Willie Banks

Gospel legend Willie Banks entered the world in Raymond, MS, and began performing vocally at the age of five. His early affiliations included stints with the Jackson Southernaires, the Flying Clouds, and the Trumpets of Joy before he established his own ensemble, the Southernaires, during 1968. The Peacock label soon welcomed the new act, which released its first full-length recording, Heaven Must Be a Beautiful Place. Banks disbanded that unit four years later and assembled the Messengers, a move that led to a contract with the modest Nashville imprint HSE. Throughout the ensuing decade the Messengers placed several projects on the Billboard gospel charts on a regular basis, among them God’s Goodness, For the Wrong I’ve Done, Mother Why, and Still in Charge. Tragedy occurred on July 6, 1981, when the group’s tour van left the road near Atlanta and dropped almost 50 feet; one member perished, while Banks was ejected from the vehicle and hovered near death for days afterward. Following an extended convalescence, he and the Messengers joined Malaco in 1988 and delivered the album Look at the Blessings. Banks passed away on February 1, 1993, yet the Messengers maintained an active performing schedule long after his death.