Religion

It was in August of 1952 when Ralph Moore first heard the voice of God.

Having been raised in the farmlands of Delta, Moore, who was one of five children, came from a long line of "church-going, God-fearing believers" that lived out their faith in both words and deeds.

But on this afternoon, Moore was all alone. He'd escaped from the summer heat to play in the cool shade under the house when he heard a strange voice calling out from the shadow. It seemed to come from all directions.

Moore ran out from under the house, jumped on his bike and peddled away so no one could see his tears. Once he was away from curious, prying eyes, Moore hid in a pine thicket and wept. But the voice followed him.

"Know my voice," it said.

Suddenly, all the fear was gone, replaced with an unexpected sense of joy and understanding. In that moment, Moore knew his life would have a purpose. Though Moore would keep his experience a secret for years to come, it wouldn't be the last time he heard what his mother called the "still small voice," of God.

And when it spoke to him, Moore continued to listen. That voice would guide him throughout his life, allowing him to follow a dream that — if ever spoken out loud — might have sounded impossible.

But it's the realization of that dream that makes up the cornerstone of Moore's latest book, Still Small Voice, which tells the story of his Southern childhood, his love for gospel music and how that love led him to work with one of the most beloved performers in the business.

Heart songs

The memories of Moore's childhood growing up in Delta are mingled with the music that was always drifting through his home.

On Saturday nights, the family would gather around the radio and listen to the Grand Ole Opry live from Nashville, Tenn. The kids had to be quiet when Dell Woods was playing "Down Yonder" or anytime Hank Williams' mournful voice poured from the tiny speakers because the static from the old battery radio was loud enough.

On special occasions, they would get to see their favorite performers. Though the Moores didn't own a television in the early 1950s, their neighboring kinfolk did, and on Tuesday nights, they'd make an excuse to go and visit so they could watch The LeFevre's, who had their own show on Channel 5 out of Columbus, Ga.

As a boy, Moore was mesmerized by the group, especially by the piano playing of Eva Mae LeFevre, better known as the First Lady of Southern Gospel Music because of an ability to charm audiences with her graciousness, keen wit and trademark laugh.

"Gospel music was just a part of our lives," Moore remembers, "but there was something special about Eva Mae … the way she rattled the keys. It was out of this world."

Moore soon became a member of The LeFevre's fan club and growing up he often prayed for a way to get closer to the music and the singing groups he loved, despite having "no musical talent to speak of." It wouldn't be until years later that those prayers were answered.

Having quit school and moved to LaGrange, Ga., Moore was 18 years old and still searching for some direction in his life. He was working nights for $25 a week pumping gas at Jack Brown's Service Station. And while the work was hard, at least the station had a television.

One night in March of 1960, the announcer came on to say that the LeFevre's would be performing at the local Callaway Auditorium along with the Oak Ridge Boys and Little Troy Lumpkin.

Though he'd been to gospel singings all his life, nothing had prepared Moore for his first professional concert.

"I just fell in love with what I saw," he remembers. "Right there I knew … I knew. It was that still small voice, telling me what I was going to do with my life."

And he followed that voice — but this was the one belonging to Eva Mae LaFevre. If the group played within 75 miles of LaGrange, Moore was in the audience.

Moore eventually quit his job at the service station and moved to Atlanta, where the LeFevre's had offices and a recording studio. Late one morning, he left the apartment he was sharing with several friends, drove downtown to a phone booth and placed a call to the home of Uris and Eva Mae LaFevre.

Eva Mae answered and after a few moments of awkward introductions, Moore basically asked for a job — any job. As fate and faith would have it, the group was actually looking for someone help with the sound system.

Moore got the job, which paid $50 a week, and within days he was traveling the highways alongside he heroes, The LeFevre's as well as other notable groups of the day.

"It was an absolute dream come true," Moore says today, looking back.

Moore was eventually promoted to bus driver, a job that came complete with a snappy uniform. For the next 20 years, he literally steered The LeFevres' career, as well as a number of other acts that shared the bill with them, through churches and auditoriums across the South.

And it was all because he learned to listen to that still small voice.

"That inner voice belongs to God," Moore says. "It's within us all, guiding us. We're all born with a purpose — to serve God. And he does communicate. We've just got to learn to listen."

For 20 years, Moore lived his dream and was able to experience the joy of gospel music and its legends from behind the stage rather than being in front of it.

"It was a joy and the joy never left me because gospel music sings to your heart. It's not just something you hear. It's something you feel."

At 91 years old, Eva Mae LaFevre is retired and living in a rehabilitation center in Atlanta, where she's battling some health issues but is still in good spirits. And while he visits her all the time, Moore doesn't believe she fully appreciates just how much her music has meant to so many people.

As for Moore, he's also "mostly" retired, living in Lineville where he's published several books including one of the death of Hank Williams.

Though he still loves gospel music, he quietly avoids the conventions and backstage meetings for fear of running into old friends. Some memories, as treasured as they may be, are too precious to relive.

And he had also hung up his bus driver's cap … or so he thought. But a year and a half ago, at the urging of his brother, Moore went to hear a Heflin gospel group called Hope's Journey.

"I fell in love with gospel music all over again," he says.

At the time the group, led and managed by Vonda Easley, was touring in an SUV and only dreamed of owning a touring bus let alone needing a driver. But fortunes changed and eventually the group managed to buy a 1967 GMC bus for $5,000.

"Which was great … course I didn't know what to do with it," Easley says. "So I called Ralph and he's been driving us every weekend sense."

Though this time, it's been without the snazzy bus driver's uniform. But for a young, up-and-coming gospel group, perhaps there is no better guide to have than Ralph Moore, who spent so many years steering the careers of gospel music legends.

"Ralph's been a godsend," Easley says. "When it comes to gospel music and tour bus driving … he wrote the book."

Want to buy the book?

Still Small Voice by Ralph Moore is available at:

• GoodBook Parable Christian Store in Oxford.
• Joy Christian Supplies in Jacksonville.