# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/jester-hairston
# Generated: 2026-08-14T06:15:52.777Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/jester-hairston"
name: "Jester Hairston"
slug: "jester-hairston"
description: "Jester Joseph Hairston was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor and actor. He was regarded as a leading expert on black spirituals and choral music. His notable compositions include \"Amen\", a gospel-tinged theme from the film Lilies of the Field and a 1964 hit for the Impressions, and the Christmas song \"Mary's Boy Child\"."
tagline: "American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor, and actor (1901-2000)"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Jester_Hairston_in_1977.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "United States"
  isoCode: "US"
category:
  name: "Musicians"
  slug: "musicians"
profileType:
  name: "Singer / Musician"
  slug: "singer"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q177220"
birthDate: "1901-07-09"
deathDate: "2000-01-18"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           53.1
  momentum:             12.56410256410256
  historical:           14.80685066666667
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     70
  profileCompleteness:  80
  trendDirection:       "RISING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
platforms:
  - platform:  "IMDB"
    url:       "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0354377/"
    handle:    "nm0354377"
  - platform:  "WEBSITE"
    url:       "http://www.jesterhairston.org/"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.discogs.com/artist/636378"
    title: "Discogs"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester_Hairston"
    title: "Jester Hairston"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1_%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86"
    title: "جستر هايرستون"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1_%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86"
    title: "جستر هايرستون"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1_%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86"
    title: "جستر هیرستون"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%DB%8E%D8%B3%D8%AA%DB%95%D8%B1_%DA%BE%DB%8E%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%86"
    title: "جێستەر ھێرستن"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester_Hairston"
    title: "Jester Hairston"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1_%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86"
    title: "جستر هیرستون"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester_Hairston"
    title: "Jester Hairston"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester_Hairston"
    title: "Jester Hairston"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B8%E3%82%A7%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%98%E3%82%A2%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%B3"
    title: "ジェスター・ヘアーストン"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester_Hairston"
    title: "Jester Hairston"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester_Hairston"
    title: "Jester Hairston"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester_Hairston"
    title: "Jester Hairston"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester_Hairston"
    title: "Jester Hairston"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ur.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%DB%8C%D8%B3%D9%B9%D8%B1_%DB%81%DB%8C%D8%A6%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%B9%D9%86"
    title: "جیسٹر ہیئرسٹن"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://musicbrainz.org/artist/fd2e0dc2-379c-4243-990f-4afc1cedb25a"
    title: "MusicBrainz"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5783279"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://www.themoviedb.org/person/192330"
    title: "Jester Hairston"
    type:  "DATABASE"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump