#36 BLAME IT ON THE ONE I LOVE by Kelly Willard (1978)

BLAME IT ON THE ONE I LOVE by Kelly Willard (1978)
Maranatha! Music MM0047A

"She sings with the voice of an angel."

That's an overused cliche that's been applied to many less-than-worthy vocalists. But if it's true of anyone, it's true of Kelly Willard. Her voice is pure and clear on its own...and when it's layered, it takes on an almost celestial quality. 

She sparkled with youthful exuberance on her debut solo recording. Her sophomore release demonstrated a deepening maturity. By the time of her third album, she was teaching us how to worship God...and her warm, comforting, melodic voice had become instantly recognizable. 

By the mid-1980s, regardless of the song, you could instantly tell that it was Kelly from almost the very first note. When it comes to pure singing, she has few equals. Her tone and expression...the vulnerability in her voice...when she sings, her voice is silky smooth, sincere and sweet, playful yet intimate. 

Kelly Willard is basically the standard by which I judge all other female singers. 

And yet, she's always been so much more than just a singer. She doesn't just sing, she touches the heart through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Yes, in terms of pure talent, tone and emotion, she's one of the greatest voices of all time...in any genre of music. But her ability to connect with your soul and cause you to feel what she sings...that's what makes her really special. The greatest voices are not just heard, they are felt...deep inside. Kelly Willard's voice wraps around you like a fluffy blanket on a cold day. She reaches into your soul and brings forth feelings of innocence...longing...regret...hope...worship. 

She was born Kelly Bagley on August 18, 1956, in Winter Haven, Florida. She took piano lessons at age five, but soon found more success playing by ear than following written notes on a page. 

Raised in a Christian home, Kelly surrendered her life to Jesus at a revival meeting when she was 10 years old. She learned music by listening to hit records on the radio and her mother's collection of southern gospel albums at home, and she started writing songs when she was just thirteen. She became the pianist for her church choir and a weekend southern gospel group, staying busy by playing in nursing homes and local churches. 

Jake Hess

At just sixteen years of age, Kelly moved to Nashville and subsequently became involved with some of the biggest names in Gospel music. She got a gig playing piano for The Jake Hess Sound, a group whose namesake was one of the biggest personalities in the history of Southern Gospel as well as the founder of The Imperials. After that, she became acquainted with Tony Brown, who played piano for the Oak Ridge Boys (and would go on to be President of MCA Records). Brown got her an audition to play piano for an up-and-coming family group known as The Archers. She got the job. "This was when Nancy Short was still with The Archers, before their sister Janice joined the group," Kelly pointed out in a 1998 interview with Devlin Donaldson. "It was a really fun time. We were footloose and fancy-free on the road."

Kelly Willard (top, center) with The Archers

After about six months or so with The Archers, Kelly joined a young group of Oklahoma City musicians called Seth. Seth was sometimes described as a Christian version of The Carpenters; notable members included drummer Keith Edwards (who went on to play with Paul Clark, Amy Grant, Twila Paris and many others) and singer/guitarist/keyboardist Jonathan David Brown (who would go on to find his calling as one of the most accomplished and successful producers in CCM history). The Ancient Star Song website described Seth as "dripping with strings and horns" and "dreadfully mellow." Kelly moved to Oklahoma to join Seth and it was there that 18-year old Kelly met and married Dan Willard after what was reported to be a "whirlwind three-month romance." 

L-R: Kelly Willard, Jonathan David Brown, Dan Willard in the mid-70s 

Kelly Willard (2nd from left) with Seth. Jonathan David Brown is on the far left.

Seth's final album featured contributions from fellow Okies Harlan Rogers and Hadley Hockensmith, men who would go on to greater heights with Andrae Crouch & the Disciples and Koinonia. So the next stop along Kelly's musical journey would be with Harlan Rogers & Friends, where she finally began to spread her wings as a singer and not just as a keyboardist. "Before Harlan Rogers & Friends I just didn't have the courage to put myself into the lead vocal role," Willard says. She says Rogers recognized her gift, encouraged her and taught her...but he literally had to coax her into singing solos. "I really didn't think I had what it took to sing solo," Kelly recalls, "but Harlan kept insisting that I did, and if it weren't for his influence and belief in my giftings, I probably never would have sung anything outside of a group setting."

