Jake Hess was a Grammy Award-winning gospel singer in the southern United States. He was born William Jesse Hess December 24, 1927, in Limestone County, Alabama, and died January 4, 2004 in Opelika, Alabama after suffering a heart attack December 14, 2003, just days after a performance in Atlanta, Georgia.

At the age of 16, Hess joined the popular John Daniel Quartet, making his recorded debut on "Just a Prayer Away". After that, he sang with three of his brothers as the Hess Brothers Quartet. He also sang with the Sunny South Quartet and their rival, the Melody Masters Quartet. Hess finally got a chance to sing lead with the Statesmen Quartet.

His next group, the Imperials, produced 40 records. They topped the Christian charts with 14 singles, and had a TV show based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1967 they backed Elvis Presley on his gospel outing "How Great Thou Art". Elvis has been quoted as noting Hess as his favorite singer, and in 1977, Hess sang at Presley's memorial service, much as he had performed at the burial of country legend Hank Williams in 1953 (with the Statemen). Hess also sang with his children, Becky and Chris, in a group he named "The Sound Of Youth".

In 1968, Hess won the "Best Sacred Performance" Grammy Award for "Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere". In 1969, he won the "Best Sacred Performance (Non-Classical)" Grammy for "Ain't That Beautiful Singing". In 1970 he won the "Best Sacred Performance (Musical)" Grammy for "Everything Is Beautiful". In 1981 he won the "Best Gospel Performance, Traditional" Grammy for "The Masters V", as part of the quintet "The Masters V".

In 1982 Hess was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame. In 1995 Hess was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame , with a John Herbert Orr Pioneer Award. In 1997 he was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association's Hall of Fame.

In 1996 he released the album Terry & Jake, a collaboration with NFL Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw.

His given name was just the initials W.J., but he was later assigned the name William Jesse when he registered with the draft board in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In 1997, when Jake was preparing to get a passport to travel overseas, he discovered that his birth certificate actually read MANCHILD HESS. His son, Jake Jr., named his recording company Manchild Records in Jake's honor.

External links

• Official Jake Hess Web site
• Bio at the Southern Gospel Music Association's Web site
• Obituary from the Columbus, Georgia newspaper, The Ledger-Enquirer