Rev. Al Green and the recently deceased Vestal Goodman are among the 2004 class of the Gospel Music Association's (GMA) Gospel Music Hall of Fame. The entertainers will be honored Feb. 11 at a Nashville ceremony along with singer Sandi Patty and, as a non-performer, BMI president/CEO Frances W. Preston.
"The newest inductees for the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame exemplify the great diversity and history of Christian and gospel music," GMA president John W. Styll says in a statement. "Their contributions to our culture have had a profound and lasting impact and will be forever remembered by this honor."
As previously reported, Goodman died Dec. 27 in Celebration, Fla., near Orlando. She had performed through much of December with Bill Gaither and others on the Homecoming Christmas Tour.
A famed soul artist who first struck a chord with listeners in the late 1960s, Green has recorded gospel albums and preached sermons from his Memphis pulpit at Full Gospel Tabernacle since 1980. In recent years he has made a return to secular music, releasing "I Can't Stop" (Blue Note) late in 2003.
"I first asked my church about singing songs where I throw in words like 'baby' and 'sugar'," he recently confessed to Billboard about the album, which debuted last month at No. 53 on The Billboard 200.
Patty is a pillar of contemporary Christian music, with 39 of the GMA's Dove Awards to her credit. Her most recent release, "Take Hold of Christ" (Word), bowed in March 2003 at No. 37 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian Albums chart. "God has been faithful through the ups and the downs of my life," Patty says of the Hall of Fame honor. "This means more than anyone can possibly know."
Hosted by 2000 Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductee Pat Boone, this year's ceremony will be held at Trinity Music City in Hendersonville, Tenn. The event will be taped by TBN for a one-hour special to air at a later date.
"The newest inductees for the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame exemplify the great diversity and history of Christian and gospel music," GMA president John W. Styll says in a statement. "Their contributions to our culture have had a profound and lasting impact and will be forever remembered by this honor."
As previously reported, Goodman died Dec. 27 in Celebration, Fla., near Orlando. She had performed through much of December with Bill Gaither and others on the Homecoming Christmas Tour.
A famed soul artist who first struck a chord with listeners in the late 1960s, Green has recorded gospel albums and preached sermons from his Memphis pulpit at Full Gospel Tabernacle since 1980. In recent years he has made a return to secular music, releasing "I Can't Stop" (Blue Note) late in 2003.
"I first asked my church about singing songs where I throw in words like 'baby' and 'sugar'," he recently confessed to Billboard about the album, which debuted last month at No. 53 on The Billboard 200.
Patty is a pillar of contemporary Christian music, with 39 of the GMA's Dove Awards to her credit. Her most recent release, "Take Hold of Christ" (Word), bowed in March 2003 at No. 37 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian Albums chart. "God has been faithful through the ups and the downs of my life," Patty says of the Hall of Fame honor. "This means more than anyone can possibly know."
Hosted by 2000 Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductee Pat Boone, this year's ceremony will be held at Trinity Music City in Hendersonville, Tenn. The event will be taped by TBN for a one-hour special to air at a later date.
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