{{Short description|American Southern Gospel composer and publisher}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = J. R. Baxter | image = | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = Jesse Randall Baxter, Jr. | birth_date = {{Birth date|1887|12|8}} | birth_place = DeKalb County, Alabama, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1960|1|29|1887|12|8}} | death_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S. | other_names = Pap | known_for = Christian music }}
'''Jesse Randall Baxter Jr.''' (December 8, 1887 – January 29, 1960) was an American Southern Gospel composer and publisher. He was sometimes referred to as “Pa” or "Pap".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Tribe |first=Ivan M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqT-CJYcqskC&dq=%22jr+baxter%22&pg=PA32 |title=Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music |date=2005 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-94179-2 |editor-last=McNeil |editor-first=W.K. |pages=32 |language=en}}</ref> He has been in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame since 1973.
==Biography== J. R. Baxter was born on December 8, 1887, in Lebanon, Alabama in Dekalb County.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Jesse Randal "Pap" Baxter |url=https://www.alamhof.org/jrbaxter |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=Alabama Music Hall of Fame |language=en-US}}</ref> He was a farmer and married Clarice Howard in 1918.<ref name=":0" />
He studied with Thomas B. Mosley and Anthony Johnson Showalter, and in 1926 bought a stake in Virgil O. Stamps' gospel music publishing company. The Stamps-Baxter Music & Printing Company became one of the leading publishers of gospel songs in the early 20th century. Baxter ran the company's Chattanooga, Tennessee, office until Stamps's death in 1940;<ref name=":2">Much of the information in this article is from Blackwell, Lois S. ''The Wings of the Dove: The Story of Gospel Music in America.'' Norfolk, VA: Donning, 1978, Chapter 2. p. 53.</ref> following this Baxter moved to Dallas, Texas, to run the main office.<ref name=":0" /> He ran the company until his death.<ref name=":3" />
Baxter's interest in school teaching led him to publish shape-note songbooks and sponsor a Stamps-Baxter School of Music, both of which contributed to the popularity of Gospel music.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=J.R. Baxter |url=http://www.sgma.org/inductee_bios/jr_baxter.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511212418/http://www.sgma.org/inductee_bios/jr_baxter.htm |archive-date=2008-05-11 |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=Southern Gospel Music Association}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Southern Gospel History - JR Baxter |url=https://www.sghistory.com/index.php?n=J.JRBaxter |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=www.sghistory.com}}</ref>
Baxter also composed Gospel songs himself; his works include "Try Jesus", "Travel the Sunlit Way", "Something Happens (When You Give Your Heart to God)", "I Have Peace in My Soul", "Living Grace", and "I Want to Help Some Weary Pilgrim".<ref name=":0" />
He died on January 21, 1960.<ref name=":3" />
==Legacy== After Baxter's death, his wife continued to run the business until she died, after which it was sold to Zondervan.<ref name=":0" /> In 1973, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-17 |title=J.R. Baxter, Jr. |url=https://gospelmusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame-inductees-and-honorees/j-r-baxter-jr |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=Gospel Music Hall of Fame |language=en}}</ref> In 1997, Baxter was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame along with his wife Clarice.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=SGMA Hall of Fame and Museum - 1997 Inductees |url=https://sgma.org/1997-inductees |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=sgma.org}}</ref> In 2001, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.<ref name=":3" />
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, J.R.}} Category:1887 births Category:1960 deaths Category:American gospel singers Category:American music publishers (people) Category:Composers of Christian music Category:20th-century American singers Category:20th-century American publishers (people)