Surely Goodness and Mercy

Paraphraser: John W. Peterson

John W. Peterson (November 1, 1921 – September 20, 2006) was a songwriter who had a major influence on evangelical Christian music in the 1950s through the 1970s. He wrote over 1000 songs, and 35 cantatas. Born in Lindsborg, Kansas, he served as an Army Air Force pilot flying the China Hump during World War II. Later, he attended Moody Bible Institute and served on the radio staff there for a number of years. In 1953, he graduated from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and shortly thereafter settled in Pennsylvania to continue his songwriting career. He then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where for over ten years he was President and Editor-in-Chief of Singspiration, a sacred music publishing company. While there, he c… Go to person page >

Paraphraser: Alfred B. Smith

Alfred B. Smith Al Smith 1916-2001 Often called the dean of Gospel music, Dr. Al Smith, was a composer, Gospel soloist, song leader, lecturer, and an authority on church music, recording artist and music publisher. You may have seen or heard him on national radio or television, met him in a little white New England church where he was giving a concert, found him lecturing in a classroom to a group of college students, or leading a great audience of some 20,000 in singing at a conference in Knoxville, Tennessee. Wherever you may have found Dr. Smith, you were sure to find a man who enjoyed the work God called him to do... to challenge hearts and lives with the "Singing Gospel" and tell the interesting histories of the songs and their… Go to person page >