Last Friday, March 2, prominent Evangelical leader Billy Graham was laid to rest in North Carolina. The gathering drew 2,000 mourners, including President Trump, Vice President Pence, Graham’s children — Gigi, Anne, Ruth, and Ned, who have all gone on to lead ministries of their own — and dozens of influential Evangelical, Catholic, and Eastern-Orthodox leaders. By Friday evening the event had already been viewed by 1.1 million on the BGEA website.
The music for the service was all handpicked by Graham, who began planning his own funeral a decade ago. The music was led by his long time music director Cliff Barrows. Here are the videos of Graham’s funeral playlist, as they were performed live at his funeral.
“Until Then” – Linda McCrary-Fisher
“Until Then” was written in 1958 by Stuart Hamblen. Hamblen was the son of a preacher who became America’s first singing cowboy. He was a successful Western-movie star through the 30s and 40s and at one point he even ran for President of the United States. By the late 40s Hamblen had developed a reputation as a liar and a cheat, until he met Billy Graham, who drew him back to God and led him to use his musical gifts to glorify Christ. Hamblen became a prolific writer of Gospel songs. “It is No Secret” is one of his most popular tunes.
“All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name” – Hymn
“All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name” was written in 1780 by Edward Perronet. While Perronet wrote the text, for the melody he turned to organist William Shrubsole, who wrote the tune “Miles Lane,” which became attached to “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” Perronet was so taken with the tune, and so grateful for its connection to his text, that he left the majority of his money to Shrubsole upon his death.
“Above All Powers” – Michael W. Smith
Micheal W. Smith seemed to be particularly emotional for this rendition of this 1999 hymn. The song was written by Paul Baloche and Lenny LeBlanc for Integrity’s Hosanna! Music.
“Because He Lives” – Gaither Vocal Band
“Because He Lives” was written by the married duo Gloria and William Gaither, who have written quite a few hymns in their time. In their work Gloria writes the text and William composes the music. Umcdiscipleship.org has the couple explaining this song:
“‘Because he lives’ [1971] was written in the midst of social upheaval, threats of war, and betrayals of national and personal trust. It was into this world at such a time that we were bringing our third little baby. Assassinations, drug traffic, and war monopolized the headlines. It was in the midst of this kind of uncertainty that the assurance of the Lordship of the risen Christ blew across our troubled minds like a cooling breeze in the parched desert.”
“To God Be The Glory” – Hymn
This hymn was written by Fanny Crosby in 1875. Fanny was a blind educator who wrote under dozens of pseudonyms. Fanny was married to a musician who was also blind and together they wrote and composed more than 8,000 hymns.
“Amazing Grace” – Traditional
To close the ceremony Graham chose the classic “Amazing Grace.” The text was written by John Newton, in 1779, and was associated with more than 20 melodies before it was attached to the tune “New Britain” in 1835, which is the melody we are most familiar with. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the video from the funeral, but if you’d like to watch,
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And today we celebrate...