1999: Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album: Kennedy Center Homecoming – Bill and Gloria Gaither and Their Homecoming Friends.1975: Best Inspirational Performance, "Jesus, We Just Want to Thank You", Bill Gaither Trio.1973: Best Inspirational Performance, "Let's Just Praise The Lord", Bill Gaither Trio.Grammy Awards ( National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences).JSTOR ( April 2015) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Gloria is the recipient of seven honorary doctorate degrees, and she is the author of more than 40 books including 20 children's books. In 2000, Bill and Gloria were named Christian Songwriters of the Century by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), an award based on the songwriters who have had the most songs recorded over the past 100 years.
In 2002, Gaither launched Homecoming: The Magazine, and she currently acts as writer, interviewer, and contributing editor. In 1996, she spearheaded the creation of Gaither Family Resources in Alexandria, Indiana, and currently serves as co-owner and managing director. She has been an active presence in every video production. After touring with the Bill Gaither Trio for nearly thirty years, Gaither drew her focus to the Gaither Homecoming series. By the end of the 1960s, Gloria, Bill, and Bill's brother Danny Gaither were touring steadily as the Bill Gaither Trio, singing and recording songs Bill and Gloria had written. Career īill and Gloria Gaither began writing songs in the 1960s, and many those songs (including "Because He Lives", "I Am Loved", "Something Beautiful") would go on to become church hymn book standards across North America and around the world. She taught as an adjunct professor at Anderson University in 1987––97. In 1991, she attended Ball State University and received a Master of Arts in British and American Literature. She married Gaither in 1962, and they began writing songs recreationally. There, she met Bill Gaither, who was teaching English at the time. Upon her graduation, she took a job at Alexandria Monroe High School as a French teacher. Her extracurricular activities at the college included participation in the Drama Club, Alpha Chi National College Honor Society and Sigma Tau Delta honor society. There, she triple majored in English, French, and Sociology. When Gloria graduated from Clare High School in Clare, Michigan, she attended Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana. She spent some of her childhood and high school years in the Battle Creek area of Michigan, working a brief time for the Kellogg Company. She was born Gloria Lee Sickal in 1942 in Michigan, a daughter of Pastor Lee Sickal and Dorothy Sickal.