I've been reading a book by historian Garry Wills titled Head and Heart: American Christianities, a study of the history of Christianity in the United States. Any such study must include the stories of the evangelists who have been so popular through American history - and many of those stories are interesting and colorful.

Wills says that for an evangelist to be successful, he/she has to be backed by a good musician.Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) may well have been the father of Fundamentalism. He founded the schools that became the Moody Bible Institute and the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University). He was backed by Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908).

Billy Sunday (1862-1935) was a baseball player turned evangelist. He was known to use his athletic prowess to jump all over the stage while he was preaching, and was reputed to be similar in style to but more entertaining than George M. Cohan. Billy Sunday was backed by Homer Rodeheaver, who had previously backed evangelist William E. Biederwolf.

Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) was the most prolific gospel songwriter of all. Though blind, she wrote over 8,000 hymns. Crosby was a Methodist, not tied to any particular evangelist. Wikipedia says Crosby is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America on February 11.

At the present time, Bill Gaither and his wife Gloria serve as both musicians and evangelists, and their music is everywhere.

Can anyone else add to a historical-musical perspective of evangelists and gospel musicians?

-Joe-