Lou Wills Hildreth

Hildreth was born on July 13, 1928 in Memphis, Texas.[2] Her family, the Wills, were Southern gospel performers.[3]

Hildreth began her career as a Southern gospel performer with her family, the Singing Wills Family.[2] In the 1960s, she hosted Wills Family Inspirational Time. Over the course of her career, she has also hosted Hill Country Gospel TV and Inside Gospel, Family Lifestyles and Nashville Gospel.[2][3]

Hildreth was a songwriter.[2] She was the founder and owner of the Nashville Talent Agency, a talent agency based in Nashville, Tennessee. As such, she was "the first female to have owned her own booking agency" in the Gospel music industry.[2] Her clients included Mark Lowry and The Hemphills among others.[3][4] She was also the co-owner of the Sword & Shield Recording & Publishing Company.[2]

Hildreth served on the board of directors of the Gospel Music Association for two decades.[3] She was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2005,[3] and the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame in 2007.[2] She is the namesake of the Lou Hildreth Award at the National Quartet Convention.[3] Lou Hildereth received a Honorary Doctorate in Music from Louisiana Baptist University.

Hildreth was married to Howard Hildreth for 72 years. They leave behind a son, David, and a daughter, Kathryn.[3] Howard died December 26, 2018. Lou died two months and two days after her husband.[5]