1904–1964

Introduction

portrait

Born: March 17, 1904, De­Kalb Coun­ty, Ala­ba­ma.

Died: De­cem­ber 20, 1964, Dall­as, Tex­as.

Buried: Laur­el Land Me­mo­ri­al Park, Dal­las, Tex­as.

Biography

Vernie was the son of As­bu­ry Hayes Fos­sett and Ar­me­dia Gil­bert, and hus­band of Ka­ther­ine Lou­ette Stro­ther (mar­ried 1937).

He at­tend­ed his first Gos­pel mu­sic school at age 12. At age 16, he at­tend­ed Tho­mas Mos­ley’s Nor­mal School. By age 19, he be­gan sing­ing and play­ing in a quar­tet, and he was in the orig­in­al Stamps-Bax­ter Quar­tet.

By 1937, Fos­sett was teach­ing in High Point, North Ca­ro­lina. Three years lat­er, he joined the Chat­ta­noo­ga, Ten­nes­see, of­fice of the Stamps-Bax­ter mu­sic pub­lish­ers, where he was mu­sic ed­it­or for ma­ny years.

Works

Sources

Lyrics

Music