Wilson "Lit" Waters Jr., a member of the Grammy-winning gospel group The Fairfield Four died Thursday at his Nashville home. He was 74 and had been battling cancer.

Waters joined the group, which originally formed in the 1920s with singers from Nashville's Fairfield Baptist Church, in 1982.

Previously Waters performed and recorded with gospel group The Skylarks, which also included future The Fairfield Four members James Hill and Isaac Freeman.

During Waters' time with the group, The Fairfield Four won two Grammy awards and recorded with John Fogerty, Elvis Costello and others.

The group also contributed to the film and soundtrack of "O Brother Where Art Thou," which won a Grammy in 2002. The Fairfield Four won its first Grammy in 1998 for the album "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray."

Nashville musician Colin Linden remembered Waters as a singer with a powerful voice.

"He didn't step out that often as a lead voice, but once in a while he would take a verse or part of a verse and he would astound you with his power," Linden said. "It was something that he kept in his back pocket."

Waters is survived by four sons and a daughter.

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