School of The Rock™

CCM Artist Links

Written by Paul D. Race for SchoolOfTheRock.com™

 

This page will be mostly a place to provide links about the artists and music referred to in our “Brief History of Contemporary Christian Music” article.  It is NOT meant to be comprehensive.  For instance, it leaves out over a hundred great artists that I enjoyed in concerts and on my turntable, as well as thousands of great songs.  But if this is your first introduction to Jesus Music/Contemporary Christian Music, it will help you find the information and sounds that will ground you in the genres quickly and effectively.

About the Album Covers:

Though I have just started filling them in, you can tell that we will be representing artists graphically by album covers, using one of their earliest popular covers when possible.  For most folks who lived through the eras described, those album covers actually trigger memory more effectively than “head shots” of the artist.  Like ELO, Yes, Kansas, and many other “secular” rock bands, many Jesus Music and CCM artists made no appearances to speak of on their album covers, so unless you saw them in concert, the graphic was all you had to go by.  In a few cases, where none of the early albums were really well-known enough to trigger memories on their own,  I did use a publicity shot.

Ignore the big hair and beards- most of the guys lost those by their second album or so, as hair styles in the world changed.  

About the Music Links:

Since “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture,” we really want the music to speak for itself, especially when we could provide links to songs that were representative of that artist’s work and/or important to the genre itself.  A few artists had big “hits” late in their careers, but by then they had already made most of the impact on the genre that they were going to make.  So while such hits were important to the artist, they weren’t as important to the genre as some of their lesser-known but earlier songs.  Obviously you are free to disagree with us - that’s what the contact page is for.  Just remember, we’re free to disagree with you, too.  :-) 

When an artist has made downloadable mp3s of key songs available on his or her official web page, we have included links there. 

We also included links to that artist’s work on Amazon, when available.  Sadly, certain releases are totally unavailable, or when they do appear, are outrageously priced.  But we wanted to give you a chance, in case something is available for a reasonable price the day you decide to check on it.

But the most important links, and the ones that - if they work out - give you a chance to hear the entire song are in YouTube videos that feature the album versions of the songs.  Please note that we are in no way condoning the quality of the videos or even trying to make a statement about whether it’s moral to use YouTube videos this way.  Nor are we guaranteeing that every link from this page is family-friendly - we can’t as they keep changing.  See the explanation below please.

We’re just trying to put you in touch with these historically-important recordings without getting arrested.  Four additional caveats come to mind:

• Some important early Jesus Music recordings have been all but lost so certain artists and recordings (such as Steve Camp’s earliest work) are pretty much unavailable.
• Some of the most popular artists have publishers who regularly comb the YouTube lists taking down those artist’s songs on the demonstrably false premise that every visit to a cheesy video with that song as a sound track costs them money.  So, ironically, the very popular artists may be just as hard to find as the virtually unknown.  Stranger, still, when an artist’s song is removed under these circumstances, a link that used to work may now take you to a video of an amateur playing that song in his bedroom.  No, I really can tell the difference - the original recording was there the last time I checked.  That said, a few of those amateurs are pretty good.
• Videos of certain very popular songs tend to get advertisements attached at the front end.  (While I was compiling this list, the vast majority of those advertisements were for a stupid-looking R-rated comedy.)  Neither the artist nor I have any control over what ads get attached, but I couldn’t in conscience link to those videos. 

In other words, we’ve done our best to give you access to sample songs by each important artist, but we don’t have any control over what will happen on YouTube twenty minutes from now - so “your mileage will vary.”  And obviously, we can’t try every link every day.  If you find that  link has gone bad, or if you find a link to a song that you think really ought to be listed, please let us know.  (Although we reserve the right to limit which artists and songs we link to - in the interest of keeping the list short enough to be useful. 

Whenever possible, I’ve tracked down the studio version of the song, because that’s the version that reached most listeners and had the most influence on the artists that followed. 

Finally, please do not be put off by the big hair and prominent beards that appear on many of the Jesus Music and early CCM album covers and videos - Most of the guys cranked that back by their second or third album, as hair styles were changing.  Also, some of the home-made videos are very cheesy.  Listen to the music!

