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The late Danny Gaither is among 2010 Hall of Fame inductees

Members of the Bill Gaither Trio attended the induction of Daniel J. “Danny” Gaither (1938-2001) of Alexandria, Indiana into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame at Dollywood recently in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
“Danny Gaither was the smooth tenor voice in the original Bill Gaither Trio,” said Charlie Waller, SGMA executive director. “When he joined the group at the age of 18, it was still simply a family affair. His brother, Bill, led the trio, and his younger sister, Mary Ann, was the band’s original female singer.
Waller said the trio sang its way through college, after which Danny left to join the Golden Keys Quartet.
“After Bill and Gloria married in the mid-60’s, Danny returned to join the couple as the second edition of the Gaither Trio,” he said. “In 1977, he embarked on a successful solo career, producing a number of albums including ‘Singing to the World,’ ‘It Is Well With My Soul,’ ‘ Sing a Song of Love’ and ‘Sweet and High.’”
In the early 1990’s, Danny was forced to stop touring due to problems with his vocal chords and in the late 1990’s he was diagnosed with lymphoma which he battled for five years before his death, Waller said.
“Danny won high accolades for his work, including numerous awards,” Waller said. “He served as minister of music for his home church, Chesterfield Community Church of God.”
He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in April 1999.
Bill Gaither, Mary Ann Addison and Gloria Gaither accepted his induction presented by SGMA member Lou Wills Hildreth.
Brian Free and Assurance sang in honor of his induction.
“To the Southern Gospel Music Association, thank you very much,” said Bill Gaither. “I wish you had known my brother. Gloria and I would write the songs but he would sing them and take them to the world. He had such a wonderful heart.
“And Hearing him sing ‘kings and kingdoms will pass away but there is something about that name.’ I will give my life for that,” he said. “I will keep doing it as long as I’ve got breath to do it and tell people we serve a wonderful God, who makes sense of a world that sometimes does not make sense… If he is looking down this afternoon, he would be very, very proud.”
Gloria Gaither said that there was never a sister-in-law treated with as much respect as Danny Gaither gave her.
“Danny was fun. He loved to laugh,” she said. “We had little to bring except for Danny and he was the stellar singer of us all. We really miss him and thank you much for this award.”
The other 2010 SGMA class of Hall of Fame inductees are Little Jan Buckner-Goff, and Sam Goodman, Bill Hefner, Connie Hopper and Arthur Smith.Country Music Hall of Famer Dolly Parton received the James D. Vaughn Impact Award at the event.
The Southern Gospel Music Association is a non-profit organization that maintains the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame, the only facility honoring this genre of music, for the historic preservation of the accomplishments of the music and its people. Museum hours match those of Dollywood. Donations are tax-deductible. Individuals and businesses may donate to assist with honoring inductees with special bronze plaques that are displayed in the Hall of Fame. For more information about the museum or its inductees, visit www.sgma.org.