Jake Hess

As the lead vocalist of the pioneering Statesmen Quartet, Jake Hess was not only an instrumental force in expanding the popularity and boundaries of Southern gospel, but his outsized, dramatic style was also a crucial influence on the development of rock & roll, thanks to his standing as the favorite singer of the young Elvis Presley. William Jesse Hess was born December 24, 1927, in Limestone County, AL, the youngest of 12 children born into an impoverished sharecropping family. His father, Stovall, and some of his older brothers earned extra money performing and teaching in ...