About the Other References:

If the artist has an official web page, I will provide a link to that. I  won’t be providing a link to any fan sites unless the owner can prove to me that the artist contributes to the site’s content and is accessible to readers through that site.  A site owned by the artist trumps all other urls.  The caveat here is that some artists’ pages don’t work all that well, and a few are frequently hacked.   Note to Artists: If you’re giving up on your web site and would like to have some else archive it for you (at our expense) so folks can still find it a year or five from now, we have plenty of room on our server, hint, hint.

I am also providing the page numbers for each mention of the artist in Paul Baker’s book “Contemporary Christian Music - Where It Came From, What It Is, Where It's Going ,” long out of print, but currently available in digital archive at the Evangelical Christian (Online) Library.  Baker’s book goes from the earliest days of Jesus music until soon after Amy Grant’s breakthrough album “Age to Age.”  So some prominent artists from the time of Amy Grant’s rise to popularity are not mentioned, and nobody who came on the scene after 1985 is mentioned at all.  When you want to see what Baker says about some artist, open the “Table of Contents” to see which chapter contains the pages you need, then open the appropriate chapter and navigate to that page.  It’s a bit cumbersome, but it’s a lot easier than trying to track down a copy of the book.  I have asked Paul Baker if he would mind me converting the index into a list of HTML links, making it easier to use, but he has not gotten back to me. (If the link above doesn’t work, click here.)

I don’t link to Wikipedia, although most of the entries on specific artists are useful.   Unfortunately the more general articles about Jesus Music, Contemporary Christian Music, and Contemporary Worship are not - because one or two editors there keep promoting their favorite artists and randomly skewing other content.  As an example, several of the most influential “Jesus Musicians” are currently missing from the “Jesus Music” page (Larry Norman has been removed twice, though he was back the last time I looked), while an unknown band that had no relationship to the “Jesus Movement” is prominently featured.  In other words, don’t assume that anything you read in those articles is balanced, or even necessarily true.  Maybe one day . . . 

About the Amazon Links:

In case you’re having trouble tracking down an artist’s music, or you would like to get the whole CD, I’ll be providing Amazon links as I have time.  That said, please check out the artist’s web page first - if the artist has albums or mp3s for sale, you’ll be doing them a huge favor by buying from them directly, because they get much more of the profit, and they get it sooner.

Helps Us Make This Page Useful

If you see anything that you think needs correction, addition, or deletion, please contact us and let us know.  For example, I left some bits blank, such as “representative song” for certain artists that I enjoy but don’t really know all that well.  If you ARE one of the artists we mention, and you want to make a correction, addition, or other comment, please make that clear in your note - as with URLs, artists take priority.  Just let us know.

If You’re A Jesus Musician or CCM Artist:

I would love to hear from you.  Corrections, additions, deletions, feedback of any kind.  I want to make certain that our article about the history of CCM is as balanced as possible, and that it represents the musician’s point of view and not just that of the music-lover or industry hack.   Also, due to space constraints, I couldn’t include even all of my favorites in my article about CCM, but I’m also open to expanding the lists of artists on this page.  Also, if you are “retiring” and have no interest in maintaining your own web site, we have room to post an archive indefinitely for free on our server. I know that folks who love your music will be glad to have continued access.  (Consider us the Branson, Missouri of web pages.)

Remember to Pray

As mentioned on our CCM History page, three of the most talented songwriters in the list below have died untimely deaths.  Quite a few more have had deep spiritual and financial struggles or suffer serious health issues, even though they keep their “public side” as positive as possible. So, while it might be fun for “old-timers” like me to reminisce over all of the old album covers and songs, please consider this a  prayer list, and remember to pray, not only for folks whose music we “grew up with,” but also for the current generation of Christian musicians, who, in spite of the evangelical church’s culture shift, still face many of the same difficulties and dangers as their predecessors. 

Thanks

For the representative songs from D.C. Talk and newer artists, I am strongly indebted to authors, teachers, and music-lovers Kristen Coppess and Emily Race, who followed those artists much more closely than I did, mostly because they were a generation behind me in time.  I enjoyed many of those bands and saw many of them in concert; I just didn’t usually buy their CDs, and if I didn’t they didn’t usually stay in my possession for long.

Here it the list, such as it is today.  Please let us know if you see any mistakes.