Harlan Rogers

Harlan Rogers & Friends only lasted for about two years, and then it was "California, here we come!" for the Willards, as they sought to become a part of the then-current flow of "Jesus Music" emanating from the Golden State. 

This is how Kelly Willard described the westward move to radio host Jerry Bryant on his show Full Circle: "I had been at the Maranatha! Music studio for a little visit and Tommy Coomes came into the studio. It was actually under construction at the time we showed up there, but they did have this beautiful grand piano in there. So Tommy walked in, and Jonathan David Brown introduced me to Tommy Coomes and I guess Jonathan had been telling them about 'this kid named Kelly' so Tommy says, 'Why don't you sit down at the piano and play me a couple of your songs?' And I go, 'Okay, I guess so.' I think I had maybe three songs that I'd written at that point in my life, and so I sang two of the three, and he liked them. Well, as it turned out, we ended up moving out there, and Jonathan told me that he could help me get some work as far as playing on some albums and singing background vocals on some albums and I was pretty excited, you know, to do that. I would say that a whole year went by that I was just playing on, like, Karen Lafferty's projects and singing background on her albums, and singing on albums by Lewis McVay and Bruce Herring and Roby Duke and Bob Bennett and different ones."

Kelly was finally in a geographic location and a spiritual environment (Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel and Maranatha! Music) that was perfectly suited, in God's timing, for her talents to be utilized and for her anointing to be appreciated and to grow and mature. "I also played live a lot during those years," remembers Willard in an interview with crosswalk.com. "Just me and a Fender Rhodes, suitcase style."

Little did Kelly know that in less than a year a solo record with her name on it and her picture on the cover would hit #1 and stay on the charts for a total of 44 weeks. Kelly Willard's life was about to change.  

She continues the story: "Maranatha! Music came to me and said, 'Would you like to do a solo album?' And I was like, 'I guess so. I think I have enough songs; I'm not sure.' So that's how I ended up doing Blame It On the One I Love."

Jonathan David Brown in the studio

Kelly's debut would be produced by her old friend Jonathan David Brown and would feature several of her musician friends from Oklahoma, no doubt giving her a comfort level in the studio. The release of Blame It On The One I Love opened the eyes, ears, and hearts of the Christian public to this fresh-faced, humble, unassuming girl with one of the sweetest voices we'd ever heard. The record managed to hit a real sweet spot as far as radio was concerned; it was contemporary enough to be relevant to young people but tame enough to be embraced by older audiences as well. With its full complement of thirteen songs, Blame It On The One I Love received extensive national radio airplay, and Kelly's touring schedule began to pick up both here in the U.S. and in other countries as well.   

The album began with a song that would also be included on a popular compilation album known as Maranatha! Current. A Friend So True would become one of Kelly's most endearing songs of all time; it's been a favorite of her audiences for as long as she's been singing. Musically, it was the kind of radio-friendly pop that was very pleasing in the 70s...with Harlan Rogers' Fender Rhodes, Abraham Laboriel's smooth bass and Hadley Hockensmith's electric guitar providing the instrumental foundation over which Kelly's effortless vocals soared. Willard provided the bulk of her own background vocals on this opening track, giving listeners ample opportunity to get familiar with her warm, sweet, melodic voice. Lyrically, A Friend So True is what I call a testimony song. 

It's all about Jesus.

I found a Friend so true
I can take all my troubles to
And He knows what to do

Who can find a Friend so true
Who really loves you
In spite of what you do

I just met a Friend who loves me just the way I am
And He seems to understand me
'Cause He ain't like no other man

Percussionist and former Daniel Amos member Alex MacDougall told me that, in his opinion, A Friend So True should be considered a model for pop/CCM music. "I certainly remember that album," he said. "I was so honored to be a part of it. Such great players, and Kelly's voice and songwriting...wow!" 

