As a teen, LeFevre was expelled from a private religious high school when his father took him out to be with the family while they performed at a local concert. At 17 years old, while in the Army where he was paid $84 per month, he wrote his first song, "Without Him". While stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, the LeFevres were performing at a gospel convention in Memphis. That weekend, LeFevre hitchhiked over 600 miles to get there. Onstage, singing "Without Him", he did not know that Elvis Presley was there. After the concert, Elvis asked to meet LeFevre. Shortly thereafter, Elvis recorded the song for his album, "How Great Thou Art", and within the next year, over a hundred artists would record his song. According to LeFevre, writing the song took about twenty minutes and produced an initial royalty check of approximately $90,000. With that money he purchased his first car, a Chevrolet Corvette, one of many sports cars he would own.