LaBreeska Hemphill (February 4, 1940 - December 9, 2015) was an American Southern gospel performer. She was a member of The Happy Goodman Family and The Hemphills. With her husband and children, she won eight GMA Dove Awards and three BMI Awards, and she was inducted into the Dollywood Gospel Hall of Fame and the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame.
LaBreeska Hemphill | |
|---|---|
| Born | LaBreeska Rogers February 4, 1940 Flat Creek, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 2015 (aged 75) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Occupation | Southern gospel performer |
| Spouse | Joel Hemphill |
| Children | 2 sons, 1 daughter |
| Relatives |
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Early life
editHemphill was born in 1940 in Flat Creek, Alabama.[1][2] Her father was Walter Erskine Rogers and her mother, Gussie Mae Goodman.[1]
Career
editHemphill started performing Southern gospel music with her parents as part of The Happy Goodman Family in childhood. They performed at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1949.[2]
Hemphill and her husband began performing Southern gospel together at the Living Way Apostolic Church in West Monroe, Louisiana.[1] They later pastored a Pentecostal church in Bastrop, Louisiana.[1] They released their first record as The Hemphills through Canaan Records in 1966.[1] They were active from the 1970s to the 1990s.[2] Over the course of their career, they released over 20 records.[2] Hemphill sang hit songs like He's Still Working On Me, I Claim the Blood, Grandma's Rocking Chair, and Unfinished Task.[1] The band won eight GMA Dove Awards and three BMI Awards of Excellence. They were inducted into the Dollywood Gospel Hall of Fame and the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame.[2]
Hemphill authored four books,[1] including a memoir about her husband in 2012.[2]
Personal life and death
editHemphill married Joel Hemphill in 1957. Her father-in-law, W. T. Hemphill, was the founder of the Living Way Apostolic Church.[2] They had two sons, Joey and Trent, and a daughter, Candy.[2] They resided in Joelton, a neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee.[3]
Hemphill died on December 9, 2015, in Nashville, Tennessee, at 75.[1][2] Her funeral was held in West Monroe, Louisiana.[1]
Selected works
edit- Hemphill, LaBreeska (1976). LaBreeska: An Autobiography. Nashville, Tennessee: Hemphill Music Co. ISBN 9780960094813. OCLC 2372275.
- Hemphill, LaBreeska (2001). The Hemphills, Partners in Emotion : The Story of Joel and LaBreeska Hemphill. Camp Hill, Pennsylvania: Horizon Books. ISBN 9780889652033. OCLC 50283564.
- Hemphill, LaBreeska (2009). My Daddy Played the Guitar. Joelton, Tennessee: Trumpet Call Books. ISBN 9780967175683. OCLC 495846911.
- Hemphill, LaBreeska (2012). Can Anything Good Come Out of Bawcomville?. Joelton, Tennessee: Trumpet Call Books.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Obituaries: Labreeska Hemphill". The Tennessean. December 10, 2015. p. A11. Retrieved October 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Labreeska Hemphill of gospel singing family dies at 75". The News-Star. Monroe, Louisiana. December 11, 2015. p. B4. Retrieved October 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Estate Sale: Joelton Estate of Joel & Labreeska Hemphill". The Tennessean. September 26, 2015. p. D4. Retrieved October 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.