Hovie Franklin Lister (September 17, 1926 - December 28, 2001)

Biography

Hovie Lister had a long and successful career as a music publisher, record label executive, performer, preacher, and promoter. He was instrumental in helping to expand Southern Gospel Music and popularize this musical art form around the world.

Raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Lister played piano as a young boy for the Lister Brothers, a group that included his father, Herman Lister, and three of his uncles. He later attended the Stamps Baxter School Of Music.

At the age of 17, he was put in "complete charge" of piano sales for the George Simpson Company in Greenville, South Carolina. The following year, he performed with the Sand Mountain Quartet where he was billed as "Little" Hovie Lister. His next stop was with the Homeland Harmony Quartet where he continued to be billed as "Little" Hovie to provide a contrast to their bass singer "Big" Jim Waits. He was still a teenager at this point.

Lister then performed with the Rangers Quartet for a short time before reuniting with Waits who was singing alongside the LeFevre Trio on WCON in Atlanta, Georgia. Lister also worked there as a disc jockey.

On October 17, 1948, The Atlanta Constitution published an ad introducing the newly formed Statesmen Quartet with the caption "...now we really has (sic) a gospel quartette". The group began the following day with radio programs at 6:15 AM and 1:15 PM on WCON. Under Lister's leadership, the Statesmen became a dominant force in the years that followed especially after they teamed up with the Blackwood Brothers for concert appearances.

In September of 1951, Lister was ordained by Oakwood Baptist Church in Anderson, South Carolina. He then assumed duties as pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia. Despite the demands of the Statesmen during their rise to fame in the 1950s, he continued to serve as pastor there for approximately 15 years. Lister also began delivering an annual sermon at the National Quartet Convention during the 1950s. Several of his convention sermons were released and sold on vinyl records.

In 1980, Lister formed another successful and influential group, the Masters V, with fellow legends Jake Hess, Rosie Rozell, James Blackwood and J D Sumner. The initial plan was for the Statesmen to continue with the Masters V only appearing at special events, but the demand for the all-star lineup offered by the Masters V was so great that the Statesmen were ultimately retired for several years along with Sumner's group, the Stamps. (The Blackwood Brothers continued to travel without James.) Lister appeared with the Masters V until the group disbanded in 1988.

After playing piano for the Palmetto State Quartet from 1989 to 1992, Lister re-formed the Statesmen and continued to travel until his death in 2001. During this same period of time, he was a regular on the Gaither Homecoming Tour. He also served as an executive assistant on the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Awards

GMA Hall Of Fame (1984)
SGMA Hall Of Fame (1997)

Solo Discography

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1964 1963 Sermon (StatesWood Records/SW-403): An Inspiring Sermon Recorded At The National Quartet Convention 1963.

1965 1964 Sermon (StatesWood Records/SW-408): An Inspiring Sermon Recorded At The National Quartet Convention 1964.

1967 1965 Sermon (Canaan Records/CA-4633): An Inspiring Sermon Recorded At The National Quartet Convention 1965.

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1967 1966 Sermon (Canaan Records/CA-4638): An Inspiring Sermon Recorded At The National Quartet Convention 1966.

1970 1969 Sermon (StatesWood Records/SW-411): Hovie Lister's 1969 National Quartet Convention Sermon.

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1975 I'm Gonna Keep On! (Heartwarming Records/R 3360): I'm Gonna Keep On; Thanks To Calvary; The Old Gospel Ship; The Wicked Shall Cease Their Troubling; Jesus Is Lord Of All; Jesus, I Heard You Had A Big House; Thanks For Sunshine; It Is Well With My Soul; I'll Fly Away; I Could Never Outlove The Lord. (Re-issued in 1981 as Thanks To Calvary on Skylite SLP-6260).

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1985 The Masters V Present Their Sensational Pianist & Emcee Hovie Lister From The Soul (Skylite Records/SLP-6346): Redemption Draweth Nigh; God Will Provide; Thanks To Calvary; Near To The Heart Of God; My Home; Tenderly; Life Is Worth Living; Cleanse Me; Jesus Fills My Every Need; Something Happened To Daddy.

Songwriter's Résumé

(Partial List)

When I Come To The End Of The Road