Jake Hess, 76; Singer Was a Force in Gospel Music and a Favorite of Presley

Jake Hess, a leading figure in gospel music for more than 50 years and a key vocal inspiration for Elvis Presley, died Sunday of pneumonia at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, Ala., Associated Press reported. He was 76 and had suffered a heart attack Dec. 16.

Presley, who as a youth frequented concerts in Memphis by Hess’ group, the Statesmen Quartet, cited him as his favorite singer in the early 1960s. Another Hess group, the Imperials, later backed Presley on stage and on the rock ‘n’ roll star’s gospel album “How Great Thou Art.”

Hess sang at Presley’s funeral in 1977, as he had years earlier at services for country music star Hank Williams.

Hess was known for his powerful voice and impassioned approach to a song, as well as for physical embellishments such as crouching and slowly raising his arms, and singing while standing atop a piano.

“He was so dynamic and so energetic and so enthusiastic,” said Jerry Kirksey, editor-in-chief of Singing News magazine, a North Carolina-based publication specializing in Southern gospel music.

“He delivered and sold and communicated a song as well as sang it,” Kirksey added. “If you watch real close on some of Elvis’ videos, you can see a little Jake Hess movement. Up to the time he died, Elvis still had Southern gospel singers around him, and I think over the years that tickled Jake. It kind of thrilled him that here’s a guy, after all he’d done, he still likes this.”

Hess was born in rural Mount Pisgah, Ala., the youngest of 12 children of a sharecropper and his wife. The family valued music and Jake (whose given name was simply the initials W.J.) began singing with three of his brothers when he was 5.

At 16, he joined the John Daniel Quartet, one of the leading gospel groups in the South. He moved on to other groups, including the Sunny South Quartet and the Melody Masters Quartet. But his breakthrough came in 1948, when he became a charter member and lead singer of the Statesmen Quartet.

Along with the Blackwood Brothers, the Statesmen dominated the field for years, recording for Capitol and RCA, headlining a syndicated TV show and making frequent appearances on network programs.

In 1963, Hess formed his own group, the Imperials, which shook up traditionalists by adding bass, drums and electric guitar backing. Health problems forced him to quit the group in 1967, but he starred in his own Nashville TV show for several years and began recording solo albums. He worked with young singers in Jake Hess & the Sound of Youth, and reunited with some of his old singing partners in Masters V.

Hess, who struggled with heart disease and cancer among other health problems, retired in 1993 and moved to Columbus, Ga., but soon began performing on videos, television and in concert with singer Bill Gaither’s troupe. Hess won four Grammys and is a member of the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

“He was first-class,” said Kirksey, a friend of Hess for more than 40 years. “His generation just loved singing. They could care less whether they got paid.... He’s part of the foundation of the Southern gospel music industry. People like him are irreplaceable.”

Hess is survived by his daughter, Becky Buck; sons Chris Hess and W. Jake Hess Jr.; a sister, Oma Dee; and 10 grandchildren. Services will be today at Morningside Baptist Church in Columbus.