Jesse Randall Baxter Jr. (December 8, 1887 – January 29, 1960) was an American Southern Gospel composer and publisher. He was sometimes referred to as "Pap".

Biography

J. R. Baxter was born on December 8, 1887, in Lebanon, Alabama.WWI draft registration He was a farmer and married Clarice Howard in 1918. He studied with Thomas B. Mosley and Anthony Johnson Showalter, and in 1926 bought a stake in Virgil O. Stamps'

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publishing company. The Stamps-Baxter Music & Printing Company became one of the leading publishers of gospel songs in the early 20th century. Baxter ran the company's

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, office until Stamps's death in 1940; following this Baxter moved to

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, to run the main office. Baxter's interest in school teaching led him to publish shape-note songbooks and sponsor a Stamps-Baxter School of Music, both of which contributed to the popularity of Gospel music. Baxter also composed Gospel songs himself; his works include "Try Jesus", "Travel the Sunlit Way", "Something Happens (When You Give Your Heart to God)", "I Have Peace in My Soul", "Living Grace", and "I Want to Help Some Weary Pilgrim". He died on January 29, 1960, in

Legacy

After Baxter's death, his wife continued to run the business until she died, after which it was sold to

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. In 1997, Baxter was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame.

Footnotes

References

*Ivan M. Tribe
J.R. Baxter
''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music''.

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

, 2005, p. 32.
J.R. Baxter
Southern Gospel Music Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, J.R. 1887 births 1960 deaths American gospel singers American music publishers (people) Composers of Christian music 20th-century American singers