Up next was the only song on the album that Kelly Willard did not write. You're Welcome Here was penned by Bob Bennett, and Bob was brought in to sing background vocals on the track. I recently had a chance to speak to Bob and I asked him if he could remember his introduction to Kelly Willard.

"Yes," Bennett answered. "Like many people, I first heard Kelly Willard on Paul Clark's album, Hand to the Plow. Paul had that Woman...The Man That I Love medley, and it was Paul and Kelly in a duet situation. And when I first heard that record, it was like, 'Get outta town, who is that!?" 

Bennett continued: "I can get a smiling nod from people of a certain age and certain background by just asking, 'Remember the first time you heard Kelly Willard? Remember what your reaction was?' She just has such a great voice." 

Bennett says he remembers hearing Kelly sing later at a Bible study or concert. "I was just knocked out," he recalls.

Reunited (L-R): Bob Bennett, Michele Pillar and Kelly Willard sing together again
at The Upper Room in Mission Viejo, CA, November 2017

Bob said the details were kind of fuzzy on just how Kelly ended up recording You're Welcome Here, but he remembers her version coming out before his own. And that's not all he remembers. 

"Here's a funny story," he said, "and Kelly still gets a little embarrassed by it. All these years later I kind of have to laugh about it. Jonathan [David Brown] had me come into the studio to play acoustic guitar on the song. But I was not a real experienced studio guy and this was actually before my first album came out. So I could literally count in just a few short hours the length of time that I had been in a recording studio. And if there was one thing that was true about Jonathan David Brown, he was a complete keep-the-time-straight guy. In other words, if you were wanky on your time, it just was not going to work. You were not going to make the session. Well, I could play guitar but I was used to playing as a soloist and I was not a real seasoned studio guy or anything, so I was having trouble keeping the right time. So what eventually happened was that Jonathan had to lovingly but firmly ax me from my own session! In other words, I was not going to be the guy to play guitar on that song on Kelly's album because I couldn't pull it off in the way that Jonathan wanted. Well, of course, I was devastated. I was whining, 'But it's my song!' Well, what happened was that he got Randy Stonehill to do it. So the guitar that you hear on You're Welcome Here, on Kelly's version, that's Randy playing. And he did a great job. And all these years later it gives me a great story to tell. I laugh about it now. I got axed off my own song!"

Bob Bennett in the late 1970s

If you listen closely, you'll hear Randy Stonehill not only playing acoustic guitar on the track but counting off at the beginning of the song as well. And you'll recognize Bob Bennett singing along with Kelly, providing background vocals. You'll also hear the inimitable Mr. Darrell Mansfield on harmonica and the aforementioned Alex MacDougall on percussion. With Kelly on piano, Abraham Laboriel on bass and Keith Edwards behind the drums, it was not a bad little rhythm section. 

You're Welcome Here is one of those songs that strikes a chord with people. It's a song that has been very meaningful to me at various intersections of life. Bob Bennett says a lot of people assume that it was based on a famous tract entitled My Heart, Christ's Home by Robert Boyd Munger. He assured me that such was not the case; Bob had never even heard of the tract until after You're Welcome Here was written and recorded. 

I asked Bob what he thought of Kelly's version of You're Welcome Here. "Oh, I loved it," he quickly offered. "It gave me a whole different type of satisfaction than it would have if I had recorded it first myself. You know, over the years I haven't had that many songs recorded by other people, but You're Welcome Here was actually done by Kelly and also by Cynthia Clawson. But yeah, to have my song sitting alongside A Friend So True and Cares Chorus and Blame It On the One I Love and Rest - to have my song sitting in among those gems was really special."

