Ceres resident Herb Henry, who recently celebrated 60 years as a gospel music singer and promoter, was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., on Sept 24 at the National Quartet Convention.

Over 10,000 fans attend the annual weeklong event which draws the finest gospel groups from throughout the United States.

The retired Ceres pastor was singled out for his 30-plus years of promoting west coast gospel music concerts, many which included performances of the Herb Henry Family singing group.

Henry was noted for his radio broadcasts, and 35 years of pastoring his Ceres church which birthed his family singing group and others.

An afternoon showcase for the Hall of Fame members was held on Tuesday, Sept. 23. Others inducted were Jeff Stice, the late piano player of the Nelons and Triumphant Quartet, Mike Holcomb, a legendary bass singer for the Inspirations for over 30 years; and Kelly Nelon Clark, who tragically died in a July 26 plane crash in Wyoming along with her husband Jason Clark and daughter Amber Kistler.

Afterwards, his group, the Herb Henry Family sang a song entitled “I Hold a Clear Title,” a classic gospel song that is seldomly sung anymore. When the crowd heard the opening line, they erupted in applause. When it had finished, fans were on their feet for the song and in appreciation for the six decades of incredible efforts to maintain a gospel music presence on the West Coast.

It’s a rarity for the SGMA to choose someone from the west coast as the industry is heavily concentrated in the Midwest and South. The only other west coast inductee is the late Bob Jones, once a friend of Henry’s.

A native of Oakdale, Henry, 77, began promoting gospel concerts in the Modesto area in 1989 and at the same time, went on the air with a weekly program, “Herb Henry Family & Friends,” on KCBC, an AM station which reaches a wide audience with 50,000 watts of power, and also streaming at www.770kcbc.com. The show still aired Sundays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and repeated at 10 p.m. to midnight. Henry’s variety program, featuring gospel hit songs of today along with classic groups and gospel favorites of the past. Herb and Chris also share history about gospel music as well as background and information about singers, which the audience appreciates, as evidenced by cards and letters that pour in from across the nation, including Hawaii. Listeners also financially support the radio ministry to cover most of the costs, along with donations from churches.

Henry has retired from organizing concerts, a job that has fallen to son Chris Henry and Richie Hartsfield, although he still sings at those events with his family, including wife Nancy. At its zenith, Henry was organizing 50 to 60 concerts a year “and now it’s much, much less than that,” he said. Many of those concerts were scheduled on Sunday nights but many churches no longer offer services in that time slot.

“We don’t go into the auditoriums like we used to. The numbers have gone down; they don’t merit renting a thousand seats for 300 or 400 people. We do, once in a while, go to a large church, even like Ceres Christian Church. We’ll be having our Labor Day celebration in Denair at the Connecting Point Church of the Nazarene. It seats 300-400, I guess. We’ve used it the past 10 years and the people have been very nice to us.”

Chris Henry, who pastors Hope Tree Church in Ceres (formerly Valley Christian Center), said he was excited to see his dad honored in the Hall of Fame.

“I took my family last year to Tennessee and was able to see the Hall of Fame for the first since it opened in 1997,” said Chris. “It had all of my gospel music heroes in it like J.D. Sumner, Roger Bennett, James Blackwood and Bill Gaither – and now my dad, Herb Henry! It’s hard to wrap my mind around it. Such an exciting moment, not just for our family, but for all gospel music fans on the west coast.”

A graduate of Oakdale High School and Stanislaus State, Henry retired from pastoring Richland Faith Assembly of God in Ceres three years ago, after serving there for 35 years.

Hartsfield and the Henrys will be performing at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18 at Richland Faith Assembly of God, 1201 Richland Avenue in Ceres (Modesto address however). The free concert will include Hall of Fame soloist and songwriter Ronny Hinson.