Longtime music and program director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Cliff Barrows, died on Nov. 15 at the Carolinas Healthcare System-Pineville after suffering from a brief illness. He was 93.

For decades, Barrows was the one who provided the soundtrack for Billy Graham's global crusades. He was also a close friend to the renowned evangelist.

Since the earliest crusades in Charlotte in 1947, Barrows traveled the world with Graham. He met the Charlotte-born evangelist in Ashville sometime in 1945 and created a team that eventually became known as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Throughout his career as a song leader, choir director and emcee for the Billy Graham Crusades, Barrows dedicated his life spreading the gospel through music and sermons.

In an interview, Billy Graham's son, Franklin, said he considered Barrows as the voice of his father.

"Cliff Barrows was the voice behind my father for 60 years, emceeing the platform for his crusades and 'The Hour of Decision' radio program. Not only was he one of my father's closest friends, but he was a friend to all of us on the team and in the family," said Franklin.

"Growing up, and until the day of his death, I called him Uncle Cliff. He was very much a part of our family," Franklin shared, adding that the remarkable contribution of Barrows to his father's ministry could not be measured in human terms.

A public funeral service for Barrows was held at Calvary Church in Charlotte in the morning of Nov. 22. He was buried in a private ceremony on the grounds of Charlotte's Billy Graham Library.