Inducted 1971
G.T. "Dad" Speer
(1891 - 1966)
George Thomas “Dad” Speer was one of the true pioneers of Southern Gospel Music, having founded the Speer Quartet in 1921, the group who later became The Speer Family. As a fitting confirmation of his significance to Southern Gospel Music, Dad Speer was the first inductee to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in the inaugural year of 1971
The first musical memory of Tom Speer, who in later years became known as “Dad” Speer, was a gospel song his mother sang. From earliest childhood in his native Cullman County, Alabama, Tom Speer felt compelled toward a life of service in Gospel Music. As an adult he wrote songs constantly, sang at every opportunity, and became a devoted and respected shaped-note teacher throughout the Southern U.S. with both the Vaughan School of Music and the Stamps-Baxter Music School. When Tom Speer returned from serving in France during World War I, he married Lena Brock in 1920 and they settled in Double Springs, Alabama. The newly-weds transitioned from farming to singing in 1921 when, with Tom’s sister Pearl and her husband Logan Claborn, they formed the Speer Quartet. Combining male and female voices was very innovative at the time and contributed greatly to popularizing Southern Gospel Music. In the late 1920s and early 1930s it became clear that the limited income from singing could not support two families so Pearl and Logan left the group. Without Pearl and Logan Tom and Lena often performed as a duet. Before long oldest son, little Brock, who was always in-tow anyway, became old enough to carry some vocal responsibilities and in short order sisters Rosa Nell and Mary Tom, and eventually youngest son Ben, joined the group. By the early 1930s, Tom’s insistence that each of the children learn to play an instrument and learn vocal training paid-off, and the family became a regular, four-part harmony group and their name transitioned to The Speer Family. It took an incredible amount of perseverance and dedication to the cause for a Gospel group to survive during the Depression Era 1930s. But Tom and Lena sacrificed and were faithful to their calling and God was faithful to provide. This was a time before records were sold as part of a group’s income so they survived from songbook sales, free-will offerings and rare admission ticket concerts. A big breakthrough occurred in 1934 when Tom was hired by James Vaughn as a full-time singing school instructor and songbook sales representative, a move that allowed the family to eke-out a living for the next seven years. Under Dad’s direction and vision The Speer Family would eventually become one of Southern Gospel Music’s favorite recording artists, recording over 75 records beginning with 78’s in the late 1940s and then by the mid 1950s the new 33 rpm LP (Long Play) format. Although Dad left the group in the early 1960s (passing away in 1966) The Speer Family continued touring the country for years, well into the 1990s, averaging about 225 engagements per year. As Dad and Mom Speer performed in their later years, night after night crowds across the country would be brought to tears when the aging duo would sing Heaven Will Surely Be Worth It All (writer W. Oliver Cooper). Dad Speer’s influence on the lives of others was immeasurable. Rupert Cravens, a young, unschooled Missouri farm boy, learned harmony, theory, and Christian love from Dad Speer at the Vaughan Singing School in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Rupert became a minister and one of Gospel Music’s most prolific songwriters (almost 100 published songs). Mosie Lister was another of Dad Speer’s mentoring successes (writer of Where No One Stands Alone, How Long Has It Been, others). Lister (GMA Hall Of Fame inductee in 1976) turned away from a promising career as a country singer to devote his life to writing Gospel Music. Dad Speer’s life touched thousands and everyone who knew him, no matter how briefly, caught a glimpse of the meaning of the popular song Dad had written, Heaven’s Jubilee. Tom “Dad” Speer was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1997, 26 years after his induction to the GMA Hall Of Fame.
Additional note of interest:
Tom Speer, who wrote or co-wrote more than 600 songs, collaborated with Adger Pace (GMA Hall Of Fame inductee in 1973). Pace typically wrote the lyrics for Speer's compositions as well as for many other Gospel writers who published songs with the Vaughan Company.
Content/source: Gospel Music Encyclopedia (Robert Anderson & Gail North) 1979, Close Harmony (James R. Goff Jr.) 2002. Additional writing and editing by GMA Hall Of Fame staff member Jon Robberson Sr. (January, 2023)