James David Vaughan

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For other persons named James Vaughan, see James Vaughan (disambiguation).

James David Vaughan was a music teacher, composer, song book publisher, the founder of the Vaughan Conservatory of Music and the James D. Vaughan Publishing Company.

Vaughan was born in Giles County, Tennessee on December 14, 1864, the son of George Washington and Eliza (Shores) Vaughan. He died February 9, 1941.

Vaughan is generally considered to be the founder of the genre now known as "southern gospel" music. He started the James D. Vaughan Music Publishing Company in 1902 and in 1910, he was the first to establish a professional quartet and put them on the road for the purpose of selling songbooks. The Vaughan School of Music was formed in 1911. Numerous gospel performers would study there in the following years. In 1912, Vaughan began the Vaughan Family Visitor, an influential publication across the South during the early 20th century.

In 1922, Vaughan founded one of the first radio stations in Tennessee, WOAN, where he broadcasted Southern Gospel music until 1930. He also founded the first record company based in the South, Vaughan Phonograph Records. Vaughan was also involved in local politics, serving as mayor of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee from 1923 to 1927, a position his brother Charles Wesley and son would hold after him.

As one of the most significant figures in southern gospel music, James D. Vaughan was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1997.

[edit] External links

• James D. Vaughan - from Southern Gospel Music Association
• A singing news article
• His museum