids'', Bill Gaither Trio **1982: Children's Music Album of the Year, ''Kids Under Construction'', Bill and Gloria Gaither, Ronn Huff and Joy MacKenzie **1985: Song of the Year: "Upon This Rock", Gloria Gaither and Dony McGuire **1986: Songwriter of the Year, Gloria Gaither **1988: Song of the Year: "In the Name of the Lord", Phil McHugh, Gloria Gaither and Sandi Patti Helvering, River Oaks Music, Gaither Music, Sandi's Songs **1993: Southern Gospel Album: ''Reunion: A Gospel Homecoming Celebration,'' Bill Gaither, Gloria Gaither **1994: Lifetime Achievement Award, The Gaither Companies **1999: Induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, Bill Gaither Trio **1999: Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year, "I Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary"; Gaither Vocal Band (performer); Bill and Gloria Gaither (writers) **2002: Induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, in recognition of past and continuing efforts to promote the furtherance of quality gospel music in the world today **2007: Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year, "Give It Away", Gaither Vocal Band, music: Benjamin Gaither, lyrics: Gloria Gaither *Academic Awards **2002: Indiana Academy Induction, in recognition of outstanding individuals for service and accomplishments, Independent Colleges of Indiana Foundation **2002: Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Indiana Wesleyan University recipient **2010: Honorary Doctorate of Arts,

Taylor University Taylor University is a Private university, private, Interdenominationalism, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the United Stat ...

**2011: Honorary Alumni Degree, Olivet Nazarene University **2012: Honorary Doctorate of Music,

Nyack College Alliance University (formerly Nyack College () was a private Christian university affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and located in New York City. It offered undergraduate and graduate programs; in addition, it included Allian ...

*Other Awards & Honors **1997: Inducted into the GMA Hall of Fame **2002: Cherub Award, to honor those who have made outstanding contributions within the area of worship, International Worship Institute **2003: American Inspiration Award, Presidential Prayer Team **2005: Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame Induction **2006: Living Legends Award, Indiana Historical Society **2008: ASCAP Award of Merit, Song of the Year Nominee to Bill and Gloria Gaither for "I Am Loved" **2008: Indiana Broadcasters Association & Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame Induction, Bill and Gloria Gaither **2008: Christian Music Publishers Association Founder's Award, presented for song, "Something Beautiful" **2008: Sachem Award: Indiana's highest honor, selected by the Indiana governor, awarded to Hoosiers for a lifetime of excellence and virtue that has brought honor to Indiana. **2010: Indiana Wesleyan University ''Society of World Changers'' inductee

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaither, Gloria 1942 births Living people 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century evangelicals American Christian hymnwriters American Evangelical writers American gospel singers American performers of Christian music American religious writers American women hymnwriters American women non-fiction writers Anderson University (Indiana) alumni Christians from Indiana Grammy Award winners Members of the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) People from Alexandria, Indiana People from Battle Creek, Michigan Southern gospel performers