TORONTO - In 1966, George Beverly Shea claimed his first — and what he figured would be his last — Grammy Award. After all, he was happily settling into what he naturally assumed would be the twilight of his long, illustrious career.
He was 57 years old then, when the eighth annual instalment of the Grammys was conducted concurrently in Los Angeles, Nashville, Chicago and New York.
Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler's patriotic ode "Ballad of the Green Berets" was atop the charts in the U.S. at the time, while the Vietnam War raged halfway around the world.
Shea always felt out of place in Hollywood and this night was no exception. He liked to refer to himself as "just a psalm singer" from the small town of Winchester, Ont. He watched as the event's big awards were scooped up by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Herb Alpert, Tom Jones (who, believe it or not, won for best new artist), and a 23-year-old Barbra Streisand.
Shea shared the honour for best gospel or other religious recording with Anita Kerr. The award was presented to the duo by the master of ceremonies, comedian Jerry Lewis.
Though back then the Grammys weren't televised live, Shea didn't need video evidence of the incident to crystallize it in his mind. He savoured every detail. After all, he knew he wouldn't be back.
"Oh my, never," he said now, reached via telephone from his home in North Carolina.
"It was a privilege to be there once. You know, that's the way we looked at it."
But he was wrong. He will be back. At 102 years old, George Beverly Shea is going to be recognized by the Grammys again.
The gospel singing legend will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award at a ceremony on Saturday, the evening before the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Shea will be feted alongside Julie Andrews, Roy Haynes, Juilliard String Quartet, the Kingston Trio, Dolly Parton and the Ramones.
"You consider all those famous people in that category, it makes me think of the farmer that wanted to put his mule in the Kentucky Derby race — they said, 'Well, you know, he'll lose.' And the farmer said, 'Well, yeah, but look at the company he's keeping!'" Shea said with a chuckle.
"That's the way I feel a little bit, you know."
Of course, that's not exactly fair, given Shea's own achievements, and the way his rich bass-baritone voice has enabled him to explore every corner of the world, to become acquainted with generations of famous singers and to maintain a career for more than 70 years.
But he still prefers to look back on his achievements with a modesty instilled at an early age by his father, a Wesleyan Methodist minister.
Shea was born Feb. 1, 1909 in Winchester, a small community in Eastern Ontario. The fourth of eight children, Shea's family moved around several times, including a stay in the United States, but Shea mostly grew up around Ottawa.
He played violin, piano and organ but his vocal talent emerged early, and he became a fixture in the choir at his father's church. Later, when Shea attended Houghton College in Western New York, he sang with the glee club.
It was back in 1940 when Shea's hobby began to become something more. He was 31 years old, working as a radio announcer at a small station in Chicago. There, he met an ambitious 21-year-old college student and pastor at a local church who hosted a show called "Songs in the Night."
The student's name was Billy Graham. Shea liked him, so he helped him with his show.
When Graham became involved with the religious movement Youth for Christ International, he decided Shea's sonorous voice would be the perfect accompaniment to his sermons. But Shea wasn't so sure.
"I said: 'The only gospel singers I know would sing a couple verses and then stop and talk a while — would I have to do that?'" said the notoriously shy Shea. "And (Graham) chuckled, and he said: 'I hope not.'
"We didn't know it would last all these years."
As Graham steadily grew his following, Shea was always there, his booming solos setting the table for Graham's crusades around the world, from New York's Madison Square Garden to London's Wembley Stadium to a gathering of more than a million people in Seoul, Korea.
Now, Graham and Shea live about a couple kilometres apart in Montreat, North Carolina.
"It's a great privilege to work with him," Shea said of his longtime colleague. "He's a wonderful man. He's so unselfish. And when he was well and strong, he was the kind of man who would be first to the door to open it for you — you know, that kind of a man."
"I (still) talk to him. He sent me a letter just the other day. But it's hard to read his writing," he adds, chuckling.
During his work with Graham, Shea quietly assembled an impressive catalogue of original gospel music, including several songs that have, over the years, become well-known: "I'd Rather Have Jesus," "The Wonder of it All" and "I Love Thy Presence, Lord." Meanwhile, his rendition of "How Great Thou Art" is widely considered the gold standard.
"To write hymns that stand the test of time or sing hymns that you introduce and make standards, that is a tremendous achievement of longevity," said Paul Davis, the U.K. author of the authorized biography, "George Beverly Shea: Tell Me the Story," in a telephone interview.
"It's a legacy, isn't it?"
Indeed. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Shea has cumulatively sung for 220 million people over the course of his lifetime — a record, of course.
Shea seems satisfied by the distinction, though he's quick to brush it aside.
"You know, they didn't come to hear me," he said. "They were a captive audience who had to listen to me sing a couple verses of a song.
"But that was kind of nice that somebody wrote that up."
Aside from his consistent humility, what stands out immediately about Shea is his sense of humour.
Knowing that this journalist was ringing from Canada, Shea answered the phone and immediately launched into a booming rendition of "O Canada." He and his wife of 25 years, Karlene, call their home the "Sheasonian" — because, of course, it houses valuable relics.
After discussing his 102nd birthday celebration (his wife made a "great big cake"), he morbidly added, "I don't know if I'll make the 103rd one!" Then he chuckled to himself.
And at one point, Shea — whose friends call him Bev — pointed out that there were three boys in his hometown who shared the name Beverly.
"That's a girl's name, isn't it?" he asked mischievously. He then relayed a story about a time in the 1950s when, after landing a singing gig on ABC, he needed to join a union.
"I got a letter from them saying: 'Ms. Beverly Shea, a couple of ladies from the union are getting together. Bring your bathing suit,'" he recalled. "I should have done it!"
Yet he speaks with a more serious reverence when discussing Canada, though it hasn't been his home for more than 70 years.
He still brings his grandchildren to his cottage near Ottawa every summer. While nothing ever came of his applying to join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a teenager, he still displays an RCMP hat and pin given to him years ago in his home (he notes that guests like to try the hat on).
"We just have a marvellous attachment to Canada," he said. "We can hardly wait to get back there again."
He plans to be in L.A. for the presentation of his award this weekend.
Given that he's the type to thank a reporter profusely just for taking an interest in him, it's no surprise when he says he can't quite get his head around the fact that the Grammys even remembered who he was at all.
Though he once accumulated 10 Grammy nominations, all that happened a lifetime ago — well, a lifetime for most people, anyway.
"It's just kind of surprising," he said. "Inever had an agent — most people had agents, you know. ... What a surprise to see the call from the president of the Grammy Awards, you know? 'Cause I didn't think anything like that would ever come up again."
"But they say that this kind of an award is not given because of the number of recordings you've sold. It's just something else.
"I guess, well, it's just your whole lifetime
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