Kingsmen Quartet leader among 2008 Hall of Fame inductees

Ray Dean Reese stands next to his Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame bronze plaque during the induction ceremony at Dollywood.
(Photo: Randall Franks) 
 
 
Gospel bass singer Ray Dean Reese of Asheville, N.C. was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame at Dollywood Oct. 9 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame member Les Beasley of the Florida Boys inducted his long time friend. “Thank God for all those all over the country who spread the gospel in song,” he said. Reese recalled many of his friends who contributed to his career including the late Kingsmen leader Eldridge Fox.

“It is such an honor to be put in the category of all my heroes and all the people I admired growing up,” he said. “With all our friends that have gone on before can you imagine the heavenly choir that is gathering.”
The Kingsmen appeared to honor their current leader performing “The Old Ship of Zion.”
Reese was born in 1939 to the Rev. Herbert A. Reese and Nellie Rice Reese. Reese said he sang in his first quartet when he was 14 along with some of his friends from church.  “Before he could drive, his father would take him downtown to the Asheville City Auditorium where he would sweep the entire building from the previous night’s event in order to gain admittance to that evening’s all night gospel music concert,” said SGMA Executive Director Charlie Waller. “There was a corner balcony seat from which he could overlook the bass singers that were performing that night such as the Big Chief with the Statesmen and others.”

Reese said he attended local singing schools with his friends Rex Nelon and London Parris and after graduating from Clyde A. Erwin High School he spent several years in the U.S. Army. He said upon his return from service in Germany, he returned to Fort Jackson, S.C. where he became a drill sergeant.
In the mid 1960’s, Ray received a call from his friend Eldridge Fox asking him to join the Kingsmen.
His first tenure with the Kingsmen was in the middle sixties, he said. He returned in the late 1960’s to the quartet as they continued part time until the group went full time in the early 1970’s. Waller said The Kingsmen performed at the White House, the Grand Ole Opry and on many other prestigious stages.  “They are the recipients of numerous Dove Awards along with countless Fan Awards,” he said.
Ray was the recipient of the Fan Award for favorite bass in 1979 and in 1985.
“His voice can be heard on over 150 different albums and well over 1500 songs,” Waller said.
In 2000, he was inducted with the Kingsmen into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame.
For more information, visit www.kingsmenquartet.com.

The other 2008 SGMA class of inductees are Polly Grimes, the late Fred Daniel, Squire Parsons, the late Herschel Lester, and the late Luther G. Presley.

The Southern Gospel Music Association is a non-profit organization that maintains the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame, the only facility honoring this genre of music, for the historic preservation of the accomplishments of the music and its people. Museum hours match those of Dollywood. Donations are tax-deductible. Individuals and businesses may donate to assist with honoring inductees with special bronze plaques that are displayed in the Hall of Fame. For more information about the museum or its inductees, visit www.sgma.org.