Marion W. Easterling
Musician · 1910–1989 · Clanton, Alabama
Best known for
Songwriter
Marion Wesley Easterling was an Alabama-based Southern-gospel songwriter and radio broadcaster who claimed roughly 300 compositions across his career — among them “When I Wake Up to Sleep No More,” a 1974 chart-topper for the Inspirations that remains a staple of the bluegrass-gospel repertoire. He hosted what was said to be the country’s longest continuously running daily gospel radio program out of Clanton, Alabama.
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- Born March 12, 1910.
- Wrote roughly 300 gospel songs over the course of his career, including “When I Wake Up to Sleep No More,” “Lord Lead Me On,” “Standing by the River,” and “Rainbow of Love.”
- Launched the gospel radio program America’s Favorites on WKLF in Clanton, Alabama, on December 2, 1947; the daily broadcast became one of the longest continuously running gospel shows on American radio.
- The Inspirations’ recording of “When I Wake Up to Sleep No More” spent seven consecutive months at No. 1 on Singing News magazine’s gospel chart in 1974, holding the top spot from April through October and returning to No. 1 again in December.
- Received the Broadcast Media Gospel Award in 1976.
- Honored on the floor of the U.S. Senate on April 17, 1986, in a tribute by Alabama Senator Jeremiah Denton.
- Died December 10, 1989.
