Inducted 2005

Born in Alcoa, TN, on June 28, 1919, Elmo fell in love with Southern Gospel at an early age.  

Elmo served in the Army Air Force during WWII.  After his discharge in the fall of 1945, he took a job with the Lone Star Quartet in Raleigh, NC, singing on WPTF-AM radio.  The following year, he and Jack Taylor left the quartet to join the Stamps Quartet owned, Blue Ridge Quartet. Elmo became the group’s manager as well as its lead singer – positions he would hold for the next three decades.  

The Blue Ridge became an independent quartet in 1948 and moved to Spartanburg, SC singing on WSPA-AM radio.  In 1951, WSPA added television to the area and the Blue Ridge Quartet became one of the first groups to appear regularly over the new medium.  Because of the television exposure and Elmo’s leadership, the Blue Ridge Quartet name spread far and wide.  The Blue Ridge also became part owners of the Gospel Singing Caravan which was one of the pioneering Southern Gospel syndicated television programs of the 1960s.  Elmo was particularly known for directing the choir numbers on the Caravan.  In 1965, the group formed its own television program, Music for All America, appearing regularly on 30-40 stations.  

Not a flashy performer, Elmo Fagg is remembered as "a pure, simple, right-on-pitch lead singer."  His tireless promotions and leadership kept the Blue Ridge Quartet at the top of the Southern Gospel industry.