MY SISTER, PAT ANDRÉ, and her husband, Larry, are major fans of the Gaither Homecoming DVDs. When I visit their place, we often watch two or three in a row.
So, having this Sabbath day posted two video clips below featuring Guy Penrod and David Phelps, I’d be remiss not to post at least one clip of the Gaither’s pianist—the impossibly gifted late Anthony Burger.
At eight months of age, an accident left little Anthony with third-degree burns on his hands. Burger’s doctors told his parents that he would likely never be able to move his hands in the future.
But God had other ideas for those hands, it seems. His hands healed, and at the age of 5, he was accepted at the Cadek Conservatory in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A child prodigy, Burger was playing classical piano repertoire within a few years.
In 1993, after winning every possible award for his area of gospel music, Anthony joined the Gaither Homecoming Tour and was featured on more than 65 Homecoming videos.
On February 22, 2006, Burger died of a massive heart attack while performing aboard the MS Zuiderdam, a cruise ship chartered for a Gaither Gospel Cruise. According to eyewitnesses, Burger was accompanying Bill and Gloria Gaither and Guy Penrod on the song “Hear My Song, Lord,” when fans in the audience noticed Burger had ceased moving, his hands clenched into fists over the keyboard.
Several fellow artists lifted him and carried him backstage, where the cruise ship’s emergency response team performed CPR for about 45 minutes, but couldn’t revive him. Burger was only 44 years old when he died.
The clip below is a medley—beginning with “How Big Is God?”—that he played at the Stamps Baxter Singing School in Nashville, Tennessee, in July of 2004. The video quality isn’t the best, but the stunning scope of Anthony’s God-given talent is clear. May you be blessed as I have been.
Right End of the Telescope 
Posted by PAt & Larry on September 29, 2007 at 10:15 pm
It’s nice to sit and remember the good times we have had thru the years. At the beach in Oregon, and also now in Idaho. Thanks for the music that we have sat and listened with you. It will be nice when we with all our families can sit up in Heaven and sing with Jesus and the Angels all of those neat old and new songs. We are looking forward too His Soon Coming. As I sit here and think of the times that Pat and I would sit with dad at our Newport house asking him bible questions which he would always have an answer for. We do miss dad, and look forward to the time we can sit again with him and he can say, see this is what we were talking about.
Thanks again Ken for being the Best Brother-In Law I could ever ask for……….Larry
Posted by Ken on September 29, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Treasured memories, for sure. And even if you weren’t my ONLY brother-in-law…and Pat my ONLY sister…I’m sure you’d both still be the best anyway!
Looking forward to the upcoming family reunion in heaven!