An avid fan of gospel quartets
throughout his childhood, Bill founded his first group, The Bill
Gaither Trio, in 1956, while he was a college student. He began
teaching English in 1959 because his musical aspirations couldn't
support him full-time... yet.

In 1962, Bill did one of the
best things he has ever done. He married Gloria Sickal, who
became the best writing partner Bill could have found anywhere.
The couple spent the first five years of their married life
juggling full-time teaching jobs, writing, singing, recording
and publishing until music became their full-time career in
1967.
The collaborations of Bill and
Gloria have resulted in more than 700 popular gospel songs,
including the hymnal standard "Because He Lives,"
"The King Is Coming," "Something Beautiful,"
"He Touched Me," "It Is Finished," "There's
Something About That Name," "Let's Just Praise The
Lord," and "Loving God, Loving Each Other." Bill
and Gloria have been awarded eight Grammy Awards and more than
a dozen nominations, and they received more than two dozen Dove
Awards from The Gospel Music Association, earning the title
of Gospel Music Association's "Songwriter of the Year"
eight times.
In 1996 Bill and Gloria
Gaither were the first musical artists to be inducted into the
Christian Booksellers Association's Hall of Honor. Only three
people have been previously honored with this distinction: Reverend
Billy Graham, Dr. Kenneth Taylor (author of The Living Bible)
and Dr. Richard Halverson (former U. S. Senate Chaplain). Their
album, Alleluia: A Praise Gathering for Believers, was the first
inspirational album ever to achieve gold status by the Recording
Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.).
"Our calling is not
just making music... but communicating the reality of Christ.
That might mean birthing a song about Him or simply offering
a cup of cold water to someone who needs it.