Remembering Doris Akers

My channel is a tribute to Doris Akers ,one of the most underrated Gospel composers of the past century. Doris was born in Brookfield, Missouri on May 21, 1923, one of ten children born to Floyd and Pearl Akers. She was born into a very musical family, her father had a great singing voice, her mother was a self taught musician, and most of her siblings, too, were blessed musically. Her step-father John taught her to play 3 chords on the piano when she was about 8 years old. From there, she could pretty much play any song she wanted. Her brother Donald played trumpet and she was quite fascinated by it. Picking it up, she tried to play it, but it didn't come as easy to her as the piano had.That night, as she slept, she dreamed she could play "Once In A While". When she awoke, she picked up the trumpet and played the song straight through! "Doe" wrote her first song at the age of 10 called, "Keep The Fire Burning In Me"-the first of over 500 songs she would go on to write in her lifetime.

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