Amy Grant News and Articles

CCM
July, 2003

Contemporary Christian music lovers are a little fanatical about music. OK, so it’s more than a little. We are fanatics. From the first time we learned we could rock and praise at the same time, we thought we were being raptured. Some of us were brought to Jesus on Larry Norman, Sunday schooled on Petra, rededicated on Amy and baptized on Michael, while others have only recently been introduced to "Jesus pop" through the likes of Plus One, Nichole Nordeman and Stacie Orrico. And still others found Jesus music in the tattoo-infested, skater-inhabited mosh pits of P.O.D. and Zao concerts. But no matter how we were awakened to the ‘heaven-like’ realms of Christian music, we were glad that our cravings for musical creativity and our necessity for spiritual depth could both be satisfied by Christian music.

Of course, kids today listening to Jesus-infused punk metal bands have it easy. Most churches now actually accept the words "Christian" and "rock" being used to describe music. But in the ’70s and ’80s, many church people weren’t sure what to make of this new "worldly" God music. Parents thought their kids had lost their minds the first time they heard them blaring Stryper from the bedroom. Youth leaders and pastors compared Amy Grant to Madonna to ensure that church kids came to "gym and pizza night" instead of attending Grant’s "Unguarded" tour. Some preached that Michael W. Smith was a proverbial wolf preaching the gospel in ’80s sheep’s clothing. There’s no doubt the pioneers of contemporary Christian music had their obstacles, yet they continued to proselytize their "new" sound in coffeehouses, stadiums, around campfires, at summer festivals and in contemporary churches everywhere.

And even though there are still a few who picket and preach against the supposed "worldly ways" of Christian music, we mostly bask in the creative and musical freedom of the trail that Amy, Michael, Petra and co. blazed over the last 25 years. Contemporary Christian music has flourished. It’s now an industry that embraces hip hop, hard core, worship, pop, R&B, alternative rock and acoustic.

In celebration of our 25th year, we weren’t about to try to top our 20th anniversary issue with its amazing historical content, and besides, who wants to read the same stuff all over again? We wanted this issue to be humorous and fun. We wanted this issue to create some conversation and maybe some debate. So here it is! Our first ever List Issue. We hope you laugh, remember, cry (OK, so it’s really not that good) and learn something new about Christian music.

25 Powerful People Who Have Made Christian Music What It Is Today

1. Amy Grant—Why Amy? For starters, there are at least five other people on this list who have a career because of her. It’s impossible to overstate her impact on her fellow artists, the economics of the industry and getting Christian music onto the radar screens of American popular culture-—not to mention the fact that nearly 25 million people have bought her records.

2. Bill and Gloria Gaither—Besides writing some of Christian music’s most enduring standards and helping to professionally mentor some of its biggest artists, they've sold millions of Homecoming videos and CDs, revolutionizing the way Southern Gospel music is perceived.

3. Billy Ray Hearn and Bill Hearn—Either Billy or his son Bill has been at the helm of EMI Christian Music Group for more than 27 years now; Billy Ray also started a little label in the ’70s called Myrrh that signed a 15-year-old girl named Amy Grant.

4. Toby McKeehan—Dc talk leader. Gotee Records founder. Solo artist of Momentum success. Brave enough to mesh Christianity and rap/hip-hop/urban music at a time when virtually no one else was.

5. Michael W. Smith—Besides being one of Christian music’s finest tunesmiths, Michael raised the bar on production value for Christian pop records and live shows, in addition to starting groundbreaking singer/songwriter haven Rocketown Records. More recently, he has come to symbolize the enormous popularity of the worship movement.

6. Mike Blanton and Dan Harrell—They are the visionaries behind Amy Grant’s and Michael W. Smith's career, among others, as well as the founders of Reunion Records.

7. Roland Lundy—Living the proverbial "from the mailroom to the president’s office" dream with Word Records, Lundy guided the company through some of the most productive and influential of its 50-plus years with artists like Amy Grant, Sandi Patti, Petra and Point of Grace.

8. Kirk Franklin—This exuberant artist/label owner broke nearly every rule of how a gospel artist was "supposed" to conduct his career and, in the process, "revolution"ized the genre.

