Inducted 2009

Benefactor: Friends of SGMA

Bill Lyles possessed one of the greatest bass voices the Southern Gospel industry has ever known.  Especially smooth, with impeccable timing and pitch, Lyles sang early on with the Hamilton County Quartet near Chattanooga , Tennessee , and also with a wartime version of the famous Swanee River Boys.  

Shortly after World War II, he was hired as the bass singer for the Blackwood Brothers Quartet and rose to prominence in a quartet that consisted of Lyles on bass, James Blackwood on lead, R.W. Blackwood on baritone, and Bill Shaw on tenor.  With Jackie Marshall playing piano, this quartet reached new heights of popularity starring on national television, charting in Billboard magazine, and recording exclusively on the RCA label.  

One of his contemporaries remembered that Lyles’ big smile and sunny disposition won the heart of people everywhere.  Tragically, Bill Lyles was killed at the height of his professional career when a plane piloted by fellow quartet member R.W. Blackwood crashed in Clanton , Alabama on June 30, 1954 .