Ira David Sankey was born on August 28, 1840, to David and Mary Sankey. His parents were devout Methodists. The family often sang hymns of the church together and Sankey was able to read music by the age of eight. He was converted at the age of sixteen while attending revival services near his home.

Sankey's father, a banker and later a government employee, was able to assist his son in acquiring a job. Sankey worked for the government until he began full-time evangelistic work with D. L. Moody. He also did volunteer work with the YMCA.

In September 1863 Sankey married Fanny V. Edwards, one of his choir members. The couple had three children, all boys.

Moody persuaded the young singer to join him in Chicago in 1871. The men traveled all over the United States and Great Britain holding increasingly crowded revival meetings. Sankey helped popularize the use of hymns with lyrics written by contemporary composers and musical instruments in church worship services.

Some of Sankey's most beloved hymns were poems he set to music, such as The Ninety and Nine, Trusting Jesus, A Shelter in the Time of Storm, and I Am Praying for You. Other tunes written by the musician include Am I a Soldier of the Cross, Sleep On Beloved, Why Not Tonight?, and I Will Trust Thee.

In his later years, Sankey lost his sight due to glaucoma. He dictated his autobiography, My Life and the Story of Gospel Hymns, from memory in 1906. On August 13, 1908, shortly before his sixty-eighth birthday, Sankey died quietly in his sleep at his home in Brooklyn, New York.