Representative  Album Cover (If available) Artist Name Representative    Song(s) (If available) Artist Web Page (If available) References in Paul Baker’s History of CCM (If available) Additional Comments John Peterson “Coming Again,” “Heaven Came Down”       Father Peter Scholtes “We are One in the Spirit”     Ralph Carmichael “He’s Everything to Me” http://www.ralphcarmichael.com/   12, 13, 14, 15, 56, 57, 86, 109, 110, 154   Evie Tournquist “Give Them All” “Ring Those Bells,” “Sweet, Sweet Song of Salvation” http://eviemusic.org/wordpress/     86, 103, 192, 198   Mylon Lefevre “Gospel Ship” http://www.mylon.org/   21, 22, 153, 169, 175, 189   The Imperials “Jesus Made Me Higher” http://theclassicimperials.com/home/   75, 86, 103, 125, 163, 174, 192   Dallas Holm “I’ll Rise Again” www.dallasholm.com   74, 104, 125, 126, 136, 137, 165, 166   Larry Norman “Sweet, Sweet Song of Salvation,” “Wish We’d All Been Ready,” “I Am a Servant,” “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?” “Outlaw” http://www.larrynorman.com/   ix, xviii, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 46, 47, 55, 74, 77, 80, 83, 85, 92, 103, 115, 124, 169, 195, 199   Randy Stonehill “Never Can Repay,” “Good News” http://www.randystonehill.com/     xi, 36, 74, 85, 110, 184, 185, 189, 191, 192   Andre Crouch (and the Disciples) “My Tribute (To God be the Glory),” “It Won’t Be Long,” “Through it All” http://www.andraecrouch.com/   55, 56, 57, 66, 77, 85, 86, 103, 146, 156, 168, 169, 187, 188, 190, 192   Love Song “Love Song,” “Let Us Be One in You,” “And the Wind Was Low” “Little Country Church” http://thelovesongband.com/     36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 55, 62, 79, 83, 85, 86, 93, 94, 106   Glass Harp “Songs in the Air” “David and Goliath/I'm Going Home/Do Lord” http://www.glassharp.net/   93   Randy Matthews “Didn’t He?” “Holy Band”   www.facebook.com/pages/Randy -Matthews-Fan-Page/276270684260     ix, 55, 57, 58, 74, 85, 86, 95, 103   Selah Fat Little Baby         Ernie Rettino “I’ll Never Leave You,” “Welcome to the Family” (as Psalty)   39   Debbie Kerner “The Horsemen,” “The Peace that Passes All Understanding”   39   Ernie and Debbie Rettino “He Came in Love,” “Promises”     Nancy “Honeytree” Hennigbaum “Clean Before My Lord I Stand,” “Rattle Me, Shake Me,” “I Am a Servant” http://www.honeytree.org/   68, 69, 86, 103   Mark Heard “Lonely Moon,” “Worry Too Much,” “All My Tears,” “Heart of Hearts”       Barry McGuire “Peace,” “Calling Me Home,” “Pay the Piper” http://www.barrymcguire.com/   55, 71, 72, 73, 90, 103, 119, 124, 137, 139, 188, 191   Second Chapter of Acts “Which Way the Wind Blows,” “He Loves Me,” “Easter Song,” “Mansion Builder” www.2ndchapterofacts.com/     70, 71, 73, 90, 103, 106, 115, 124, 126, 134, 137, 169, 195   Keith Green “You Put This Love in My Heart,” “Lord, You’re Beautiful,” “He’ll Take Care of the Rest,” “When I Hear the Praises Start,” “Make My Life a Prayer to You,” “Your Love Broke Through,” “There is a Redeemer,” “Song to my Parents” www.lastdaysministries.org   103, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 159, 160, 169, 192   Phil Keaggy “What a Day” http://www.philkeaggy.com/     93, 94, 107, 187, 191, 192   Michael Omartian “Fat City,” “Take me Down,” “Jeremiah,” “White Horse” http://michaelomartian.com/Welcome.html     60, 103, 147, 158, 169, 174   Steve Camp “If I Were a Singer,” “Strong Love, Strange Peace,” “Let Not Your Heart be Troubled.” www.myspace.com/ stevecampmusic     185, 187 My favorite Camp songs are all from lps  that have not been reissued. Sweet Comfort Band “I Love You With My Life” http://officialsweetcomfortband.com/ 192   Petra “Color Song,” “Road to Zion,” “This Means War,” “God Gave Rock and Roll To You,” “Don’t Let Your Heart Be Hardened” www.classicpetra.com/     xix, 68, 76, 77, 