#56 EYES TO THE SKY by Randy Matthews (1975)

EYES TO THE SKY by Randy Matthews (1976)
Myrrh - MSA-6547-LP

It was 1974. 

Randy Matthews was preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime – a chance to open for ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd on a national tour. Billboard magazine ran stories on how Matthews and his band had started playing clubs and bars in preparation. But first he had a gig at a Christian music festival in Pennsylvania. 

A forerunner to the Creation Festival, the Jesus Festivals sought to build on the success of the much-publicized Explo ’72 in Dallas, Texas, where Matthews and other Jesus freaks such as Larry Norman, Andrae Crouch, Love Song, the Archers, and Randy Stonehill thrilled audiences more than 80,000 strong. The Jesus Festivals were held on a patch of potato farmland in Mercer, Pennsylvania.

Christian music festivals were in their infancy but were quickly embraced by young people. They were often organized by fairly conservative Church fathers who sought to avoid controversy. The folks who ran the Jesus Festival in 1973, their inaugural year, deemed the music to be "too racy."

The audience for Jesus ’74 was double that of the previous year. Crowds arrived in Mercer in cars, trucks, VW vans, Winnebagos, on motorcycles, even on horseback for three days of Jesus Music, Bible teaching and fellowship. And, while the atmosphere of a Festival like Jesus ’74 was definitely hipper and less structured than the average denominational church convention, the organizers were still very conservative in their approach and the music generally fit squarely in the soft rock/acoustic genre.  

I was recently introduced to a gentleman by the name of Park Smith, who gave a firsthand account of what took place that day. "A bunch of us went from our church," he recalls. "It was the Jesus Movement days and we were (and are!) all so much enraptured with our new-found love for Jesus." 

The time came for a set by Randy Matthews and his band. For his third or fourth song, Matthews launched into Four Horsemen, which has been described as an acid-rock version of the hair-raising prophecies of the 6^th chapter of the book of Revelation. Festival promoters were reportedly shocked by Matthews’ electric guitar-oriented, rock ‘n roll presentation. Hearing what they took to be “demonic music,” they cut the power to the stage mid-song, ending Matthews’ set and unwittingly creating an iconic moment in the annals of Christian rock history...and not in a good way. 

Park Smith gave this account: "As I recall, we were up front, right of stage and Randy got up with his band. I believe that his band weren't Christians and so there was some concern about him playing in the first place. Christian rock back then was just coming on strong. The 2nd Chapter of Acts really pushed the limits - especially with The Devil Lost Again which has some Deep Purple-like bass sounds. Randy Matthews got up and started wailing out some great tunes but, lo and behold, the stage went silent! No one really knew what happened for sure but what was going around at the time were two things (both of which are only 'hearsay' from at that concert). The first was that one of his band members was mimicking masturbation in the mic while playing. The second was that the organizers were still quite conservative and the style of music was well out of their boundaries. It was quite sad and I heard that it hurt Randy quite a lot."

Well, I'd never heard the masturbation thing. That's a new one! But it wouldn't shock me if some really high-strung, uptight people thought that might be what they were seeing or hearing. I traveled, played and sang in bands during my youth. We had a woman in Pennsylvania walk out of one of our concerts. On the way out, she complained loudly to our sound man, "I came to church tonight, not to a night club!" There were some church folks in South Carolina who complained that we were (in their eyes) "rubbing all over each other" while we played our songs "like a bunch of New York homosexuals." A state youth director in Alabama shut us down because of what he perceived as "space sounds" coming out of our synthesizers and electronic percussion. Another youth pastor required my drummer brother to remove his leather fingerless gloves before the concert because "they look like something gang members might wear." So, yes, it's entirely plausible that some people at Jesus '74 absolutely freaked out, thinking they saw and heard things that existed only in the inner recesses of their fertile imaginations.

The experience was chronicled in Pennsylvania Song, the 3rd track on side two of Randy Matthews’ 1975 Eyes to the Sky album…

Twenty-five thousand people on a Pennsylvania hill
The boys and me together for the first time, if you will
Shoutin’ glory hallelujah
Praise the Lord, the King of Kings
Out of twenty-five thousand people
You could hear the songs we sing

They came by car and camper
They came by foot and plane
They came by helicopter
They came in Jesus’ name
For two glorious days, they sang the praise of the resurrection
But in four short songs they tried, convicted, had our crucifixion

I don’t claim to be a martyr though I pray to be a saint
As the dogs ran in I crippled and bent, my knees fell weak with pain
You pulled the plug and drained my soul
But I know I left a ring
Around the tub of tradition
I saw some dance and sing

As you might imagine, it’s a somewhat angry, full-on rock song, drenched in fuzzy electric guitars.

