Lee Graves has been in Texas Gospel music since 1950, when he joined the Biron Dyes Quartet from Joaquin, Texas, as their tenor. He sang for about a year with this group, then was called up to serve in the Korean War. Following his military service, he sang with the Joint Heirs Quartet of Shelby County.

In 1957, he was asked to manage and promote the Mt. Bethel Cemetery homecoming in Gary, Texas. With the exception of a few years in the 1960’s, this homecoming is still being held to this day, and he continues to manage and promote it.

In 1965, the First Baptist Church of Gary homecoming was turned over to Mr. Graves. He managed and promoted that homecoming for 27 years, hosting in groups such as The Stamps-Baxter Quartet, The Phelps Family, The Sound, and Plain Ole’ Gospel. This singing received state-wide attention, and was attended by some of the greats of gospel music, such as Cecil Pollock, Robert S. Arnold, Arthur and Marion Watson and many others.

In 1968, he started a family group called The Graves Family (later called the Graves Gospel Singers), and went on the road for 15 years with this group singing in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi. This family group made appearances in many of the great singings of the day, including the Tri-State Singing Convention and Texas State Singing Convention, and even appeared in Memphis, Tennessee in a concert with the Blackwood Brothers. In 1983, with the family mostly gone to college, the group left the road, though it still makes rare appearances in Carthage and Gary at various homecomings.

Lee was called to preach in 1984, when he accepted the pastorate of the McClelland Community Church in Shelby County, Texas. As of his induction in 2010, he still preaches for revivals and church services, and he continues to sing with the Joint Heirs Quartet, now based in Gary, Texas.