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January 19, 2004 In a society saturated with choices, sometimes it's nice to receive some knowledgeable recommendations. This is my list of the artists that were the originators of contemporary Christian music. I grew up listening to these artists on vinyl records whenever I purchased them through my Word Record Club living in upstate New York. I had to join this record club to get anything good, as Christian bookstores were non-existent, Christian radio was still a dream, and live concerts were unheard of, at least in my area. I hungered for everything contemporary after a musician friend of mine turned me on to a black songwriter-musician name Andrae Crouch that he recorded on his reel-to-reel deck. I couldn’t believe a Christian artist could be so “on” musically with what was playing on the AM radio pop charts in those days! Here was someone who was speaking my language in music and lyrics, and he didn’t play an accordion or have a Southern drawl. I then dug around and discovered other artists that were opening the doors of contemporary Christian music. Since the original vinyl is hard to find and, for most people, even harder to play, I will also cover the most popular and influential works of the artist on CD. Andrae Crouch and the Disciples
Andrae was my hero. This guy was 15 years ahead of his time musically! Andrae wrote such unforgettable standards such as “My Tribute,” “Jesus Is Still the Answer,” “Thank You, Lord,” and many others. He was so gifted in a variety of musical styles—he could do inspirational, black gospel, contemporary, and even soul. Thankfully, Word Music signed his group and also provided artist folio collections of his music for purchase with the vocal and chord charts used on the records. I think I bought every one of his records and music folio collections. He couldn’t read music, but his musicianship and songwriting ability were amazing. My favorite albums were the Live in Carnegie Hall and Live in London, which featured many of his hits, but also brought the excitement of a live Christian concert into my bedroom. Andrae is now pastor of a church in California, and has been involved with several recording projects for secular projects, also. The “Live” albums have been digitally recorded on a Mega 3 CD Collection 2 set available here. Andrae Crouch CDs are available here. A History Makers CD with his popular songs is found here. “The Very Best of Andrae Crouch” here. Some interesting reading on Andrae Crouch now is found here.
The 2nd Chapter of Acts / Phil Keaggy
The reason I put these two artists in the same category is the fact they did some albums together and one of the most influential sets they recorded was a two-album live concert entitled “How the West Was One.” The music and songs on this album were phenomenal and had some kickin’ music. Since it was a double album (unusual for Christian artists at that time), it didn’t sell as many copies, but its influence (along with other albums by these artists) rocked the Christian musical world. Anyone who has heard Phil Keaggy knows he is a guitar guru. Many secular artists (like Eric Clapton, for example) cite Phil Keaggy as a major influence on their guitar playing. The 2nd Chapter of Acts (Anne Herring, Nelly Greisen, and Matthew Ward) were siblings who ended up living together, along with Anne’s husband Buck, a well-known producer, due to the deaths of their parents. Anne started playing the piano (without lessons) and the three of them blended in the tightest and most beautiful vocal blend you have ever heard. Phil Keaggy is still making albums and has done more acoustic guitar than electric recently, but this album featured the electric. The 2nd Chapter of Acts has disbanded, but all three are still involved musically in different projects. These two artists cut the path for vocals and electric guitar in contemporary Christian music. “How the West was One,” the live double album by Phil Keaggy and The 2nd Chapter of Acts can be purchased here. Other CDs by The 2nd Chapter of Acts can be found here. The 2nd Chapter of Acts has a website here. Phil Keaggy’s website and recordings are found here. A two video set with the Pioneers of CCM on how they got started can be found here.
