He'd rather have Jesus

• By MARK HUNTER
• Special to the Advocate
• Published: Oct 10, 2009

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ANGOLA — With an invitation for “Miss” Beverly Shea to wear a swimsuit to a talent contest, the man who would become “America’s Beloved Gospel Singer” knew it was time to do something about his “girl” name.

Soon thereafter he would add a first name to become George Beverly Shea, but the girl name still gets attention, the century-old singer said. “Some people say, ‘where’d you get that funny name — Beverly?’ ”

Before he was born in Winchester, Ontario, Canada, (Feb. 1, 1909), his father, a Wesleyan-Methodist pastor, occasionally hosted a fellow-pastor named “Beverly” at his pulpit, Shea said. The preacher “was quite an author and teacher and the people of Winchester liked him so well three little baby boys came along and they were named Beverly Taylor, Beverly Jackson and Beverly Shea.”

Shea visited Louisiana last week to sing a short concert and donate a customized Rodgers organ to the Tudy Chapel at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola’s Main Camp.

At 100, he has to sit in a chair because of back problems and the high notes tend to be out of his reach, but his baritone voice can still move audiences with its rich low notes and entertain with stories such as the one about the mail delivery that led to a name change.

“I was working as an announcer at WMBI (1939-1944) in Chicago when I got a postcard addressed to ‘Miss’ Beverly Shea, and ‘come to the Palmer House on such and such a date because some of the ladies are having a beauty contest — and bring your bathing suit,’” he told the nearly 500 inmates and invited guests at the chapel service.

As the crowd roared with laughter, Shea added, “You know — I should have done it!”

He also joked about his age.

“I still feel pretty good for my second century,” he said of being wheeled around the prison grounds in a wheelchair. “I can’t sing as well as I could five years ago . . . Now I have to take a breath between syllables.”

It didn’t matter.

The audience’s appreciation for him was expressed in wave after wave of applause as the man who spent decades traveling the world with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association worked through a repertoire of well-known hymns he has sung to millions across the globe.

Many could be seen mouthing the words along with him to such favorites as “Rock of Ages,” “I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked” and “The Love of God.”

I’d Rather Have Jesus