Jake Hess (December 24, 1927 – January 4, 2004) was an American Grammy Award-winning southern gospel singer.
Hess was born in Limestone County, Alabama. Later, when he registered with the draft board in Lincoln, Nebraska, he gave his name as "William Jesse Hess." In 1997, when Hess was preparing to get a passport to travel overseas, he discovered that his birth certificate actually read Manchild Hess. His son, Jake Jr., named his recording company Manchild Records in honor of his father. He died January 4, 2004 in Opelika, Alabama after suffering a heart attack December 14, 2003, just days after a performance in Atlanta, Georgia.
