Lorne Matthews

Lorne Matthews was born on June 20, 1941 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was educated at the Toronto Conservatory of Music and at London Bible College.

He joined the Benson Brothers Quartet in the 1950s. He was a member of the King’s Men trio from 1959-61, the Salton Brothers from 1963-63, and the McDuff Brothers from 1967-69.

The McDuff Brothers group was a trio consisting of John, Colman, and Roger McDuff, with Lorne Matthews as their pianist. The group takes some credit for helping bring Bill Gaither’s songs to prominence; along with the Speer Family and Doug Oldham, they were one of the earliest groups to start singing his music. They even recognized him as an up-and-coming songwriter from the stage of the National Quartet convention, calling him up on stage and introducing him to the crowd.

Lorne Matthews had always wanted to play piano for the Blackwood Brothers. One night, he dreamed that James Blackwood called him and offered him the position with the Blackwood Brothers. However, in that dream, God told him to stay with the McDuff Brothers. Shortly after the dream, James Blackwood actually called Matthews and offered him the job. However, once Matthews shared the dream with Blackwood, Blackwood said: “Lorne, if God has spoken to you in that manner in a dream, then I would not encourage you to leave The McDuff Brothers.” Matthews then stayed with the McDuff Brothers until the group disbanded.

He toured with his family for several years with his wife Jimmie Ruth, and their children Mark and Melody as “The Lorne Matthews Family.” The group produced both vocal and instrumental recordings.

He also served in several church positions around this time. He was also a member of the Landmark Quartet before his 1971-72 stint with the Cathedral Quartet. From 1972-79 he toured with his family, The Lorne Matthews Family.

He returned to the Cathedrals in 1979 for a brief stint before leaving to form The Brothers with Roy Tremble and George Amon Webster. After The Brothers disbanded, he focused on his solo “Keyboards for the King” ministry, touring with his wife Jimmie Ruth Matthews.

Some of the highlights of his career include being inducted into the “Piano Roll of Honor Hall of Fame” in 2003, receiving the “Living Legend Award” for over 45 years in Gospel music in 2003, and playing “The Battle Hymn” for President Ronald Reagan’s First Congressional Prayer Breakfast. He has performed in the United States, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Nigeria. At a 2006 concert in Nigeria, over 8 million people (at one time and in one place) saw Lorne Matthews and the McDuff Brothers perform.

Today, he bases his ministry, Keyboards for the King Concerts, out of Akron, Ohio for six months of the year and out of Lakeland, Florida for the other six.

Singing Career

1950s Benson Brothers Quartet
1959-61 The King’s Men
1962-63 Salton Brothers
1967-69 The McDuff Brothers
The Landmark Quartet
1971-72 Cathedral Quartet
1972-79 Lorne Matthews Family
1979 Cathedral Quartet
1979-80 The Brothers
?-today Keyboards for the King

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