Gospel singer who was a founding member the Southern gospel quartet, The Blackwood Brothers.
He befriended Elvis Presley in his youth at a church in Memphis that both of their families attended.
He won nine Grammy Awards, released over 200 albums, and was invited to appear both in the Washington, D.C. and at a church in Moscow.
He and his brother Doyle began performing when he was just seven years of age, singing duets that mixed church songs and popular numbers.
His breakthrough performance came with a performance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scout on CBS, where he and his group sang "Have You Talked to the Man Upstairs?"