9. Brandon Ebel—As we say elsewhere in this issue, he almost singlehandedly put the "rock" in "Christian rock" throughout the ’90s with his Tooth & Nail, BEC and Solid State labels. He also champions hip-hop on his Uprok label.

10. Mike Atkins—Serving as the manager for Point of Grace, Jaci Velasquez, 4Him and many others from the beginning, he led POG to levels no Christian "girl group" had gone to before and helped Jaci gain acceptance and notoriety in the Latin and Hollywood worlds where no Christian artist had ever dared to venture.

11. Wayne Kirkpatrick—He helped pioneer Christian songwriting and took producing to new heights. His lyrical and musical influence on classic albums from artists such as Michael W. Smith, Susan Ashton and Kim Hill is profound and enduring.

12. John Styll—Former publisher of CCM Magazine and The CCM Update (a trade publication), Styll helped propel the intellectual revolution that led to the acceptance of contemporary Christian music by the evangelical community at large. He’s currently serving as president of the Gospel Music Association.

13. Claude and Vicki Mack Lataillade—Founders of Gospocentric/B-Rite Records, they opened previously closed doors and brought the industry artists including Kirk Franklin, God’s Property, Trin-i-tee 5:7 and other successful, contemporary urban/gospel artists.

14. Don Moen—He’s the executive vice president/creative director of Integrity Media, the most successful worship label in the industry. Moen also works as a renowned songwriter and worship leader.

15. Charlie Peacock—Successful as a solo artist, songwriter, producer, author, Re:think Records founder and most recently as an A&R exec for ForeFront, Peacock deserves credit for helping to chip away at the sacred/secular dichotomy that was so prevalent in the Christian music community of the ’80s and ’90s.

16. Robert Beeson—Beeson and his new label venture, Essential Records, won the bidding war that erupted over Jars of Clay after the band won a GMA-sponsored talent contest in 1994. Jars went on to have a double-platinum debut album and has now sold five million albums. Essential’s signings have also included successful artists such as Third Day, FFH and Caedmon's Call.

17. Norman Miller—Manager of artists such as Avalon, Anointed and Twila Paris, Miller also is responsible for the remarkably successful "Young Messiah" tours.

18. Steve Taylor—As a solo artist, producer, songwriter and Squint Entertainment founder, he was a key player in breaking down Christian music’s determination to live and speak in a "bubble" of Christianese.

19. Brown Bannister—Producer extraordinaire who seems to bring a new level of artistry out of almost everyone he works with. His resumé includes working with everyone from Whiteheart to Twila Paris to Point of Grace.

20. Terry Hemmings—He served as the visionary at Reunion Records for seven years with artists such as Michael W. Smith, Kathy Troccoli, The Prayer Chain and Rich Mullins on the roster. He’s recently returned to Christian music as the CEO and President of Provident Music Group.

21. Scott Hughes—Hughes championed the successful "WoW" series until early this year when he formed his own company. Though sometimes accused of hindering artists’ individual album sales, the "WoW" compilation series racked up millions of sales, many of them in mainstream outlets such as Wal-Mart to people who presumably did not previously purchase Christian music.

22. John Huie—Booking agent with Creative Artists Agency who represented Amy for more than two decades, Huie helped secure gigs for Amy Grant in "secular" venues such as New York City’s Radio City Music Hall and L.A.’s Forum, which was unheard of at the time for a Christian artist. And he did this well before Amy’s pop radio successes. 23. Peter York—Once a guitar player for 2nd Chapter of Acts, York went on to serve as vice president of A&R for Sparrow Records, signing such acts as Steven Curtis Chapman, Susan Ashton and Margaret Becker. He currently is President of Sparrow Label Group.

24. Greg Ham—He’s President of ForeFront Records, arguably the most influential CHR/pop label in Christian music and home to artists such as dc talk, tobyMac, Audio Adrenaline and Stacie Orrico.

25. Dan Raines—Working with Creative Trust Management, he has guided the very successful careers of Steven Curtis Chapman and Third Day, among others.

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