Bentley DeForest Ackley (September 27, 1872 in Spring Hill, Pennsylvania – September 3, 1958 in

Winona Lake, Indiana Winona Lake is a town in Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and the major suburb of Warsaw. The population was 4,908 at the 2010 census. Geography Winona Lake is located at (41.220818, -85.817118). It is now contig ...

) was an American musician and gospel composer. His brother Alfred Henry "A. H." Ackley (January 21, 1887 – July 3, 1960) composed with him, and is credited with the popular hymn '' He Lives''. As a young man, B. D. had already learned several instruments, including the melodeon, piano, cornet, clarinet and piccolo. After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1888, he began playing the organ in churches.

Biography

He was born on September 27, 1872 in Spring Hill, Pennsylvania. In 1907, he joined

Billy Sunday William Ashley "Billy" Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an American outfielder in baseball's National League and widely considered the most influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Bo ...

and

Homer Rodeheaver Homer Alvan Rodeheaver (October 4, 1880 – December 18, 1955) was an American evangelist, music director, music publisher, composer of gospel songs, and pioneer in the recording of sacred music. Early career Born in Cinco Hollow in Hocking C ...

, an evangelist team, as secretary-pianist, and traveled with them for eight years. As a composer and editor with the Rodeheaver Company, he wrote over 3,000 Gospel tunes. "I met B. D. Ackley", fellow evangelist, Dr. Oswald J. Smith recalled, "in Buffalo, New York, where he was minister of music in the Churchill Tabernacle when I was preaching there one time. The first hymn I wrote with B. D. Ackley was ''Joy In Serving Jesus'' in 1931. From the time I met him and his brother, I stopped writing music altogether. They could write so much better." He died on September 3, 1958 in

, aged 85. He was interred in the Oakwood Cemetery in

Warsaw, Indiana Warsaw is a city in and the county seat of Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. Warsaw has a population of 13,559 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. Warsaw also borders a smaller town, Winona Lake. Etymology Warsaw, named after the capital of ...

. Ackley was inducted into the

Gospel Music Hall of Fame The Gospel Music Hall of Fame, created in 1972 by the Gospel Music Association, is a Hall of Fame dedicated exclusively to recognizing meaningful contributions by individuals and groups in all forms of gospel music. Inductees This is an incompl ...

in 1991.

References

Sources

* Kevin Mungons and Douglas Yeo, ''Homer Rodeheaver and the Rise of the Gospel Music Industry'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2021).

External links

*Biography & works at th
Cyber HymnalNPH website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackley, B. D. 1872 births 1958 deaths American male composers American composers American gospel musicians Gospel music composers Musicians from New York City People from Cambria County, Pennsylvania