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Tribute Bill Gaither read at Jake Hess's funeral

Jan. 16th, 2004

I flew down early Jan 7th for the funeral of my friend and singing partner Jake Hess. As I sat there in the Homecoming Choir singing my friend home I was moved to tears and smiles. I am sad for all of us who loved him……. He will be missed ……… but I was so very happy for him. He is home and as Jake sang many times, "Death Ain’t No Big Deal." I know I speak for everyone when I say…………………………… "We will remember you!"



The following is the tribute Bill read at Jake Hess's funeral.

"You’re a good singer, Mr. Hess!" I said.

"Well, thank you very much!" He answered, with the biggest smile I ever saw.

Dad and Mom had taken me and my brother and sister to the Ryman to the big All Night Sing.

"You sound like Bill Kenny of the Ink Spots!"

"Well, thank you; that’s a compliment!" Jake answered.

Of course, I was talking to him at his record stand and then we bought every 78 RPM that they had that night.

Little did I know and little did he know that night would start a relationship that would last for the next 55 years.

Gloria has said for the past 15 years, "I hate to see the day come when the phone rings and the voice on the other end says, "Jake’s gone."

Well, it happened this weekend, and just because we were expecting it doesn’t make it any easier.


I continued this relationship as a fan during my high school years, attending as many concerts as possible and buying every new piece of product they had. By college my brother and sister and I were singing together as a trio. Lloyd Orrell, who promoted the all night sings in Indianapolis, called me and asked if the Trio would like to open up for the Statesmen, Blackwoods and Speer Family. We were so excited! We came in backstage and there they were…sitting at a table… Jake, Hovie, the Chief, Doy and Denver…black suits, black curly hair…moustaches…and smiles…and smiles…and smiles.


They were all kind to this young group. Jake particularly took an interest in us, which continued through the 50’s and into the early 60’s when I began to write songs. At the end of 1963, Jake took me to the side in Kalamazoo and said, "I’m getting a new group together called The Imperials. We’d like to sing some of your songs."



I was so excited! I couldn’t wait to hear the first recording of a song I’d written called, "Praise For The Lord" and on the following project, they did an arrangement Henry had written of "He Touched Me" which has become the definitive quartet arrangement of the song. Elvis even recorded that very same arrangement.



After that time Jake began to experience some health problems and left the group to do a local television program in Nashville and also to spend some more time with his kids, who were teenagers. He told me that he had started a group called "The Original American Youth Singers" (or something like that… ) But I really think he simply wanted to spend some time with his kids.



By the late 60’s our Trio had begun to catch on. Gloria was doing these songs with readings, and people seemed to like it. So Jake called and said, "Do you wanna go to Texas and do a four-day run?" He said he was hot in Texas.



I said, "Sure!" To myself I thought, "Anything I can do with Jake will be a ball!"



Our first date was in Lubbock. When we arrived Jake was in his usual backstage attire… a bright red jumpsuit… leaning up against the wall with his finger beside his cheek.



"Jake what kind of presale do we have?" (In other words, "How many tickets have we sold?")


Jake said, "Three."


I said, "Three-hundred? Or three-thousand?"


Jake said, "Three, Bill. 1… 2… 3."



That night we had more people onstage with Jake’s "Original American Youth Singers" than we had in the audience. But it did not diminish the joy that always seemed to happen whenever Jake was around.



By the 70’s and early 80’s our careers took us in different directions and I lost touch with Jake for a while… for no other reason other than our paths didn’t cross very often. I would see him from time to time. By then The Statesmen had disbanded and The Imperials were singing a different style of music, but I still had my old recordings and quite often I would play them. Those are wonderful memories.



One of my favorite movies of all time was "Field Of Dreams" about a kid who grew up in Iowa. One day a voice told him to build a baseball field in the middle of a cornfield… promising him that all the old baseball legends would come and play on it. The voice would tell him… "If you build it, they will come…"




In the early 90’s I felt a little like that kid. I started recording videos of my heroes, which would later become the Homecoming video series. We recorded those early videos in a studio we had built in Alexandria, Indiana, which was pretty much in the middle of a cornfield. We had a large tent outside, by the studio, where we fed all the legends who showed up. And they were all there… Jake, Hovie, JD, James, Jimmy & Rex, Eva Mae, Brock, Ben, Les, Dottie, Lilly Fern, Mosie… and many more… And that line came back to me… "If you build it they will come."



