Elder Goldwire McLendon, BET’s ‘Sunday Best’ finalist, dies at 95

Gospel Music Fever™

By Libra Boyd, Editor in Chief

GMF was saddened to learn of the passing of Elder Goldwire McLendon, 95, on December 17, 2025. Longtime gospel devotees revered the beloved singer and elder, while a wider audience came to know him as a finalist on the third season of BET’s Sunday Best.

Ultimately placing as runner-up to Le’Andria Johnson on BET’s Sunday Best, he first captivated judges Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell, and Tina Campbell with his audition performance of the Gaither hymn “He Touched Me.” At 79 years old, his velvet vocals, gentle “soft-shoe shuffle,” and unmistakable anointing endeared him to viewers week after week, culminating in a memorable finale appearance and the subsequent release of a 7-track project titled, The Best of Elder Goldwire McLendon (reviewed by GMF in 2012).

Still, long before he garnered acclaim from the gospel talent competition, Elder McLendon made his mark along the gospel highway. A soloist and former member of Philadelphia’s legendary Savettes, a recording group on the Savoy label, he was a fixture in the city’s gospel community for decades. His reputation for stirring the Spirit was evident early on. According to Anthony Heilbut in The Gospel Sound, it was McLendon who sang “Just to Behold His Face” at the 1970 homegoing service for Ruth Davis of the Davis Sisters, prompting gospel icon Clara Ward to fall out, “hollering long, loud, eminently musical shrieks.”

Most recently, in 2023, a new generation was introduced to McLendon when a video captured at his surprise 93rd birthday dinner went viral on social media. In the clip, McLendon is seen singing “It Is Well,” a moment shared by his granddaughter, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Samara Joy. Music clearly runs in the family; his son, Antonio, Samara’s father, is a singer, songwriter, and musician who toured with Andraé Crouch.

GMF extends sincere condolences to the McLendon family, friends, and all whose lives were touched by his voice and witness.

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