Don Francisco
Although Don Francisco is still considered a “Musical Evangelist,” his main impact was in the early CCM years. A true master of lyrics, Don wrote many songs that were atypical of the genre he was part of. First, he played acoustic guitar when the majority of guitarists were using electric. Second, he used a lot of different words and unique phrases when songs like “Greater Is He That is In Me” were popular. “Greater is He That is In Me” and other songs at that time used three repeated lines and a different line for the final line of the chorus (AAAB). Don used different lines throughout most of his songs. Don described biblical stories like no other songwriter before or after. I can remember hearing “He’s Alive” for the first time. It spoke of Peter after he denied Christ and the severe sorrow and remorse this man had. With an introspective look into Peter’s feelings, Don wove the sorrow and pain into a masterful uplifting conclusion of “He’s Alive, He’s Alive, He’s Alive and I’m forgiven…heaven’s gates are open wide!” I wanted to shout and cry at the same time! I bought every album I could find after hearing that song and was not disappointed. His style of writing has influenced many others, but Don Francisco always will remain a Master Lyricist to me. The following website has a CD (along with others) with his best-loved favorites on it called “He’s Alive” here. Truth
I couldn’t list the early Contemporary Christian Music giants without mentioning this talented group formed by Roger Breland. Since 1971, they brought many contemporary hits to the Christian airwaves and toured many cities to bring concerts to teens throughout the world. Truth packed a large group of musicians and singers when they traveled. They also used a real horn section that was unsurpassed in excellence and complexity. The musicians and singers were all top-notch and were frequently replaced as they left to pursue solo careers. (Melody Tunney, Steve Green, and all four of the members of the group 4Him had their debut in Truth.) Another musical first the group accomplished was the first direct-to-disk vinyl recording in Christian music. I had a copy of it, and it was phenomenal! (The reason not too many direct-to-disk vinyl recordings were made was that overdubs were not possible. It was like a live recording being made of each song on the album recorded directly to vinyl, skipping the “recording to tape, making a master tape, and cutting the vinyl record” process.) The musicians, singers, and engineers would get the right mix for each song, record the track direct to vinyl and stop it. Then they would setup for the next song and do the process repeatedly until the entire vinyl master album was done. This took out a lot of hiss and tape noise that was inherent in the usual process, but the musicians and singers couldn’t make a mistake or they’d have to start cutting the vinyl back from the beginning of the record again. Only Truth’s talent made it possible to do something like this and keep the quality intact. (I didn’t hear one mistake or sour note.) Truth was a big hit on Christian radio for years. The group disbanded in 2001. (See this site.) Roger Breland, founder of Truth, is now heading up the UM Center for Performing Arts at the University of Mobile (See this site), planning to become the premier provider of Christian musicians. Truth’s 25th Anniversary CD can be purchased here. Dallas Holm
Dallas Holm has always been a personal favorite of mine due to the sincerity, honesty, and compassion displayed through his life and music. Holm took the spotlight due to a recording project he did in a high school in front of an audience of 300. He decided to use this venue to record a live album. He didn’t have much money, so he hired someone for $4,500 to bring a truck and record the event to make an album, because he felt led of God to do so. The event was recorded and the song “Rise Again” was brought to the masses through this endeavor. I’ll never forget this live album, released in 1977, called Dallas Holm and Praise…Live! What was so incredible about it was that it was so well-done musically, using acoustic and electric guitars, piano and synthesizer, bass, and percussion—you didn’t even notice there were no drums on the album! You didn’t even miss them. I was floored when I realized this. Dallas was never a fancy showman; he just told it like it was through music and song. He doesn’t dance around the stage or try to change his voice to make it fit the times. He sings plain and simple in a rich and vibrant baritone that fills the concert venues he plays. He is not out for recognition, but is doing his best to reach the young and old alike with the gospel. He has an altar service at every concert and uses local churches to work the altars. Dallas Holm writes or co-writes most of the songs on his albums, which usually contain a variety of upbeat and slower introspective songs. If you ever are feeling bad, listen to one of his releases and it will comfort you. You can tell through his writing he has felt pain. His discography is found here. His website and CD’s can be found here. A biography of Dallas and the people he has influenced is found here.
ninetyandnine.com © 2004, Bruce Little ---------- Bruce Little plays many musical instruments in the St. Louis metropolitan area and beyond. |
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