I grew up in a Christian family where the only Christian music I sang was found in a blue colored hymnal in the back of the church pews. Even praise choruses seemed a little too radical for us, so I was raised on a steady diet of Fanny J. Crosby and company. But at home, in the isolation of my room, my ear was glued to FM radio and I was hooked to a wide array of rock and pop acts: Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Journey, Styx, Kansas, REO Speedwagon, ELO. This was the music I loved. It just unfortunately didn’t come in any Christian flavor – or so I thought!
One day in mid-summer 1985, I was instantly drawn to a D.J.’s song introduction on WYDD 104.7 FM in Pittsburgh, “….here’s a song by Amy Grant, who usually sings Christian music….” and the airwaves let out the sweet sound of Amy’s “Love will Find a Way.” I was blown away! A Christian singing a fun , pop song like this! I must have it! The next time I went to a store, I searched and searched for Amy Grant and finally found her latest album – UNGUARDED. It was mine – my first album by a Christian artist. Now my collection numbers in the hundreds.
A month after that revelation, when I packed for my first semester of college, I brought along a wide array of secular music (from Michael Jackson to Men at Work) and my one Christian cassette. Little did I know that my small Christian music world would soon be blown wide open. The Christian college I was soon to attend brimmed with students who were slightly more advanced on the Christian music learning curve and I was soon introduced to Petra, A.D., Degarmo & Key, Bryan Duncan & Phil Keaggy (who at first I didn’t care for!). Petra’s “Back to the Street” and A.D.’s “Reconstructions” had me saying things like “Hey, this sounds like Journey.” I soon realized that my Michael Jackson had been relegated to obscurity on a nice dusty corner shelf while I devoured Christian artists like Servant, Glad, Greg X Volz, Michael W. Smith, White Heart and a host of others who created music that interested me musically while at the same time fulfilling a need my soul was longing for. It wasn’t long that my secular music was in the trash and I fully embraced the Christian music scene.
I dabbled as a D.J. for a time and I even helped promote a couple concerts in my college years, but I was and am foremost a “fan”. I know Christian music has many detractors. The Christian music industry is a big, profitable target which is easy to criticize and easy to dismiss on grounds of creativity, motive and passion, and all of these criticism are not necessarily undeserving. But I won’t have any of it. To me, it was never about finding an “alternative” to secular music. It was the fact that from the first time I heard Christian rock music, I knew this is what my heart was longing for all this time – great sounding music with a great message to match. It was where I belonged. It spoke to me on a much deeper level than Thriller ever could. It has enriched my life in many ways. Who would I be today if I never went on a crazy 9 hour road trip to see the unbelievable Crimson & Blue tour? How many times have I asked myself how did Mullins write such a simple, sweet melody? So thank you Amy Grant and you anonymous D.J. man. That simple moment in time has made my life richer.
It is with this background that I am very proud and excited to introduce to you these many songs and artists who have impacted me.
I hope your journey into Christian music will be as sweet!
(Jan 2009)
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