Ed Hill (February 23, 1935 - July 13, 2020)

Biography

Ed Hill had a long and distinguished career as a Southern Gospel baritone singer. He was a founding member of the Prophets in 1959. He left them in 1965 (his replacement was Duane Allen of Oak Ridge Boys fame), but returned in 1966 and remained with them until they disbanded in 1973.

Hill next joined JD Sumner And The Stamps Quartet in 1974 and remained with them until 1979. While the Stamps were touring with Elvis Presley, it was Hill's duty to continue the tradition of announcing to each audience, "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building. Thank you, and goodnight."

In 1981, he joined the Singing Americans as their baritone singer. While there he served as a mentor to many of Southern Gospel's up-and-coming stars including Michael English, Ivan Parker, Danny Funderburk, and Clayton Inman.

In 1987, he left the Singing Americans to sing with the Masters V. After pianist and emcee Hovie Lister retired, the group was rebranded as JD Sumner And The Stamps Quartet. Hill remained with them until the death of J D Sumner in 1998. After the Stamps name was retired, Hill and other former members of the Stamps continued to sing for several years billed as Golden Covenant.

In 2006, Hill reformed the Prophets. He sang baritone until the group disbanded in 2010. Ed Hill then sang baritone for the Songfellows Quartet until around 2018.