 Mosie Lister |
Thomas Mosie Lister (September 8, 1921 - February 12, 2015)
Biography
Cochran, Georgia native Mosie Lister was one of Southern Gospel music's most prolific songwriters.
Born on September 8, 1921, Lister was the son of Willis and Pearl Holland Lister. He became a musician at an early age with his father as a teacher, learning to play the violin by the age of twelve. When Lister was eighteen, he attended the Vaughan School of Music in Tennessee where he studied under Adger M. Pace, and G. T. Speer.
Lister began his professional career in 1941 singing with the Sunny South Quartet. After serving in the US Navy during World War II, he returned to the Sunny South Quartet for a while where he sang with bass singer Jim Wetherington.
In 1946, Lister married Wylene Whitten. They relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, where he reunited with Wetherington to form the Melody Masters Quartet. When the Melody Masters left for Nebraska, Lister stayed in Atlanta. He became the lead singer for the first version of the Statesmen with Hovie Lister (no relation) in 1948.
Mosie Lister eventually gave up singing professionally to concentrate on his songwriting. In 1953, he founded Mosie Lister Publishing which would ultimately merge with Lillenas Publishing in 1969. In 1956, the Listers relocated to Tampa, Florida.
By the early 1960s, Lister's songs had been recorded by popular singers including George Beverly Shea ("How Long Has It Been") and Elvis Presley ("His Hand In Mine" and "He Knows Just What I Need"). When Presley released his second gospel album in 1966, it included another song written by Lister ("Where No One Stands Alone").
In 2001, the Booth Brothers recorded "Still Feelin' Fine," a sequel to the classic "I'm Feelin' Fine" that Lister had written years before. The new song helped cement the career path of the Booth Brothers. That same year, Lister's wife, Wylene, passed away after a battle with cancer. Lister would ultimately remarry Martha Hunter, the mother-in-law of Booth Brothers tenor singer Michael Booth.
Lister passed away on February 12, 2015 at the age of 93.
Discography
hi-res
1965 Inspirations From Pen And Voice (Skylite Records/SLP-6029): I Won't Turn Back; At The Crossing; How Long Has It Been; Nothing Can Compare; The Man On The Middle Cross; If You Believe; I've Been Changed; His Grace Is Sufficient For Me; If You Could Live Your Life Over; I'm Feeling Fine; When You Travel All Alone; Sometimes It Seems.
Awards
GMA Hall Of Fame (1976)
SGMA Hall Of Fame (1997)
Songwriter's Résumé
(Partial List)
All Of Me
At The Crossing
At The Right Time
Bell Of Joy Keep Ringing
Beyond The Cross
Blow Your Trumpet Gabriel
Call Home
Castles In The Sand
Climbing Up The Mountain
Come And See The Man At The Well
Down On My Knees
Freedom
Good Ole Gospel Singing
Goodbye World Goodbye
Happy Rhythm
Hard Trials
He Chose Me
He Has Surely Borne Our Sorrow
He Has Time
He Knows Just What I Need
He's Everything To Me
Here Comes The King
His Grace Is Sufficient
His Hand In Mine
How Long Has It Been
I Found A New Friend
I Wonder What My New Address Will Be
If To Gain The World
If You Believe
If You've Never Learned To Pray
I'll Leave It All Behind
I'm Bound For The Kingdom
I'm Feelin Fine
I'm Looking For A Home
In The Arms Of Sweet Deliverance
It's All Right Now
I've Been Changed
I've Found A New Friend
I've Got A Wonderful Feeling
Jesus And Me
Jesus Is Coming He's Coming Again
Jubilee's Comin
Just Beyond The Far Horizon
Land Where Living Waters Flow
Leave It All Behind
Led By The Master's Hand
Love Was In The Room
Movin To The Rhythm
My New Address
Never-Ending Joy
No More Alone
Nothing Can Compare
O Lord How Wonderful You Are
Oh What A Friend He Is To Me
On Revival Day
One Of His Own
Restore My Soul
Savior Gently Take Me Home
Set Me Free
Shoutin' Ground
Someone To Care
Something Exciting
Something To Shout About
Still Feelin' Fine
Storm Now And Then
Sunday Meetin Time
Sundown
Take A Look In The Book
Talking About The Love Of God
Thank Him For The Miracle
The Day Of Miracles
The Gospel According To Ole John
The King And I Walk Hand In Hand
The River Keeps A-Rollin
Then I Met The Master
This Little Pilgrim
This Love Is Mine
Til The Storm Passes By
Wade On Out
Way Out Yonder
When They Call My Name
When You Travel All Alone
Where No One Stands Alone
While Ages Roll
You're Gonna Reap What You Sow