Christian Music - Bill and Gloria Gaither - The Lords Prayer

They gave themselves away for things that last forever.
For nearly half a century, Bill and Gloria Gaither have dedicated their lives to the eternal values of their Christian faith, using their talents to glorify God.

"Because He Lives," "He Touched Me," "Thanks to Calvary," "Going Home," "The Longer I Serve Him," "Something Beautiful," "There’s Something About That Name," "The King is Coming," "It Is Finished," "Sinner Saved by Grace," "Then Came the Morning," "Forgiven Again" are just a few of the more than 700 songs thus far in the life’s journey of Gloria and Bill Gaither.

In an interview with The Christian View, Gloria Gaither explained to this writer that words have been important to her since childhood. Her father, Lee Sickal, a Michigan pastor, and her mother, Dorothy Sickal, a poet, writer, speaker, and painter, encouraged their talented young daughter. "I was probably a generation ahead, as far as women doing what God called them to do," said Gloria. "It never occurred to me that it had anything to do with gender, until I left home and got into the world. My parents had never said to me that I couldn’t do anything because I was a girl, or that I couldn’t do anything for any reason. In fact, they taught me, from the time that I could breathe, that God had gifted me and called me, and that I would stand before Him one day and would give an account of the gifts He had given me."

Her husband Bill Gaither, grew up on an Indiana farm. In addition to farming, Bill Gaither’s father, George Gaither, worked the night shift at a General Motors plant. Bill’s mother, Lela Gaither, would sing and play the piano with her children. "His mom had an artistic heart, and she loved poetry and was very tenderhearted," said Gloria. "Although her parents were very poor, they made sure she had piano lessons." Bill spent his childhood listening to Southern Gospel quartets and family groups on the radio, even listening to a radio in the barn while milking cows. He would pretend to broadcast to neighbors from his farmhouse’s upstairs window. His parents encouraged their son’s interest, taking the family to see and hear in person the very groups Bill listened to on the radio, whether to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, the Quartet Convention in Memphis, or the singings at the Cadle Tabernacle in Indianapolis. Bill learned the words to his favorite songs, and taught his younger brother and sister to sing.

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