Poe Mill Product Set Standard for Southern Gospel Music
The picturesque interchange of Highways 25 and 25 Bypass at the foot of Paris Mountain and the entrance to Travelers Rest that serves as the Gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains ahead, has been dedicated to the memory of Southern Gospel Music Pioneer and Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame inductee Hovie Lister. Members of his immediate family attended the event at historic Reedy River Baptist Church, located near the interchange.
Hovie's friends, Retired Greenville County Sheriff and retired United States Marshall Johnny Mac Brown and Gospel Music Association Representative Charlie Waller, made presentations to Mrs. Lister and the family.
Hovie Franklin Lister was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on September 17, 1926. He spent his youth in the Poe Mill village, and learned to play the piano and develop a unique style at a young age.
As a teenager Lister was chosen by a well-known evangelist to serve as pianist for a city-wide revival. The next year he enrolled in the prestigious Stamps-Baxter School of Music in Dallas, Texas. It was at the school that Lister sufficiently impressed key Gospel Music figures to launch a musical career. One of his first performances outside Greenville was with the Lone Star Quartet of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Lister eventually moved to Atlanta where his talents and personality attracted the attention of all who met him and attended his performances. In those early days, he performed with the Homeland Harmony Quartet, the LeFevres, the Swanee River Boys and the Rangers.
Assured employment at a new Atlanta radio station, Lister was able to fulfill his dream of having his own quartet. It became known as the Statesmen. They became very popular in the late 1940s with their live morning show. They soon became popular on the concert circuit as well.
By the 1950s the Statesmen Quartet featured James “Big Chief” Wetherington (bass), Doy Ott (baritone), Jake Hess (lead), and Denver Crumpler (tenor).
Other Gospel Music endeavors for Lister included managing and playing piano for the star-studded Masters V. The group consisted of J. D. Sumner (bass), James Blackwood (baritone), Jake Hess (lead), and Roland “Rosie” Rozell (tenor). Masters V won a Grammy in 1982.
Hovie Lister was the quintessential crowd pleaser on stage. S. Senator and Georgia Governor Zell Miller said Lister's “sense of style and flair for showmanship gave this music class and chic.”During his busy life, Hovie Lister became an ordained Baptist minister and was pastor of a church in Georgia.
After coming off the road, in recent years Lister regained his youthful charm and rose in popularity with a new generation of fans while appearing at “Charley Waller's Gospel Reunions” and on Gather videos.
The signs entering the interchange will remind future generations of the love we have for one of Greenville County's favorite sons, who grew up in a mill village and used his God-given talents to bring the Gospel through his music to millions.
Hovey Lister died at his Georgia home on December 28, 2001. He and his wife Ethel have two children, Lisa and Hovie “Chip” Jr.