New York (1929–1939) As a result of the recommendation of American
opera baritone John Charles Thomas (born 6 September 1891 – died 13 December 1960), Shea studied singing under Gino Monaco, Thomas's own vocal coach. In 1933 a network radio director heard Shea sing and arranged an
audition to sing popular
secular songs for
Your Hit Parade, a national program with the
Lyn Murray Singers broadcast on the
NBC network. Shea passed the audition and was offered a job, but reluctantly turned the position down because he didn't feel right about performing secular music. Shea sang on the ''Young Person's Church of the Air'' radio program, which had been started by
Percy Crawford (1902–60) in Philadelphia in 1931 on Radio station
WIP. Shea began his recording career at the U.S. branch of
Decca Records after being signed by
A & R representative
Jack Kapp, who told Shea: "If you do better than the singer we have in mind, we will give you a contract. If not, you'll have to take the records on yourself. Shea recorded "Jesus Whispers Peace," "Lead Me Gently Home, Father," "I'd Rather Have Jesus," and "God Understands," accompanied by Ruth Crawford (wife of Percy Crawford) on the organ. About 7,000 copies were sold, and they are prized by music lovers today, the majority being Protestant Christians like Shea.
Chicago (1939–1952) In 1939 Shea auditioned unsuccessfully for a spot on a
CBS radio program that originated in
Chicago, Illinois. on radio station
WMBI, the first non-commercial
Christian radio station in America, which was owned and operated by the
Moody Bible Institute originally on its campus in
Chicago. Later he was also involved in
Miracles and Melodies, which started on 67 radio stations across the US in 1940, and was broadcast on 187 different stations in 45 US states, Canada, Latin America and China; which was broadcast live on Sunday evenings for 45 minutes from 10.15pm from the basement of the Village (Baptist) Church at 4475 Wolf Road,
Western Springs, Illinois, pastored by Graham, and transmitted on radio station
WCFL originating from
Chicago, Illinois. The popularity of Shea helped make the previously financially struggling program self-sustaining within weeks. The Drummonds indicate that Shea "skyrocketed the broadcast into a great success," so that soon
Songs in the Night was broadcast twice on Sundays. '''
Club Time (1944–1952)''' In June 1944 Shea resigned from WMBI to sing gospel on a 15-minute weekday radio program,
Club Time, Singspiration (1947) By the summer of 1947 Shea was signed to the Singspiration Sacred Recordings label, which had been founded by Dr. Alfred B. Smith (8 November 1916 – 9 August 2001)
Evangelistic meetings (1942–1947) Summer of 1942 In the summer of 1942 Shea took a leave of absence from WMBI to join
Word Of Life (WOL) evangelist
Jack Wyrtzen for evangelistic crusades in the New York area. He spent this summer traveling throughout
New Jersey,
New York, and
Connecticut, singing at youth rallies while also singing on
WHN on Sunday mornings. According to David Poling, "central to Billy's successful ministry are the years of loyal service of people like George Beverly Shea, the first staff member to be hired by Graham back in the Chicago radio days." Shea had been involved as a soloist with
Billy Graham and his ministry since 1947. Shea, along with Graham, Barrows, Grady Wilson and George Wilson, is one of the five directors of the BGEA.
Billy Graham Crusades Shea sang at the unofficial launching of Graham's crusades in the old Armory in
Charlotte, North Carolina, in November 1947. In the early days of his association with Graham, Shea earned a wage for each meeting. Since the beginning of Graham's crusade ministry Shea and
Cliff Barrows have been the nucleus of the crusade musical team. Barrows is choir director, platform
emcee and radio-television program director. They were joined in 1950 by pianist Tedd Smith, and through the years organists Don Hustad and John Innes have provided additional accompaniment. As the musical mainstay in Graham's crusades, Shea is often called "America's beloved Gospel singer." Collins indicates: "Shea's solos set the tone for the preacher's messages. With his full, rich baritone Shea not only charmed audiences, he also touched them with the message of each song he chose." Graham said that Shea always prepared his crowds by singing before the message, and he felt the song was more powerful than the sermon. According to Billy Graham in a 2002 interview in
The Ottawa Citizen, Shea himself indicated the importance of his solo: "Billy looks forward to the solo before the message as a time for people to quiet down and for him to gather strength." the wife of Dr.
Howard Miller, later a general superintendent of the
Church of the Nazarene. When RCA Victor signed Shea to a recording contract, "the song that the company chose to initially spotlight their new singer was "I'd Rather Have Jesus."
Writing Shea authored a number of books including an autobiography,
Then Sings My Soul (1968);
Songs That Lift the Heart (1972);
How Sweet the Sound (2004); and
Stories Behind 50 Southern Gospel Favorites, Vol. 2 (2005).
Television appearances •
Hour of Decision (1951–1954): Billy Graham's television program that was broadcast for three years from 1951 in
primetime on Sunday evenings on the
ABC television network •
Madison Garden Crusade (Summer 1957): sang "How Great Thou Art" in the ABC live
telecasts each Saturday evening for Billy Graham's Crusade in
Madison Square Garden, in
New York City in the summer of 1957; the telecasts attracted an average audience of over 6.4 million viewers •
The Mighty Fortress (1955): a
newsreel film of the Billy Graham's 1954 Crusade for Europe, that was produced and directed by
Paul Short, in which Shea performed "
Amazing Grace" • ''Pilgrim's Progress'' (1977):
Ken Anderson's film, in which Shea was the narrator, and
Oscar-nominated actor
Liam Neeson made his film debut •
Then Sings My Soul (1984): a film
musical/
documentary produced by
World Wide Pictures •
The New Orleans Story (2008): appeared in this documentary on the effects of
Hurricane Katrina; written and directed by Stephen Rue ==Awards and honors==