Inducted 2007

Born August 28, 1928, David Reece was a native of Jonesville, NC. A multi-talented individual, he had a lovely baritone voice, was an excellent pianist, an exceptional arranger, a gifted songwriter, and one of the funniest men in gospel music.

Reece played for many of the major quartets in Southern Gospel Music including the Blue Ridge Quartet, the Rangers Quartet, the Imperial Sugar Quartet, the Harvesters Quartet, Stamps Ozark Quartet and the Deep South Quartet. In the late 1950s, Reece formed the supreme male trio, the Rangers Trio. Their exceptionally smooth sound was built around David's rich baritone voice and his understated piano technique, and many of the group’s performances were Reece’s compositions. 

His recording, “Musical Meditations” was one of the first instrumental albums to be released by a gospel music artist. Using all of David’s skills to perfection, the Rangers Trio became the standard by which other trios were judged.  In addition to the popular gospel songs of the day, the Rangers Trio also performed some novelty songs that became standards for the group. One such song was “The Mockingbird,” a crowd favorite for as long as the Rangers performed.  David co-authored the well-known Jimmie Davis song, “So Many Reasons.”

After a long career in gospel music, Reece worked in the secular entertainment field both as a musician with Mel Tillis and writer of comedy for artists including the beloved Minnie Pearl.