Southern Gospel Music Association

Kelly Nelon Clark (1959 - 2024)
Inducted in 2024

Kelly was born December 1, 1959, the daughter of Southern Gospel Music icon Rex Nelon and his wife, Shirley. Rex was a member of the renowned family group, The LeFevres, and Kelly grew up surrounded by the sounds of this extended Gospel Music family, dreaming of one day singing on stage, side-by-side with her father. At age thirteen, she recorded her first song with The LeFevres and when she was sixteen, Rex asked her to join the group full-time, launching one of the most illustrious careers in Southern Gospel Music.

With The Nelons, Kelly would record over fifty albums, placing more than eighty songs on the Top 40 Radio Airplay charts including: “The Sun’s Coming Up,” “Come Morning,” “Thanks,” “I’ll Talk to The Father,” “We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown,” “Grandpa Sang Amazing Grace,” and her signature song, “O, For a Thousand Tongues.”
 

Over the course of Kelly’s forty-six-year career, The Nelons garnered four GMA Dove Awards for “Southern Gospel Album of the Year” and four GRAMMY nominations. They were awarded the first GMA Dove Award for “Video of the Year” in 1987 for their groundbreaking concept video for their song, “Famine in Their Land,” featuring Kelly. Her individual honors include four “Favorite Female Vocalist” and three “Favorite Alto” awards in the Singing News Fan Awards.

In May 1983, Kelly was the first artist on the debut full-color cover of The
Singing News, in tandem with the release of her first solo album, “Her Father’s Child,” which would be a finalist for a GMA Dove Award. Kelly would record four other solo albums, including 1985’s “Praise Him Now” the first all-digitally recorded album by a Gospel artist. As a solo artist, Kelly would garner eleven GMA Dove nominations, winning five awards. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Kelly was a featured performer and host of the GMA Dove Awards, and was the co-host of “America Sings,” a nationally syndicated Gospel Music TV show.

In time, Kelly’s daughters, Amber and Autumn would join her on stage. The legacy of excellence continued as The Nelons placed songs on the radio charts, earning GMA Dove Awards, and a GRAMMY nomination. Kelly is a member of the GMA Hall of Fame as a member of The LeFevres and in 2016 The Nelons were inducted into the GMA Hall of Fame.

Herb Henry
Inducted in 2024

Herb Henry was born February 3, 1947 in Oakdale, CA. At the age of 16, he began his musical career as a member of the Arlis Avery Trio, which sang up and down the San Joaquin Valley. In 1965, he joined The Premiers Quartet as baritone and pianist. For nine years they would travel coast to coast, sharing the stage with many legendary groups, including the Happy Goodmans, the Oak Ridge Boys, and Jake Hess and the Imperials. In 1974, he went into church ministry, serving as minister of music and choir director in churches in California and Texas.

In 1986, he became pastor of Richland Faith Assembly of God in Modesto, CA where he would soon establish his family group, the Herb Henry Family, as well as the Richland Trio. In 1989, he began promoting Gospel Concerts in the Modesto area, featuring the leading groups of the day. A highlight was hosting the Cathedrals’ final concert in Northern California, where 2750 fans said goodbye to their favorite quartet. He also helped found the Western States Gospel Music Association, where he served as president for ten years. Later in 1989, he launched a four-decade long weekly radio show on 50,000-watt KCBC AM770.

In 2003, the Herb Henry Family made several appearances on TBN’s program, “Unfolding Majesty,” which took their music across the nation and around the world. The Family, with his wife Nancy, son Chris, and daughters Angela and Amanda, and since 2013, Richie Hartsfield has been singing throughout the West for nearly forty years. Since 1997, they have performed each year at the Great Western Fan Fest.

Although Herb retired from the pastorate and full-time concert promotions in 2021, he continues to be involved in Gospel Music through his Radio programs and appearances with the Family and will always be a fan and follower of this great music.