Sunny Liu
Sunny Wing Chun Liu (April 6, 1924 – May 20, 1987) was a Seventh-Day Adventist minister and singing evangelist, who was best known in the denomination through his recordings for Chapel Records.
Biography
[edit]Early life and career
[edit]Sunny Liu was born to Violet Liu in Kealia, Hawaii and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii.[1][2] His primary and secondary education took place in Hawaii.[3] He left Hawaii in 1943 to study voice on the mainland of the United States, largely in the Hollywood area.[1][4][5] He earned a college degree from Walla Walla College in 1948 and became a credentialed Seventh-Day Adventist minister.[3] From 1949 until 1957 he held a position in musical evangelism for the North Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists.[3] 1951 saw him married to Bernice Lee, with whom he had two sons.[3][6] His touring prior to 1952 included concerts in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, the Hollywood Bowl (1950) and San Francisco in California, and appearances in Canada.[7] He was ordained as a minister in 1954.[8]
Pastoral period
[edit]By mid-1958 he had moved to Jamaica, Queens for denominational work in New York City.[3] He would later hold pastoral positions in Albany, Elmira, and Troy in New York State.[9][10][11] He was back in the Pacific Northwest in 1965, serving as a pastor in the Portland, Oregon area for twenty-two years, but also involved in Voice of Prophecy evangelism and the 1966 General Conference Session.[12][2]
Death
[edit]Liu died on May 20, 1987, having suffered from cancer for an extended period.[2]
Style
[edit]Liu was a dramatic tenor.[4] His early concerts concentrated on Irish romantic ballads.[4] As a pastor, his sermons typically included at least one segment of singing.[2] He recorded several albums for Chapel Records in the sacred style, and by that label's criteria became one of their best-selling artists. Through these recordings and his appearances in Adventist media he became widely known throughout Adventism.[13]
Discography
[edit]"Prayer Perfect" (10-inch LP) - Chapel 1205 (pre-June 1955)
- Prayer Perfect
- Follow, I Will Follow Thee
- Deep Down In My Heart
- Holy, Holy Is What The Angels Sing
- My Testament
- Saved By Grace
- The Lord's Prayer
- An Evening Prayer
"The Holy City" (10-inch LP) - Chapel 1243 (pre-June 1955)
- The Holy City
- Now I Belong to Jesus
- It's In My Heart
- Are You Ready For Jesus to Come
- (four unknown tracks)
"The Beautiful Land" (12-inch LP) - Chapel 5029 (February 1960)[14]
- There's a Beautiful Land on High (Taylor)
- He's Coming to Take Me Up There (Rees)
- I Want to See Heaven (Rees)
- O The Way Is Long and Weary (Root)
- If I Gained the World (Swedish)
- Beautiful Valley of Eden (Sherwin)
- I'd Rather Have Jesus (Shea - Soderstrom)
- My Prayer (Rees)
- The Love of My Lord (Rees)
- Like Jesus (Miller)
- Never Forgotten (Ackley)
- He Is Calling
"Sunny Liu Sings" (12-inch LP) - Chapel 5071
- There'll Be a Day (Mel Rees)
- He May Never Call Again (Mel Rees)
- I'll Never Be Alone (Mel Rees)
- How Great Thou Art (S. Hine)
- Just a Closer Walk
- The Holy City (S. Adams)
- The Hiding Place (M. Rose)
- God Whispered to Me (Mel Rees)
- We'll Talk It Over (I. Stamphill)
"How Big Is God" (12-inch LP) - Chapel 5094 (monophonic), ST-094 (stereophonic) (1966)[15]
- How Big Is God (Hamblen)
- At The End of The Road (Ackley)
- Follow Me (Tavey)
- Surely Goodness and Mercy (Peterson / Smith)
- For All My Sins (Clayton)
- Ten Thousand Angels (Overholt)
- An Evening Prayer (Gabriel)
- The Great Judgement Morning (Pickett)
- I Need Thee Every Hour (Lowry / Hawks)
- Until Then (Hamblen)
"Songs By Mel Rees" (12-inch LP) - Chapel 5131
- My Troubled Heart
- When You Look Upon A Lovely Flower
- When He Comes
- Little Lamb
- Oh What A Price He Paid For Me
- As Long As He Loves Me
- My Jesus
- Oh, Wonder Of Wonders
- I Don't Know Why
"The Lord Is My Shepherd" (12-inch LP) - Chapel 5182
- The Lord Is My Shepherd
- The Living God
- Forward To Christ
- I'll Be A Friend Of His
- Without Him
- He Touched Me
- Where Will You Be
- He Washed My Eyes With Tears
- A Heart Like Thine
"The Best of Sunny Liu" (12-inch LP, Cassette) - Chapel 5468 (1984)
- How Great Thou Art
- Just A Closer Walk
- How Big Is God
- Until Then
- Ten Thousand Angels
- As Long As He Loves Me
- When He Comes
- He Touched Me
- He Washed My Eyes With Tears
- Without Him
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Sunny Liu Sings Benefit Concert on January 22". Honolulu Star. January 13, 1951. p. 20 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Lents Pastor Dies After Lengthy Illness" (PDF). North Pacific Union Gleaner. Portland, Oregon. June 15, 1987. p. 11.
- ^ a b c d e "Adventist Concert Slated for June 7". Kingston Daily Freeman. Kingston, New York. June 4, 1958. p. 6 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Sunny Liu Sings Irish Ballads on Concert Program". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. January 19, 1951 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sunny Liu Concert Monday Is Benefit for Mission Academy". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. January 17, 1951 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Obituaries" (PDF). Adventist Review. Hagerstown, Maryland. October 8, 1987. p. 21.
- ^ "Concert Scheduled on January 22 by Sunny Liu, Tenor". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. January 11, 1951 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Church News". The Daily Journal. Vineland, New Jersey. January 5, 1963 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Adventists To Welcome New Pastors". The Troy Record. Troy, New York. October 16, 1962 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Hawaiian Pastor in Concert Here". The Pocono Record. Pocono Pennsylvania. September 13, 1963 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Liu to Speak". The Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. June 6, 1965 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gospel Singer". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. October 10, 1966 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sunny Liu Succumbs to Cancer" (PDF). Adventist Review. Hagerstown, Maryland. June 25, 1987. p. 7.
- ^ Sunny Liu Sings (Liner notes). Liu, Sunny. Mountain View, California: Chapel Records. LP 5071.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Spotlight on Records". Lake Union Herald. Berrien Springs, Michigan. July 5, 1966. p. 2.
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