Magazine ad for Blame It On the One I Love

Dear Jesus gets the full-on country treatment, complete with peddle steel guitar by the great Al Perkins himself. It's a 2-minute prayer set to music. Kelly overdubs the harmony vocals beautifully on the song's second verse. Unpretentious, Christ-focused lyrics like these were all over this record:

I don't want any earthly gain
I don't care if people know my name
I only need Your company
Come and spend some time with me
I'd like to become more like You
'Cause I love the things You say and do
So dwell in me and I'll dwell in You
And together we will be
Throughout all eternity

Blame It On the One I Love will never be mistaken for a rock and roll record. Most of the tracks are gentle ballads. But there were three songs with a quicker tempo that allowed Kelly to have some fun and let loose a little. Fans of clever wordplay loved Similies. Kelly runs through a series of clever comparisons to God's love (over some very tasteful piano work by Harlan Rogers and a crisp horn section). She even found a way to give a shout out to her friends from Oklahoma...

Like a piano needs a tuner 
Like a captain needs a schooner
Like a boomer needs a sooner
Oh, my Lord, I need Your love

Like a sailboat needs a rudder
Like a piece of bread could use some butter
All my words can hardly utter
Just how much I need Your love

Kelly's sense of humor comes through on Pass the Salt, a bouncy pop song that features Glen Myerscough on sax, Hadley Hockensmith on guitar and Harlan Rogers on organ.

We are the salt of the earth
Jesus can use us to flavor the world
He gets out His shaker
'Cause He's the salt maker
We are the salt
The salt of the earth

Salt makes people thirsty
People are thirsting for more of the Lord
So sisters and brothers
Pour salt on each other
You are the salt
The salt of the earth

By the way, Bryan Duncan of the Sweet Comfort Band sang background vocals on both Similies and Pass the Salt.

The title track was also an upbeat pop song...and it made quite an impact, garnering a lot of radio airplay. It was a testimony song that displayed a certain Jesus People naivete in the lyrics. But Kelly sang the song with an unbridled joy. Blame It On the One I Love changed keys a few times in creative ways, and, once again, Rogers and Hockensmith contributed their considerable talents, making the song a pleasure to listen to.

Blame It On the One I Love was recorded and mixed by Jonathan David Brown at Maranatha! Studio. It was mastered at A&M Mastering Studios and was distributed by Word, Inc. The strings were arranged by Peter Jacobs and Stan Endicott. Stephen Kelley took the pictures for the album cover, while the mega-talented Rick Griffin supplied the art direction and some artwork. Unlike many CCM albums of the period, this record employed some pretty high-brow instrumentation, with harp, cello, flute, English horn and flugelhorn making their respective appearances. There was even an accordion played on a song or two! 

The ballads Me Myself In Christ and Oh Gentle Love are musical prayers. During the latter, Kelly puts on a virtual clinic with her mastery of background vocals. Her prior experience at singing BGVs was put to good use here.

There are two songs that employ a lyrical device that can sometimes be risky - they speak for God, in His voice. While this can sometimes be tricky, Kelly pulls it off respectfully and beautifully in Walk With Me and Rest. She sings these songs with a sincerity and a purity of spirit that is palpable. 

I'm skipping around here, but the intimate Dad Song is a bit of a preview of Kelly Willard's later direction, musically and especially lyrically. While not technically a worship song (since it's a song about the Lord, not to Him), Dad Song is certainly a nod in that direction. 

Oh, how I love the way the Lord says, "I sure do love you"
How I love the way He whispers that I'm His own
And if the Lord doesn't get discouraged
Every time that I fall down
He picks me up right off the ground
And tells me I'm still Heavenbound

The next few lines might sound a bit like elementary school poetry when simply read aloud...but when sung by Kelly Willard, it's just sweet. 

Then I guess the ups and downs of this life
Aren't really all that bad
I know life is not so sad
When God the Father is my Dad

I have always wanted to know someone
Who would love me just for what I am
Fit my life into His master plan
Write my name in the palm of His hand
     
All of this is mine because I am His child

What a precious, loving description of her Heavenly Father.

