Hymn Story: What a Day that will be (When My Jesus I Shall See)   

What a Day that will be (When My Jesus I Shall See) is an upbeat song and often performed on the Gaither Homecoming Videos.

The song was written by Jim Hill. He studied to become a professional singer and in the 1940s joined the Golden Keys Quartet as both manager and tenor.

He wrote “What a Day That Will Be” in the early 1950s. His mother-in-law became gravely ill and as a new Christian he questioned God about why this was happening. He then said that words just came flooding to his head–when he got home he grabbed a piece of cardboard and started writing the words down.

His mother-in-law was the first person he sung the hymn to.

The Golden Keys Quartet first performed and recorded the song before becoming a beloved hymn throughout Southern Gospel music.

A decade later the Golden Keys Quartet were responsible for helping establish another young song writer, Bill Gaither.

Jim was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012.