Lee Roy Abernathy (1913–1993) was a

Southern gospel music Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as w ...

musician, songwriter, and performer.

Biography

Abernathy was born on August 13, 1913, in the Atco community of

Cartersville Cartersville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, Bartow County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States; it is located within the northwest edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city ha ...

Bartow County, Georgia Bartow County is located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,901, up from 100,157 in 2010. The county seat is Cartersville. Traditionally considered part of northwest Georgia, B ...

. He married Louise Ammons, and they had three children, Hugh, Linda, and Susan.

Music

Abernathy's first musical experience came with his father’s group, the Atco Quartet, at the age of five. His parents instilled a love for quartet music and the tradition of gospel singing conventions, where he learned to read

shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteh ...

s. He was able to sing

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

with the quartet while standing on a

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

crate. He studied music under

James D. Vaughan James David Vaughan (December 14, 1864 – February 9, 1941) was an American music teacher, composer, song book publisher, the founder of the Vaughan Conservatory of Music and the James D. Vaughan Publishing Company. Biography Vaughan was b ...

, J. M. Henson, and Adger M. Pace. In the 1930s, he founded the Modern Mountaineers, performing live on

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

WSB (AM) WSB (750 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. It airs a news/talk radio format, simulcast on Doraville-licensed WSBB-FM. WSB is the flagship station for Cox Media Group; in addition to WSB and WSBB-FM, it owns three oth ...

. In 1936, he wrote "Good Times Are Coming Soon," a reelection campaign song for President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. He wrote many gospel songs, including "He’s A Personal Savior", "A Newborn Feeling", and "I Thank My Savior for It All", but his

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

was " A Wonderful Time Up There". Some pastors objected to its

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

beat, which influenced the early career of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Abernathy disregarded the criticism, believing that he had written the song as a result of divine inspiration. The song was later called the "Gospel Boogie" and was recorded by numerous quartets, as well as

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

, and

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

. Boone's recording of the song reached number four on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

in 1958. Abernathy wrote "Burning of the Winecoff Hotel" following the tragic

Winecoff Hotel fire The Winecoff Hotel fire of December 7, 1946, was the deadliest hotel fire in American history, killing 119 hotel occupants, including the hotel's original owners. Located at 176 Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia, the Winecoff Hotel was advert ...

in Atlanta in 1946. He was a frequent guest of the hotel and would have been at the hotel on the night of the fire, but had gone home when a friend gave him a gasoline

ration stamp A ration stamp, ration coupon or ration card is a stamp or card issued by a government to allow the holder to obtain food or other commodities that are in short supply during wartime or in other emergency situations when rationing is in forc ...

. Abernathy became the pianist for

the Homeland Harmony Quartet The Homeland Harmony Quartet was an American gospel group founded in 1935. The original lineup of the quartet was Otis Leon McCoy, Doyle Blackwood, Fred Calvin Maples, and B.C. Robinson. The group had lasting ties to the Church of God and went ...

in 1947. He also performed with the Rangers Quartet, Jubilee Quartet, Miracle Men, Happy Two, and Abernathy All Star Quartet. Happy Two appeared on

WAGA-TV WAGA-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios and transmitter facili ...

television in Atlanta beginning in 1951 and continued for seven years.

Political life

Abernathy launched a campaign for Georgia governor in 1958. He finished a distant third in the

Democratic party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

primary behind William Bodenhamer and the eventual winner,

Ernest Vandiver Samuel Ernest Vandiver Jr. (July 3, 1918 – February 21, 2005) was an American politician who was the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1959 to 1963. Early life and career Vandiver was born in Canon in Franklin County in northe ...

Death and legacy

Abernathy continued to teach piano and voice lessons until his death on May 25, 1993. He was 79 years old. He was buried at Cherokee Memorial Park in

Canton, Georgia Canton is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958, up from 7,709 in 2000. Geography Canton is located near the center of Cherokee County at (34.227307 ...

. He is a member of 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 ...

and the

Southern Gospel Music Association The Southern Gospel Music Association (''SGMA'') is a non-profit corporation formed as an association of southern gospel music singers, songwriters, fans, and industry workers. Membership is acquired and maintained through payment of annual dues. T ...

Hall of Fame. In 1989 he received the Mary Tallent Pioneer Award from the

Georgia Music Hall of Fame The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was a hall of fame to recognize music performers and music industry professionals from or connected to the state of Georgia. It began with efforts of the state's lieutenant governor Zell Miller to attract the music ...

. The "Annual Memorial Lee Roy Abernathy Singing" is held in Canton in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abernathy, Lee Roy 1913 births 1993 deaths American gospel musicians Gospel music composers Southern gospel performers