Joe Pearles
1942
-
Joe Pearles,
a popular, widely known country-style Christian singer who has been called the
"Gentleman of Country Gospel," has recorded numerous best-selling
albums and DVDs. His success is all the more remarkable given the fact that his
full-time Christian music ministry didn't begin until he was in his
mid-fifties.
Joe was born in Modesto,
California, and raised in the nearby small farming community of Waterford, one
of three children and the only son of Lloyd and Jackie Pearles.
His was a musical family that reveled in making music with each other and their
neighbors. With the advent of tape recording, they spent hours preserving their
music on tapes, all of which, unfortunately, have been lost.
At age twelve Joe taught
himself how to play guitar. He had grown up immersed in country music and as
his skill developed, he began dreaming about going to Nashville, Tennessee, and
becoming a country music star. He would go to bed at night with his guitar on
his chest and sing until he fell asleep.
He attended public high
school until the middle of his sophomore year and then transferred to Modesto
Union Academy. He would later write about his time there:
It
was there I met a kid who played the upright bass, and, boy, did we have fun.
There were many times that Bill would bring his bass to school and I would
bring my guitar, and we would find a room that wasn't being used. There we
would start playing and I would start singing some Elvis songs. We would always
have one of the kids at the door so we would know when a teacher might be
coming. When the teacher got near, we would go right into a gospel song without
missing a beat. Many years later I saw one of the faculty
and I told him about those times. I thought he would die laughing.
Following graduation from MUA
in 1960, he attended college for two years and married Cheryl Green, a girl he
had dated throughout his high school years. Pearles
described what happened next in an autobiographical sketch:
We
moved to Oregon [and] started a family. There I started singing gospel, and had
Cheryl, my wife, John Gepford, and later my
brother-in-law, Dick Wheeler, as my backup singers. Later when my son, Jeff,
got old enough, he joined us singing and playing the piano. We sang for several
years in the Northwest as The Quiet Sound. Still, I wanted Nashville and
country music.
One
night I was so depressed about my music I walked out of the house down to a
logging road that wasn't far away. There, I knelt down on the pavement and
asked God to take the desire for country music away from me if He wasn't going
to permit me to go to Nashville and do the music I loved. He answered my prayer
but not the way I wanted Him to. He not only took the desire for Nashville and
country music away, but he took my love for all music away. For two
years I never sang a note, never played the guitar, and stopped listening to
the radio. That was a miracle.
After
two years or so went by, the desire for music came back. However, this time it
was a desire to do a different kind of music. I no longer wanted to sing
country music or go to Nashville. The music I now wanted to sing was gospel
music, and I was content to stay in Oregon and sing on weekends.
Pearles became a real estate agent and
through most of the 1970s was able to make a living and support his family.
When the bottom fell out of the market at the end of the decade, however, and a
severe recession developed in Oregon during the 1980s, he found it increasingly
difficult to find other work. He decided to go to Tennessee and live with his
wife's sister and her husband until he could find work and then move his
family. He later wrote about what happened next:
I
found a few jobs there in Cleveland, but nothing was working out, so I decided
to go back to Oregon. I had a friend, Billy Burks, who lived in Nashville,
which is 150 miles from where I was staying, and I wanted to visit him before I
went back to Oregon. Billy had a friend in Nashville who needed an employee. I
interviewed and got the job. I will always be grateful to Sam Martz, who hired
me.
It
wasn't long until my family and I started singing again. My children got to the
age where they had things of their own that they wanted to do, so I started
singing solo. In 1997 I went full-time in my music ministry and have never
looked back.
As
I write this story, memories come flooding back, and I can see how God has led
me all of these years. Never forcing, but gently leading me to where I am
today. There is no doubt in my mind that He has called me to do exactly what I
am doing, and I thank Him for that.
Since
coming to Nashville, God has blessed me with sixteen albums (seven of which are
available) and four music DVDs. It is so exciting to see what he has done for
me in the past [and to think about] what he still has for me in the future.
The Pearles
have two children, Jeff and Laura. Jeff, a talented bass with an extended
range, has pursued a career singing in several quartets, including the King's
Heralds, and is president of a recording studio. Laura married a musician who
sang with quartets in the 1970s and 1980s.
ds/2012
Sources:
Information provided by Joe Pearles, September 2011;
website autobiography at http://www.joepearles.com.
Discography
Records
O Gentle Shepherd
Cassettes
It's About Time (with the Quiet Sound)
CDs
My Brand of Country
Gospel Gold
Joe Pearles
A Portrait of Pearles
Quiet and Gentle
Across the Miles
My River of Memories
Making Music
A Snowy Christmas Night
Empty Fields
Only For His Eyes
Sunshine Wall to Wall
Encore Collection, Volume 1
Encore Collection, Volume 2
Encore Collection, Volume 3
Leanin' On My Mind
Welcome to My World
DVDs
Whispering Hope
Empty fields
Only for His Eyes
Sunshine Wall to Wall
My River of Memories