Cleavant Derricks (1910–1977) was a prominent 20th-century African American pastor, gospel music composer, choir director, and poet whose songs became foundational classics within both Black gospel and Southern gospel traditions. Born on May 13, 1910, in East Chattanooga, Tennessee, he developed an early aptitude for sacred music, studying at the Cadek Conservatory of Music in Chattanooga. He pursued further academic and theological studies at A & I State University and the American Baptist Theological Seminary (now American Baptist College) in Nashville, preparing for a lifetime of dual service in pastoral leadership and musical ministry.

Throughout his career, Derricks pastored several Baptist congregations across Tennessee, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin, including Vermont Avenue Baptist Church and Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., as well as churches in Dayton, Knoxville, and Jackson, Tennessee. Known as a classically trained musician who loved anthems and traditional hymnody alongside gospel, he directed prominent church choirs and large-scale choral ensembles across the region. In the 1960s, while pastoring Pleasant Grove, he mentored a young Richard Smallwood, giving the future gospel icon his early organist appointment.

A extraordinarily prolific songwriter, Derricks composed over 300 gospel songs and published numerous songbooks. His compositions are characterized by joyful rhythmic movement, accessible folk melodies, and simple yet profound expressions of faith, salvation, and prayer. In 1936, he wrote his most celebrated masterpiece, "Just a Little Talk with Jesus". He initially sold the copyright to the Stamps-Baxter Music Company in exchange for fifty songbooks to distribute to his congregation. The song quickly became an international standard, recorded by hundreds of artists ranging from Mahalia Jackson and the Oak Ridge Boys to Elvis Presley.

Derricks's primary musical and hymnological contributions include:

• "Just a Little Talk with Jesus" — His world-famous 1936 gospel anthem celebrating the power of personal prayer, beginning "I once was lost in sin, but Jesus took me in".

• "When God Dips His Pen of Love in My Heart" — A widely recorded gospel song expressing spiritual transformation and divine grace.

• "We'll Soon Be Done With Troubles and Trials" — A beloved song of heavenly hope and comfort during earthly hardships.

• "When He Blessed My Soul" — A joyful testimony hymn celebrating salvation.

• "My Soul is Forever Free" (also known as "Glory to God, my soul is forever free") — An exuberant song of redemption and spiritual liberation.

In his final years, Derricks recorded his own compositions alongside his family for Canaan Records. He died of colon cancer in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 14, 1977, at the age of sixty-six. In recognition of his monumental influence on American sacred music, Cleavant Derricks was posthumously inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1984. His sons, Cleavant Derricks Jr. and Clinton Derricks-Carroll, carried on the family's artistic legacy as accomplished actors and musicians.