Inducted 1997

Wendy Bagwell's greatest legacy to the world of Southern Gospel Music was the gift of laughter. 

An adept storyteller and master entertainer, Bagwell was one of the first to introduce humorous themes into Southern Gospel Music recordings. 

This "entertainer's entertainer" formed the Sunliters in 1953 following service in the United States Marine Corps. For more than four decades, the group traveled throughout the world sharing the gospel through testimony and song. 

Perhaps the most memorable release from the more than 60 recordings made by Wendy and the Sunliters was the 1970 hit, "Here Come the Rattlesnakes," distinguished as the first certifiable million seller in Southern Gospel history.