The song fades with Matthews defiantly singing, Keep on rockin’ and-a rollin’…

The Jesus ’74 incident left a mark. Matthews continued to sing and record, but some say his attitude toward and distrust of the ‘suits and ties’ behind the music business and organized religion affected him greatly.

Interestingly, Randy Matthews had little in common with the West Coast Jesus People, with their drug testimonies and ocean water baptisms. He was born in 1950 to a Midwestern family of at least 5 ordained ministers. His dad, Monty, was a founding member of a Southern Gospel quartet called The Jordanaires, a group that eventually enjoyed a modicum of fame backing up a young rock ‘n roller named Elvis Presley. So Randy naturally gravitated toward music. While a high school student in Lamar, Missouri, he sang in a Gospel quartet called The Zionaires. By his own account, Randy Matthews just didn’t quite fit in with the whole Southern Gospel scene. “I just sang that type of music,” Matthews explained to CCM magazine, “because my minister had convinced me that this was the only style of music that God would honor.” As Lee Corso would say, not so fast.

While attending Ozark Bible College in Joplin, Missouri, Matthews made friends with Noel Scott and Charlene Munger; the trio became excited about something new -- using folk music to communicate a Christian message. Randy began writing folk songs on his acoustic guitar that shared the message of Jesus. He would sing his songs and entertain audiences in coffeehouses and on street corners. This son of a Jordanaire was on his way to making a considerable musical mark of his own, sharing the Gospel in his own inimitable way.  

Randy Matthews was truly a pioneer, a founding father (if you will) of Gospel rock and roll. He is credited with some important “firsts” which we will explore in detail in future posts.

But for now let’s return to Jesus ’74 in Mercer, PA. Determining exactly what happened after the infamous unplugging is very difficult. It’s been written and reported that Matthews and his band were literally driven from the stage and chased by the crowd. Randy has said that he remembers trying to climb a fence, but then blacked out and later awakened in a hotel room with ripped clothing. 

In his book The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, author Mark Allan Powell likens the unplugging of Randy Matthews to the booing of Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. 

Powell notes that “in short order, the sort of electric rock Matthews had sought to introduce to the Pennsylvania crowd would carry the day and the people who thought that God could only honor folk music would be lumped in the same category as those whose tiny little God could only work through quartets.”

Whatever transpired in the initial aftermath of The Incident, the subsequent rumors and innuendo did a lot of damage. Matthews later told CCM magazine, “That one situation wiped out everything for me.”
It may have seemed that way to Randy Matthews at the time – and he did lose concert bookings and was dropped from the Skynyrd/ZZ Top tour – but he continued to release critically acclaimed albums over the next few years and had a meaningful concert ministry going forward. Which leads us to the subject of this post.  

My introduction to Eyes to the Sky came via a 2-record compilation set titled Jubilation, Too! The track Guardian Angel was included on that various artists’ treasure trove, and it was a winner. Written by Matthews and sung with his trademark growl, it’s reminiscent of an old Negro spiritual, at least in the way the song is constructed. It’s got a smooth rock groove and contains some tasteful guitar parts. And lyric lines like these were somewhat poignant in light of the earlier incident in Pennsylvania…

My guardian angel has been fightin’ for me
And things’ll be better, ooh, you just wait, you’ll see

My freedom’s comin’
It’s comin’ in its own time
So me and Jesus, ooh, we’re gonna make it just fine

It’s always darkest before the dawn
I’ve heard that song and dance before like you
It’s over, what’s done is done
Forget the mistakes, remember the rest

Eyes to the Sky was produced by Austin Roberts, an interesting character in his own right. Roberts had found success writing music for Saturday morning television cartoons (Scooby Doo and Josie & the Pussycats) and scored a huge hit with a country tear-jerker called Rocky. His main claim to fame in Christendom were the Sonlight Orchestra albums and a decidedly ambitious hard rock musical called Eight Days: A Personal Journey. 

A rollicking testimony song called It Took a Carpenter kicked off side one of Eyes to the Sky. It was co-written by Matthews, Roberts and Kim Rose. 

Next, the classic Oh My gets the full studio treatment. Matthews could write about the darker side of life in a way that came off as completely authentic despite his upbringing. Lyrics like these were pure gold:

Oh, my
If hell is any hotter
then I don’t want to die

Oh my
If Heaven’s any higher,
then Lord let me fly

Gave you my rhythm
You gave me Your rhyme
Set my feet dancin’ in 4/4 time
I heard Your Gospel
Played rock and roll
The dance is over
Where’d the good times go?

I wore Your t-shirt down streets of shame
In darkened corners, I lit Your flame
I talked with junkies, Lord
And I ate with whores
I stuck Your stickers on barroom doors

Paid in Full, composed by Austin Roberts and Kim Rose, was a nod back to Mathews’ gospel quartet days. The subject matter was the price that Jesus paid for us all…but this one should’ve been pitched to the Oak Ridge Boys.

