I’ve posted about and mentioned Wayne Hooper several times here on ITF. Wayne Woodhams has commented before with news about Wayne Hooper, and tonight he gives us this:
Last fall I posted a message to this group about the health and medical issues of Wayne Hooper. From that post, I did get quite a number of emails, questions, and concerns about Wayne.
It is with great sadness and personal loss that I bring to this group the news that Wayne Hooper has passed away. He lost the long battle with cancer, and died at his home in Newbury Park, CA last night (February 28, 2007) at about 9 pm. As one who shared his name and also the love he had for male voice singing, it was most difficult to hear the news this morning.
My own personal loss pales in comparison to the loss his passing brings to his own church, to the Christian music world in general, to male voice singing enthusiasts everywhere, and most specifically, to male quartets. As many know, he had a beautiful baritone voice, and sang in the internationally known quartet, The King’s Heralds Quartet from the late 1940’s to the early 1960’s. Even when he stepped aside from quartet singing, he was still producing an enormous amount of arrangements, and contributed to his own world-wide church by taking on the task of putting together a new church hymnbook that when done, was simply magnificent, and is in use in thousands of churches all over the world today.
His impact on male voice singing and his unique arrangements are hard to quantify or qualify. From his early involvement with male voice singing in the early 1940’s, he made a major change with the typical way quartet harmony was put together. He was a baritone, and apparently didn’t like the traditional role the baritone usually had in singing the “fifth” harmony. So he changed it, and what major changes he made.
He also was keen at chord progressions and voicing that defied the traditional way of doing things, or what was considered “acceptable.” For example, quartet harmony usually sounds best when a song ends, if the tenor (first tenor) part is on the root or third pitch on the final chord. Few would end a song with the tenor on the fifth note, purely because it doesn’t sound proper. It leaves sort of an unfinished sound to the final chord. Wayne, however, found ways to do this, that sounded absolutely marvelous, and did so on quite a number of arrangements. Probably the best known example is his scoring of the song “Oh Lord of Space”, with the words written by H.M.S. Richards, who was the founder and speaker for the Voice of Prophecy radio broadcast for many years.
I could probably go on and on, but I’ll let others who were much closer to him professionally or personally, add their comments about him, and of the great and significant contribution he made in so many ways.
The world has lost a great musician, arranger, and singer, and yesterday I lost a close friend. Godspeed, Wayne. It’ll be good to blend voices again in Heaven.
Wayne Woodhams,
Ventura, California
5 Responses
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:18 am
Wow.
March 21st, 2007 at 6:59 pm
I grew up singing Wayne Hooper’s arrangements. “Uncle Wayne” was just that – an uncle to hundreds of male quartets all over the world. Without any doubt, his song arrangements, as sung by the King’s Heralds (and other quartets, including several of mine) have been some of the most important influences in my life. He was one of the most gifted arrangers of men’s voices ever. Plus, he had a passion for the work of God.
He was so kind; when I was just a kid growing up in Nigeria, singing his arrangements, he would send us his books free, and we could always pay when we could.
The world has lost a truly great man, a gifted humble musician, a true Christian, one who influenced more people than he would ever know. Can’t wait to get to heaven “In that Great Gettin’ Up Morning” and sing with Uncle Wayne.
Yinka Oyelese
June 12th, 2007 at 3:15 am
He is one one the best male voice arranger I have ever Known. Growing up in Zambia and now in Tanzania, I have always sang his arrangements in the male quartets that I have been a member, including the the current one I’m singing with in my home church. I’m a great fan of The King’s heralds. I’m homesick for heaven for heaven one of my favourites. I look forward to meet uncle Wayne over there.
December 10th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Reading the comments made by Mr. Yinka Oyelese I find myself thinking of almost reading my own story with Wayne Hooper. I was a teenager when after my Evagelical baptism like a fullfilmment of my childhood dream I was invited to sing with a male quartet that we named The Sentinels of Faith. Around that same period I had the blessing of attending a semi concert by the King’s Heralds with the “golden four” formation. A few weeks later I wrote to the VOP to request from the quartet a copy of the arrangment for the spiritual WALK IN JERUSALEM. I was surprised when a after a month or so later, I recieved a package in the mail including not only the song requested, but two other Male voice booklets plus the Voice of Prophecy Favorite songs compiled by Wayne. Him and I kept corresponding through the years and developed a long distance friendship. Sometime from the radio I would hear a song that I wish to sing, then requesting from him to find it for me. I was always impressed by his patience to research through his books or even Libraries.
I was happy to finally shake hands with him in 1962 when the old quartet with John Thurber in place of Bob Seamount stopped in Lancater, MA during a Campmeeting weekend.
I always thought of him as a very compassionate person, but seeing and talking with him revealed that he was simply a person with a very kind heart. In my outpouring of gratitude for all he had done for me, he replied that was like offering him a bouquet of flowers while he was able to smell them. Remembering that remark, I since learned to be more attentive to those who even in lesser fashion have impacted my life.
So much could be said about him, he was to me a role model, an inspiration and a extraordinarily gifted musician that God used for a time like this.
June 16th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Speaking of Wayne Hooper…Here is a gold mine…All 5 of his “Arrangements for Men’s Voices” books are posted with *.pdf files of the contents at the Voice of Prophesy web site: http://www.vop.com/article.php?id=189 Music of over 100 songs for the asking!! …including the “Its Spiritual” album …My soul’s been anchored…
Enjoy