I was pleased to get a most informative e-mail from Laban West, our Contributing Writer for Church Music. He had listened to the video of Danny Gaither singing a stanza of "The Longer I Serve Him." Here is what Laban wrote:
DANNY GAITHER - (November 20, 1938 – April 6, 2001), was a Gospel music singer from Alexandria, Indiana, and an original member of the Bill Gaither Trio.
As a youngster, Gaither was a member of the Nazarene church in his hometown. By 1950, he was already singing religious music in an organized group. He and his brother, Bill, were half of a quartet known as the Junior Dixie Four. In 1954, he was the tenor soloist from a 100-member high school choir for a community sunrise service in his hometown.
By the time Gaither was 18, he, brother Bill, and sister Mary Ann had formed the Gaither Trio, and the group was singing at churches and religious events. A 1957 newspaper advertisement for a "Frankfort Zone Young People's Rally" featured a picture of the trio and the slogan, "GOSPEL SONGS you'll really like."
After he moved to Ohio to teach in a high school, Gaither became a member of the Golden Keys Quartet, which was based in Portsmouth, Ohio. He sang second tenor with the group.
Gaither sang to audiences around the world with the trio. (Mary Ann was later replaced by Bill's wife Gloria.) In 1977, he left the group and embarked on a successful solo career. An advertisement for a 1994 concert said: "For years Danny's unique voice added the special sound to the Bill Gaither Trio. Now Danny is on his own, still singing but also sharing in a new and special way." As a soloist, he produced a number of albums including Singing to the World, It Is Well With My Soul, Sing a Song of Love and Sweet and High.
He also was minister of music at Chesterfield Community Church of God.
The stress of touring affected Dan, and in the early 1990s he experienced problems with his vocal cords. The problems were so severe that he was forced to stop touring, although he was able to occasionally appear with Bill and other fellow gospel singers in the well-known "Homecoming" performances.
During one such performance, at the 1994 Praise Gathering in Indianapolis, Indiana, Bill Gaither and Mark Lowry concocted a surprise for Danny and those in attendance. Lowry walked down from the stage to the audience during "The Longer I Serve Him," and tapped Danny to sing a verse, which moved both the audience and the other Homecoming performers to tears.
Danny continued to join the Homecoming group whenever his health permitted, even after he was diagnosed with lymphoma. Gaither died of lymphoma April 6, 2001, in Alexandria, Indiana. He was 62. He was survived by his wife, three children, three grandchildren, his parents, his brother, and his sister.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Gaither
DANNY GAITHER - (November 20, 1938 – April 6, 2001), was a Gospel music singer from Alexandria, Indiana, and an original member of the Bill Gaither Trio.
As a youngster, Gaither was a member of the Nazarene church in his hometown. By 1950, he was already singing religious music in an organized group. He and his brother, Bill, were half of a quartet known as the Junior Dixie Four. In 1954, he was the tenor soloist from a 100-member high school choir for a community sunrise service in his hometown.
By the time Gaither was 18, he, brother Bill, and sister Mary Ann had formed the Gaither Trio, and the group was singing at churches and religious events. A 1957 newspaper advertisement for a "Frankfort Zone Young People's Rally" featured a picture of the trio and the slogan, "GOSPEL SONGS you'll really like."
After he moved to Ohio to teach in a high school, Gaither became a member of the Golden Keys Quartet, which was based in Portsmouth, Ohio. He sang second tenor with the group.
Gaither sang to audiences around the world with the trio. (Mary Ann was later replaced by Bill's wife Gloria.) In 1977, he left the group and embarked on a successful solo career. An advertisement for a 1994 concert said: "For years Danny's unique voice added the special sound to the Bill Gaither Trio. Now Danny is on his own, still singing but also sharing in a new and special way." As a soloist, he produced a number of albums including Singing to the World, It Is Well With My Soul, Sing a Song of Love and Sweet and High.
He also was minister of music at Chesterfield Community Church of God.
The stress of touring affected Dan, and in the early 1990s he experienced problems with his vocal cords. The problems were so severe that he was forced to stop touring, although he was able to occasionally appear with Bill and other fellow gospel singers in the well-known "Homecoming" performances.
During one such performance, at the 1994 Praise Gathering in Indianapolis, Indiana, Bill Gaither and Mark Lowry concocted a surprise for Danny and those in attendance. Lowry walked down from the stage to the audience during "The Longer I Serve Him," and tapped Danny to sing a verse, which moved both the audience and the other Homecoming performers to tears.
Danny continued to join the Homecoming group whenever his health permitted, even after he was diagnosed with lymphoma. Gaither died of lymphoma April 6, 2001, in Alexandria, Indiana. He was 62. He was survived by his wife, three children, three grandchildren, his parents, his brother, and his sister.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Gaither