Before radio, TV, movies, records and video, the printing press was the medium of popular entertainment through the sale of sheet music. Fanny Crosby’s lyrics became so popular that almost every composer of Gospel music came to her for the words; she was that big a star. She should have made lots of money, but was exploited by publishers who paid her a small weekly stipend instead of sales-based royalties – and she was forever giving away the little she made to rescue missions or some poor soul in need. By the end of her life she had to be assisted financially again and again by her friends, but her generosity of spirit was the very thing that made her a success in the first place. At various times she attended Congregationalist, Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist churches; she is considered one of the most prolific hymnwriters in history. In 1975 she was elected to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.