I’ve deemed it to be one of the greatest privileges of my life to have worked with a man whom I love and whom I respected from afar as a boy. My mother got one of the early copies of his song, “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” and she told me, “Son, I want you to memorize this song. These are wonderful words, and I covet them for you.” Well, I did memorize them and they moved me greatly, and they have all these years.

Bev is not a performer, but one who ministers. Many soloists try to let you know how great their voice is through some dramatic fashion, but Bev would never do that. He did not want to draw any attention to himself.

Bev Shea has been the anchor in all of our Crusade programming through the years. We’ve had many varied and talented artists who have stirred and moved the people, but we always knew that when Bev sang before Mr. Graham preached, the Spirit of God would overrule anything that had been said, sung or done, and would prepare the people for the preaching of the Word.

No one knows this better than Mr. Graham. In fact, he has said there is no one he’d rather hear sing than Bev Shea. That certainly goes for me too. My greatest privilege through the years was to say, “And now before Mr. Graham speaks, here’s George Beverly Shea to sing for you.”

I thank God for my brother, for the friendship we’ve had through the years, and right alongside of it the rich fellowship we have enjoyed together around the world. God has been so gracious to us, to allow Bev to live so long, and I cannot imagine the world of Christian music without the voice of my beloved friend, America’s–and the world’s–singer of sacred song, George Beverly Shea.