Only I know my motive for doing that, and it is simply this… I did it for the love of the music and these beautiful people. And God has honored it.



Today we honor one of the last of those pioneers, who embodied unequalled character, professional excellence and graciousness. In a way, I’ve lost my best friend… but I have some wonderful memories.


I can remember at the Ryman video taping when TNN finally took a chance on us. It was our first experience to work with network professionals. After it was over I said to Jake, who had made a big hit that night himself, "Wasn’t it an exciting night?!" To which he answered, "Yes, but you know, Miss Vestal really knocked it out of the ballpark on ‘What a Lovely Name.’"




I was always asking Jake about history. I remember asking him, "What was the first major concert the Statesmen did?"


He said, "I was in Montgomery at a Dad-Speer-sponsored event. The Statesmen had just recently organized."


I asked him, "Did you make a hit?"


He said, "Hovie did! He was so hot he could have had four broomsticks with him and it wouldn’t have made a difference!"



The Statesmen had gone to New York to sing on television for The Arthur Godfrey Show for a week on CBS. I asked him how it went. He said, "They loved Crump and Chief! They could do no wrong."



Anytime anyone would credit Jake on his accomplishments, he would credit Hovie saying, "If it weren’t for Hovie Lister, no would ever have heard of Jake Hess."


He always, always credited the other person.


Even in talking about his vocal styling, I told him, "Jake, you are one of the originals."


He said, "No, that’s not true. I patterned my sound after a guy in Arkansas named Fred Smith." (I don’t know Fred Smith…)




I can remember when George Younce came back to sing in some of the Homecoming concerts after some heart-attacks and his retirement from The Cathedrals. I would announce him by saying, "Here is a voice you haven’t heard in awhile…" And George would begin singing in low voice from a dark corner of the arena, "This Old House…" And every time, it was bedlam… the arena would explode with enthusiasm… and old Jake would stand up, smiling and clapping along with the fans.



After the Old Friends Quartet was organized, I would simply say, "If you’re happy to see two old legends – Jake and George - singing tonight, give them a good hand…" After I introduced them onstage like that a couple times, Jake said, "Why don’t you do that bit with George anymore?"


I said, "It’s not fair to you, Jake… you’re not exactly chopped liver yourself!"


Jake said, "Oh, I don’t care about that. I just like to see them on their feet!"



True story… and I could tell story… after story… after story like that where Jake truly loved giving others the credit.



There wasn’t a night when I didn’t go visit Jake in the back of his bus. He would be lying on his bed… wig off… hat on… red jumpsuit… I’d say, "How are you feeling, old-timer?"


He’d say, "Nothin’ but fine."


I’d say… "No really."


"Pretty good."


One night he said, "Bill, you don’t owe me anything. I know I’m not pulling my weight out here."


I said, "Don’t go there, Jake! As long as you can crawl up on that stage, you will always have a place here with us."



I’m gonna miss looking down into the artist circle and seeing that calm, sweet, confident, inspiring face saying to this old Indiana farm kid…"You’re good. You can do this."



Even in some of those cold, northern cities, that southern charm would always come through. He’s been called a Southern gentleman. This is true. This man defined genuine humility and he truly lived to bring honor and credit to others.



The Bible says we are to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. I’ve come to believe that most of us do a better job of weeping with those who weep than we do rejoicing with those who rejoice… but Jake did both with integrity. He was honestly excited when the other person won.



I talk to young artists all the time, and I try to encourage them to give themselves away. Thank God we do have some models in our field who did not live just for themselves and what they could get out of life… Jake modeled that principle at its very highest level.



We are saying goodbye today to one of Gospel music’s finest gentlemen. The good news is this… He is singing better than he’s ever sung before… and I think he’s smiling even more broadly, too.



I want to say this to the family - and Gloria will affirm this: After his family, there is no one on this earth who will miss Jake more than I will. Thank you for sharing him with me… and with the artists who are here today… and with the world.