Rex Nelon

Rex Nelon was an American Southern Gospel singer, musician, and music publisher. Born Rex Lloyd Nelon (1932–2000), he began his professional music career in the 1950s as a bass singer with the Homeland Harmony Quartet. He joined the LeFevres, a Southern Gospel family group, in 1957. Nelon later assumed direction of the LeFevres in the 1970s and rebranded the group as the Rex Nelon Singers in 1977. The group was renamed The Nelons in 1985.

Under Nelon’s leadership, the group released songs that became standards in the Southern Gospel repertoire, including “Come Morning,” “We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown,” “Famine In The Land,” “Glad You’re Here,” “Stepping on the Clouds,” “Thank You Lord For Your Blessings On Me,” and “I’ll Go.” The television video for “Famine In The Land” won the Dove Award for Short Form Music Video of the Year in 1987. The album “One Step Closer” won the Dove Award for Album of the Year in 1982. Nelon was also recognized individually, being voted “Favorite Bass Singer” by the Singing News Fan Awards in 1980 and 1982, and named “Mr. Gospel Music” in both of those same years.

Nelon was a Southern Baptist and a member of the First Baptist Church of Vinings in Smyrna, Georgia. He served on the board of the National Quartet Convention and was a featured singer in the Gaither Homecoming series. In recognition of his contributions to the genre, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Association (GMA) Hall of Fame in 1998.