Tag: Goldwire McLendon

Elder Goldwire McLendon, BET’s ‘Sunday Best’ finalist, dies at 95

By Libra Boyd, Editor in Chief

GMF was saddened to learn of the passing of Elder Goldwire McLendon, 95, on December 17, 2025. Longtime gospel devotees revered the beloved singer and elder, while a wider audience came to know him as a finalist on the third season of BET’s Sunday Best.

CD artwork

Ultimately placing as runner-up to Le’Andria Johnson on BET’s Sunday Best, he first captivated judges Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell, and Tina Campbell with his audition performance of the Gaither hymn “He Touched Me.” At 79 years old, his velvet vocals, gentle “soft-shoe shuffle,” and unmistakable anointing endeared him to viewers week after week, culminating in a memorable finale appearance and the subsequent release of a 7-track project titled, The Best of Elder Goldwire McLendon (reviewed by GMF in 2012).

Still, long before he garnered acclaim from the gospel talent competition, Elder McLendon made his mark along the gospel highway. A soloist and former member of Philadelphia’s legendary Savettes, a recording group on the Savoy label, he was a fixture in the city’s gospel community for decades. His reputation for stirring the Spirit was evident early on. According to Anthony Heilbut in The Gospel Sound, it was McLendon who sang “Just to Behold His Face” at the 1970 homegoing service for Ruth Davis of the Davis Sisters, prompting gospel icon Clara Ward to fall out, “hollering long, loud, eminently musical shrieks.”

Most recently, in 2023, a new generation was introduced to McLendon when a video captured at his surprise 93rd birthday dinner went viral on social media. In the clip, McLendon is seen singing “It Is Well,” a moment shared by his granddaughter, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Samara Joy. Music clearly runs in the family; his son, Antonio, Samara’s father, is a singer, songwriter, and musician who toured with Andraé Crouch.

GMF extends sincere condolences to the McLendon family, friends, and all whose lives were touched by his voice and witness.

A Celebration of Life service is scheduled for Saturday, January 10, 2026, at Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Philadelphia, PA. Viewing will begin at 8 a.m., followed by the service at 10 a.m.

Ruth McLendon, wife of Elder Goldwire McLendon, has died

GMF extends condolences to Elder Goldwire McLendon and family in the passing of his wife Ruth, who transitioned January 25.


Read more about Mother McLendon’s life and music here. 


Those who aren’t already familiar with the McLendons’ tenure with Philadelphia gospel ensemble and Savoy recording group The Savettes, will more than likely remember Elder McLendon earning the runner-up slot on Sunday Best 3, coming in behind Le’Andria Johnson.

The Best of Elder Goldwire McLendon – Elder Goldwire McLendon

Elder Goldwire McLendon
The Best of Elder Goldwire McLendon
Music World Gospel (2012)
www.musicworldent.com/artists/eldergoldwire

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Many viewers of BET’s Sunday Best 3 were captivated by Elder Goldwire McLendon from the moment he mesmerized judges Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell, and Tina Campbell at his audition with the Gaither hymn “He Touched Me.”  He went on to delight audiences every week with his velvet vocals and “soft-shoe shuffle” when the Spirit moved him.  Ultimately, the elder and former pastor became the runner-up to Le’Andria Johnson in the finale.  The fans he picked up along the way have anxiously awaited the release of his new project–The Best of Elder Goldwire McLendon–which features seven new recordings of the songs he wowed audiences with throughout the music contest.

At 81 years old, Elder McLendon may be new to the broader gospel community, but he is a legend in Philadelphia, where he was a member of Savoy recording group The Savettes, and where he was honored at Philadelphia’s First Annual Living Legend Music Awards (alongside Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp, and Billy Paul).

Certainly, Elder McLendon has the skill and anointing to invoke the Holy Spirit’s presence.  It was a younger Goldwire McLendon who sang at the 1970 funeral of Ruth Davis, lead singer of the Golden Era gospel group, The Davis Sisters.  According to Anthony Heilbut’s book, The Gospel Sound, when he sang “Just to Behold His Face,” gospel icon Clara Ward “fell out, hollering long, loud, eminently musical shrieks.”

If there’s a number on The Best of Elder Goldwire McLendon that could create a similar effect, I imagine it would be “The Battle Is the Lord’s,” especially if it were to be experienced live.  “Jesus Be A Fence Around Me” may not make you fall out, but hand-clapping, toe-tapping, and head-bobbing are probable.  It’s in the vamp especially, that Elder McLendon rhythmically riffs over a funky organ driven musical backdrop, inserting phrases like “can’t no devil penetrate that fence” and “don’t leave no gap in between Lord.”

Not surprisingly, McLendon is very much at home with hymns, as is obvious by his equal parts simple and stirring rendition of “How Great Thou Art,” over lone piano accompaniment, and by his polished tenor on the traditional “I Know It Was the Blood.”  On the latter, he swings occasionally into a deliciously sweet falsetto before taking you to church in the vamp.  He does similarly on his cover of Edwin Hawkins’ “O Happy Day.”  Also for your listening and swaying pleasure are his covers of Alvin Darling’s “He’s All Over Me” and “I’ll Take You There,” popularized by the Staples Singers.  

With clean production by Stanley Brown and the tunes that kept the elder at the top week after week, my only disappointment is that this isn’t a live project with a companion DVD.

Favorites
“How Great Thou Art” – “I Know It Was the Blood” – “O Happy Day”

Fever Meter
SMOKIN’ (4 of 5 Stars)