Inducted 1997

One of Southern Gospel's all time great bass singers, James Wetherington is remembered as a man of class and dignity. 

He began his career in the late 1940s singing with the Sunny South Quartet and then with the Melody Masters. In 1949, he became the bass singer for the Statesmen Quartet and it would be with that legendary group that his name would be forever etched. 

When Wetherington joined the Statesmen, both Hovie Lister and Lee Roy Abernathy suggested he needed a nickname. Paying homage to his Indian heritage, Wetherington became "Big Chief" and a part of Southern Gospel history lore. 

A key member of the Statesmen for 24 years, he continued to entertain and delight audiences till his death at the National Quartet Convention in 1973. "Big Chief" Wetherington set the standard by which all other bass singers are still judged.