I am sure that no one here has ever heard of him unless you were a member of the Hollywood United Methodist Church in the early 1970's. He could bring tears to the eye of a statue with his singing of 'The Old Rugged Cross' or 'How Great Thou Art'.
The point being, there are millions of singers that we have never heard of who are just as talented as the famous ones that are listed in the posts above. They just never had the publicity or stage to make their mark.
That is undoubtedly true.
One of the most spellbinding performances I have ever seen was this solo by Andy Gibb at Ford's Theatre in 1980, in a command performance for newly-elected President Reagan. Even though he was the 22-year-old "kid brother" of the more famous Bee Gees (Barry, Maurice and Robin), he had the audience of VIPs on the edge of their seats during the whole song, but most especially during the final passage. You could have heard a pin drop. It was one of the most thrilling events of my career as a pubicist, to be able to attend that gala.
It was tragic that this talented man died so young, at 30, having given himself a heart condition from drug and alcohol abuse. If only he had been in the church like your friend.