Alex MacDougall in the 1970s

Alex MacDougall told me about having introduced Brian Doerksen to Kelly Willard. "He told her that it was because of her that he was drawn to worship music," Alex remembered. Doerksen went on to become a Dove Award-winning worship songwriter. "Kelly is the first lady of worship music in my book," MacDougall said. "I will never forget her artistry and kindness to me."

Speaking of worship, no look back at this record would be complete without a discussion of Cares Chorus. It's the fifth song on side one, and it suffers from being pretentiously overproduced...but nothing was going to stop this little gem from ministering to God's people in a powerful way. Truly foreshadowing Kelly's focus on worship, Cares Chorus is one of the true highlights of this album. I have played it and sung it in personal, private worship times, in church services large and small, even at the bedside of my mother as she would soon pass from this life to see Jesus face to face. Based on I Peter 5:7, this simple chorus has brought peace and comfort to countless members of the body of Christ over decades of time. 

While interviewing Kelly a few years ago, broadcast veteran Jerry Bryant asked about her musical influences and got a somewhat surprising answer. "My Mom listened to Gospel music a lot, so at home, I was around music a lot and I remember hearing The Rambos a lot," Kelly said. "Then, lo and behold, Reba Rambo came out with a solo album. I was about 15 years old and it just slammed my world in a good way. And I was, like, 'Wow! She can do her own songs?' So I would say that she was my first contemporary Christian music influence. And, to me, she doesn't get mentioned as much as she should because she really was one of the first (if not the first) contemporary Christian music female artists. 

Kelly Willard (L) and Reba Rambo-McGuire in the Summer of 2017

Kelly continues: "And, of course, there was Karen Lafferty and Nancy Honeytree. Honeytree influenced me and she didn't even know it. I went to a concert in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to hear Honeytree. And just her demeanor - you know, she was just herself, she had a guitar, she talked softly, she sang softly, she wasn't showy. And it gave me hope, because I knew that I couldn't be showy, you know, I wasn't an entertainer. And yet I had a few songs to share with people, you know? So I would say that Honeytree was my next influence."

Blame It On the One I Love wraps up with a jazz-influenced CCM pop tune called Heart's Prayer, which is somewhat unremarkable...except that it truly reveals Kelly Willard's humility and her heart towards God. The quiet, gentle spirit exhibited by Honeytree is something that has also served Kelly Willard well over the years. This really is her "heart's prayer"...

May people be blessed by You
And never impressed by me
Every good thing comes from You, Father
And Your gifts are given freely
May people be drawn to You
And the cross of Calvary
May I point the way to Jesus
So that we can all be free 

"There's something almost tangible about her commitment to being real and genuine that still exists on that record," said Bob Bennett. "You can hear it. It's still there. It's still in the grooves (so to speak)."      

I asked Bob about the yearning in her voice, her ability to bring tears (the good kind), and the beauty that permeates her music. "That sensitivity that you feel in her voice," Bennett said, "is very much an extension of who she is as a person (as I know her). I mean, everybody's got their oddities and I'm sure she would probably recoil at this kind of description of her, but be that as it may, it's true. There is a genuineness about her as a person that she is able to translate into how she sings. And she's always been that way. You never get the sense when you're hearing Kelly Willard sing, 'Oh, I don't know if I can trust her. I don't know if this is truthful or not.' No. She never phones it in. It's never just another day at the office when Kelly sings." 

So the record took off. And Kelly Willard wasn't expecting that. "I was very, very surprised at the reception," she said. "I was just really shocked. But I didn't want to know all of it. It was like, 'Okay, that's enough. Y'all have told me enough about the good that's going on.' Because I didn't want to get all enthralled with myself, you know? I did not think of myself as impressive, and I wasn't wanting to start thinking of myself as impressive. All I knew was I was a kid from Winter Haven, Florida, and I loved Jesus, and the Holy Spirit had given me a few songs. And that was kind of the beginning. I loved to sing those songs."   

Despite the success of Blame It On the One I Love, Kelly Willard never had a "record deal." She recorded sporadically. It would be another three years before her next album, Willing Heart, made it onto store shelves...and then another three years before Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs completed her transition from pop songstress to authentic worshiper.

