Southern Gospel Music Association

Peg McKamey Bean
March 31, 1943 – December 26, 2023
Inducted in 2016

Peg McKamey Bean of The McKameys, known for her spirited style on stage is another member of the Class of 2016 in the SGMA Hall of Fame.  The McKameys were originally formed as a trio of sisters in 1954.  The group continues to produce chart-topping songs.  “If you have been around Southern Gospel Music for very long, you know when Peg takes the stage with her white hanky, God is going to be honored,” said SGMA President, Arthur Rice.
 

Ronny Hinson
Inducted in 2016

Ronny Hinson is a middle child of eight kids born to a Pentecostal preacher father and a prayer warrior mother. Cecil and Stella, originally from Tennessee and Arkansas, moved at a young age (during the great mid-western dust bowl drought) and raised their family in California.
 

Ronny is the oldest of the three brothers and one sister that made up the singing group called The Singing Hinson’s, which also included their original bass guitarist Carl Harvell. Carl was like a brother to Ronny. Ronnie was born just a mile and half from the little Church of God where they sang together for the first time in a revival service. He founded the group in 1967 at the age of 21 years old. In March of 1971, against all odds, he moved the entire family to Madisonville, Kentucky. From there,  they relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in 1976. In only a few short years, he managed and guided their illustrious career from singing in their preacher father's storefront church to performing in Carnegie Hall and onward and upward to be awarded the title of number one group of the year in 1979 by The Singing News Fans. His youngest brother, Larry left the group to pursue an evangelistic and pastoral ministry. Their sister, Yvonne, chose to raise her family at home and had left the group a few years earlier. Ronny and Kenny (the most phenomenal singer ever) carried on with added members (Nephew Eric, his son Bo and Chris Hawkins). From the first song to the last one of the Hinson’s groundbreaking, trend-setting music, the two brothers stood side by side. Ronny wrote 85-90% of the songs they sang. He is best known for writing his iconic song "The Lighthouse." At least nine times, the song was the monthly #1 song and the song of the year in 1972. It was the first song to win The Singing News Fan Award And The GMA Dove Award in the same year, followed by the #1 song of the year "He Pilots My Ship." Ronnie later co-wrote "When He Was On The Cross" with Mike Payne, which was the 1985-1986 southern gospel song of the year for two consecutive years. 

Ronny has written songs for almost every artist in the southern gospel genre, many achieving # 1 status on Singing News and other charts. Ronny's family retired in 1988 and did a short reunion tour In 1993 called "The One More Hallelujah Tour." Even after the passing of Ronny’s brother Kenny, Ronny continued singing. He then shifted his focus to his solo career, which he had put on pause for the duration of the family tour. Ronnie's co-written (self-featured) song titled "Higher Than I’ve Ever Been" helped launch his solo career in 1988 when it rose to #1 in The Cash Box Magazine charts. His contributions to the music he committed his life to include being voted songwriter of the year in 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991; four consecutive years. 

In 2006, Ronny, along with his family, was inducted into the GMA Hall Of Fame. In 2013, Ronny was recognized and awarded for his outstanding contribution to gospel music as a songwriter by The Southern Gospel Music Guild. In 2016, he was honored for a lifetime of achievement in Gospel Music and was given The J.D.Sumner Award. In 2016, Ronny was inducted individually into the SGMA Hall Of Fame. In 2020, Ronny and his famous song "The Lighthouse" were honored once again and the Board of Directors for the National Quartet Convention said of him, "Ronny Hinson is a national treasure to our music and as long as people sing gospel music, Ronny’s songs will continue to be sung."