There’s a Shadow Passing Over the Land was written by Austin Roberts with help from John Reese. It reminds me of a protest song that could’ve been recorded by Matthews’ gravelly-voiced compatriot, Barry McGuire. 

Matthews would pen all of the album’s remaining songs.

Another classic, Wounded Warrior, closes out side one. Like Oh My, Wounded Warrior was first introduced on the double live album Now Do You Understand. The studio version loses some of the immediacy but it’s nice to hear the tune rounded out with Jerry Carrigan’s drums, Billy Pruett’s flute (recorder?) and what I would call ‘earthy’ or ‘organic’ instrumentation.

Oh wounded warrior
You’ve been here before
Hey wounded warrior
On the run before
When wells run dry the world stands still
Those who walk must crawl
Living waters flowing still
Enough for one and all

Oh wounded warrior
Dying for the right side
Bleedin’ in the sand
Love is a white dove flyin’ just above you
Reachin’ down its hand
Though you have hated Him
Though you have murdered him
He loves, He understands
And He wants to save His people
From cryin’, lyin’, dyin’ in the sand

And has the eagle left its mark on you
Those crimson-bannered soldiers ‘neath the cross are few
Late at night war dogs bark
Beggars are comin’ to town
Some in tags and some in rags
Some in velvet gowns

The song’s ending was quintessential Matthews and unlike anything else being recorded in CCM at the time.

Eyes to the Sky was recorded at Creative Workshop by Billy Puett and engineered by Brent Maher (who went on to engineer and produce huge hits for the likes of Elvis, Olivia Newton-John, the Judds, and countless others). Kim Rose arranged the songs and Billy Ray Hearn served as Executive Producer. The album employed some of Nashville’s top session players, including bassist Joe Osborn, Ron Oates on keys, percussionist Farrell Morris, and guitarists Steve Gibson, Billy Sanford, and Reggie Young. Backing vocals were supplied by Matthews, Roberts, Rose, Bergen White, and Buzz Cason.

The album cover was designed by Small Wonder Studio and featured an original painting by J.T. Morrow. In the painting, Matthews is pictured as a modern-day version of the prophet Elijah, being fed by ravens. The symbolism (a banished prophet being cared for by God while he flees his oppressors) wasn’t lost on many.

Side two begins with the classic (albeit somewhat controversial) Captain. The songs opens as an acoustic piano-based ballad but builds to a dramatic crescendo on the choruses:

Captain
I sail in Your wisdom
Captain
I live in Your shadow
Captain
Oh, my Captain
Oh, my Captain
Captain Jesus

After the aforementioned Guardian Angel and Pennsylvania Song comes In the Morning. It’s a sobering, haunting ballad…and another song that was first recorded on the 1975 live album. This is another track that is very different from the standard CCM fare of the mid-70s. Matthews possessed an awesome rock voice, but he was also a poet. His poetry often went to very dark places, shining a light on an often seedy underbelly of society…encouraging engagement with the neglected and forgotten.

 In the morning when day is dawning
And the bees fly high from their hive
And the honey starts pouring
Don’t you follow the hungry flies
To fill their belly
Why they soon as well be
Just as dead as they were when their eyes were blind

And it’s your choice
You’re either up or down
Lift your voice
Make a hallelujah sound

Eyes to the Sky concludes with the song that caused all hell to break loose at Jesus ’74. Lyrical imagery from the book of Revelation is accompanied by a hard rock beat on Four Horsemen. Clavinet and fuzzy guitars carry the song while Matthews’ growls and screams can be heard off in the distance. 

Hard rock songs like Four Horseman would eventually be much more commonplace within CCM. Petra’s Come and Join Us was on its way, while Resurrection Band and Servant were just around the corner. But Randy Matthews got there first. He took the arrows. That’s what pioneers do.

A consummate entertainer and effective communicator, Matthews was one of the most important of Gospel rock and roll’s early practitioners. There are many things we love about him…his down-and-dirty, blues-inflected rock ‘n roll…an amazing voice that sounded as though he gargled with gasoline…his brilliant comic timing…his endearing, vulnerable persona…and his uncanny ability to have an audience laughing hysterically one moment and silently weeping the next. 

Randy went on to record five more albums spaced out over the next 13 years or so. He was honored with an opening slot on a national White Heart tour around 1990 and inclusion in 1997’s “First Love,” an audio/video documentary featuring Jesus Music pioneers. But it still feels like he hasn’t gotten his due. 

If it were somehow possible for you or me to deliver a heartfelt apology to Randy Matthews on behalf of our misguided brothers and sisters who behaved badly in Mercer, Pennsylvania in 1974...if that could somehow erase the slate and make things right…we’d do it in a heartbeat. 

I know I would.