Glen Payne
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| Glen Payne | |
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| Background information | |
| Genre(s) | Christian |
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Glen Payne (1928-1999) spent over 50 years as one of gospel music's top lead singers. At age 17 in 1944, Glen joined the Stamps-Baxter Quartet. He was also a member of the Lester Stamps Quartet, The Stamps All-Stars, and The Stamps-Ozark Quartet. In 1956 he joined The Weatherford Quartet, which featured Glen, Earl & Lily Fern Weatherford, Armond Morales, and George Houston. Houston was later replaced by Henry Slaughter. This lineup of the Weatherfords is considered by many gospel experts to have been the best singing group in gospel music history.He was married and had 3 children and 3 grandchildren.
In 1963, Weatherfords members Glen, Bobby Clark, and Danny Koker departed to work for evangelist Rex Humbard at the Cathedral of Tomorrow in Akron, Ohio. Together, they formed the Cathedral Trio. With the addition of bass singer George Younce a year later, the Cathedral Trio became the Cathedral Quartet. The Cathedrals immediately became a sensation with their smooth quartet sound.Over the next 36 years, the Cathedrals won numerous Singing News Fan Awards and had several #1 hits on the Southern Gospel Charts including Step into The Water, Boundless Love, and He Made a Change. While the quartet saw several different people hold the tenor, baritone and pianist positions, Payne and Younce remained the guiding forces of the quartet until Glen's death in 1999 during the Cathedral's farewell retirement tour. Payne and Younce were the only lead and bass singers the Cathedrals ever had.
During the 1970's the Cathedrals were regulars on Sunday Morning Television appearing on "The Gospel Singing Jubilee" and also appeared in several Billy Graham Crusades. They also appeared on NBC's "Today" show. During the 1990's, the Cathedrals were regulars on the "Gaither Homecoming" videos and were generally recognized as the top quartet in Southern Gospel music.
Glen was the willing "target" of many of MC George's jokes and icebreakers during the quartet's run. George often referred to Glen as "The Old Man" and the two were universally loved by their audiences. Glen could sing the slow songs, the fast songs, the modern songs and the old convention songs with perfect pitch and sound. Glen was well-respected by his peers, being accorded the reputation as "the measuring stick" to which all other lead singers aspired. Glen's signature song was We Shall See Jesus, a song that few others in the industry have ever tried to perform, much less record.
Glen sat as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Quartet Convention and the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame for many years, being enshrined in the SGMA Hall of Fame at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee itself in 1998.
Glen passed away due to complications from cancer in October, 1999 during the Cathedral's farewell tour. Although unable to attend that year, Glen, through the marvel of modern technology, made his final performance at the National Quartet Convention via telephone hook-up from his hospital bed at Vanderbilt Hospital. During this Cathedral's appearance at NQC, Glen talked with George and the audience over the phone and, at George's behest, sang the old hymn I Won't Have To Cross Jordan Alone. It was an unbelievable performance that brought down the house at NQC, just as he had over the many years of being a fixture on the NQC stage. It was reported that as Glen died, he was singing What a Day That Will Be, and died right after getting to When He takes me by the hand.... Truly, a fitting farewell from the man many remember as the greatest Southern Gospel lead singer of his time.