"I've been a male vocal opposite Kelly on many worship projects," Terry Clark told me, "and we've been friends with the Willard family for many years. I can tell you that Kelly's voice has been the voice of a broken and desperate-for-Jesus generation since she first came on the scene. The pain of life and love for Jesus just pours from her into our hearts." 

Friends and worshipers: Kelly Willard with Terry Clark
at The Upper Room in Mission Viejo, CA in November 2017

Calling her "a living illustration of brokenness and transformation," Terry Clark further stated, "She literally is a carrier of the presence of God, a priceless package from His hand wherever He sends her."

In addition to recording her own projects, Kelly Willard sang on more than two dozen worship projects (by Integrity, Hosanna, Vineyard and Maranatha! Music) and a slew of albums by other artists (Dion DiMucci, Keith Green, Paul Clark, Brown Bannister, Ron Kenoly, Ricky Skaggs, Karen Lafferty, Lenny LeBlanc, Susi Luchsinger, Twila Paris, Bob Bennett, Steve Green, Bruce Carroll, Amy Grant and others). This allowed her to maintain an income and continue to minister while homeschooling her children. 

Other solo projects came along (1986's Message From A King and 1991's Garden), but Kelly Willard's personal life would soon unravel as she faced one hardship after another. "I can tell you that 2004 was the worst year of my life," Kelly said in an interview with author Glenn Hascall. "In that one year, I lost my Father, my Mother, my precious daughter, and a 29-year marriage. Recovering from that year has been an excruciating and ongoing struggle. There are things about that year that I will never understand, nor get completely over, but I have come to a place of trusting God. First, His Word is true, and nothing that has happened in my life has changed Him or His promises to me as His child. And nothing has been successful in separating me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. I have had to accept the fact that there are just things in life that happen that we will never understand fully or be able to explain. Even knowing that, I have many times felt like a huge failure. But, you know what, Romans 8:28 says, 'All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.' If that’s what makes us a failure, then we’re all failures. But, I don’t believe we were given that Scripture to make us feel like or label ourselves failures. I believe it was meant to emphasize the huge love, grace, and forgiveness of our faithful Lord Jesus." 

Kelly received wise counsel, eventually remarried, and still ministers today - primarily in prisons. "God hung onto me, even when I felt like I couldn’t hang on," she said. "God gave me a brand new start in every way." More albums have come along - Paga, Homesick for Heaven and I Stand In You. "I hope that I can continue to record albums and release them, although I feel somewhat on the fringe of the CCM world," says Willard. "I guess I have learned and am learning to take things one day at a time. I am still writing what is coming out of my heart to the Lord."

Kelly was asked how she thinks Christian music has changed since the time when Blame It On the One I Love was first released. "Well, a lot of music has come out since then," she said, "but I noticed that for a while it seemed like praise and worship became the 'cool' thing to do. I would like to think that the best and most effective 'Christian' music comes through and from a Christian’s personal relationship and communion with the One who made anything 'Christian' in the first place! Those who know and walk with Jesus Christ portray who He is." 

She continued: "He does want the whole world to know Him, and He gives us songs, thank God! That’s what was so fiery about the Jesus music back then. People were just singing about their relationship with Jesus, telling what they were learning about Him, and inviting others to come along. But I believe that there has remained, through the years, an undercurrent of the pure stuff going on. That’s just how I see it."

Kelly Willard has now also survived a bout with cancer. "Even with all that I have been through," she says, "nothing has changed my relationship with the Lord or the call that He placed on my life at a young age. If anything, I have gained more wisdom through the things, even mistakes, that I have suffered, and am more dependent on Him than ever before. I can testify of God's ultimate faithfulness to His children, and His unwavering commitment to conform us into the likeness of His dear Son, Jesus Christ. And, I plan to keep on singing about it until the very end."

And she'll do so with the voice of an angel...on loan from God Himself.