95, 132, 174, 177, 186, 191, 214   Chris Christian “I Want You, I need You,” “Mountaintop” Chris’s Music Page     Brown Bannister “Create in Me a Clean Heart”       Degarmo & Key “Destined to Win,” “666” Unofficial Web Page 185, 189, 213   Rez (Resurrection) Band “Love Comes Down” http://www.resurrectionband.com/ 80,185, 186, 213   Amy Grant “El Shaddai,” “I Have Decided” www.myspace.com/amygrant   xix, 128, 154, 155, 156, 157, 170, 172, 189, 192, 213, 214   Michael Card “El Shaddai,” “I Have Decided,” “Joy in the Journey,” “Love, Crucified, Arose,” “That’s What Faith Must Be” www.michaelcard.com/   170, 172   Michael W. Smith “Great is the Lord,” “Friends” www.michaelwsmith.com/   170, 172, 189   Steve Taylor “I Want to Be a Clone,” wrote Newsboy’s “Shine,” “Take me to you Leader”        Richie Furay “I’ve Got a Reason,” “I Still Have Dreams”       Wayne Watson “Touch of the Master’s Hand,” “Friend of a Wounded Heart “Home Free,” “For Such a Time as This” waynewatson.com/         Twila Paris “The Warrior Is a Child,” “He is Exalted” www.twilaparis.com/     172   Sandi Patti “We Shall Behold Him,” “Via Dolorosa” http://sandipatty.com/   125, 172, 173, 189, 213   Steve Green “People Need the Lord,” “Find us Faithful” www.stevegreenministries.org/     171   Larnell Harris “More than Wonderful” (with Sandi Patti) www.larnelle.com/     173   Steven Curtis Chapman “More To This Life”,”“I Will Be Here,” “Higher Ways,” “When You are a Soldier” stevencurtischapman.com       Rich Mullins “If I Stand,” “God is an Awesome God.” http://www.myspace.com/richmullinsband   170   DC Talk "Jesus Freak," "So Help Me God," “Nu Thang,” “Luv is a Verb,” “Colored People” ww.dctalk.com/         Dan Peek “This is for All the Lonely People” www.danpeek.com/     147, 153 We miss you, Dan, but we’ll see you again. Audio Adrenaline “Big, Big House,” "Free Ride," "Secrets," “Never Gonna be as Big as Jesus,” “Walk on Water” www.audioa.com/default2.aspx     O.C. Supertones "Unite," "Resolution," "Supertones Strike Back," “Louder than the Mob” http://www.ocsupertones.com/     Great horn players Five-Iron Frenzy "Doxology/A Flowery Song," "The Greatest Story Ever Told," "The Canada Song" http://fiveironfrenzy.com/       Bleach "Static," "Heartbeat," "Knocked Out,” “Super Good Feeling,” “Child of Sod,” “Electric Shoes” http://www.bleachisalive.com   http://www.myspace.com/thebandformerly knownasmuffin     Very nice guys, they used to tour around us a lot. Newsboys “Shine,” “Take Me To Your Leader” www.newsboys.com     Superchick "One Girl Revolution," “Barlow Girls” http://www.superchickonline.com/       Switchfoot "Let That Be Enough," "Dare You to Move," “Learning to Breathe” http://www.switchfoot.com/       If you are going to try this site at work, mute the speakers first. Caedmon’s Call “This World,” "Lead of Love," "Coming Home, "Standing Up For Nothing," “Center Aisle,” “Not the Land,” “Love Alone” http://www.caedmonscall.com/     I’d tour with you guys for free - great stuff! Relient K "Pressing On," "Overthinking," "The Rest is Up to You," “Not my Pants” http://relientk.com/       Mercy Me “I Can Only Imagine” http://mercyme.org/       Casting Crowns “East to West,” “Who am I” http://castingcrowns.com/       Third Day “Revelation,” “You Make Me Mad,” “Alien,” “Who I Am” http://thirdday.com/       David Crowder Band "How He Loves" http://davidcrowderband.com/index7.php       Kirk Franklin (and the Family)   http://www.kirkfranklin.com/       Matt Redman "You Never Let Go" http://www.mattredman.com/       Jeremy Camp "Overcome" http://jeremycamp.com/       Chris Tomlin “Jesus Messiah,” "Sing, Sing, Sing http://christomlin.com/

God bless each of you and please contact us if you have any corrections or other comments about this article. - Paul

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