Billy Graham's singer George Beverly Shea dead at 104

ASHEVILLE, N.C., April 17 (UPI) -- Famed gospel singer George Beverly Shea has died in Asheville, N.C., the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said. He was 104.

Shea, who passed away Tuesday, was the official singing voice of the association for more than a half-century, singing at prayer breakfasts attended by U.S. presidents such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson and the first George Bush, and appearing regularly on Graham's weekly radio broadcast, "The Hour of Decision," The New York Times said.

He also recorded more than 70 albums and was presented by the Recording Academy with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.