The Top 20 albums are just around the corner!
So here's another grouping from the Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda (?) category...
THE MISFIT
Erick Nelson & Michele Pillar (A&S Records, 1979)
Two friends got together and recorded a pretty cool pop-rock concept album in 1979. According to CCM historian Mark Allan Powell, "The Misfit tells the story of a person that just 'doesn't fit in,' of how he finds Christ, and of what happens to him thereafter." The two are said to evoke comparisons to other male-female duos of the day - Captain & Tennille, Peaches & Herb, Carpenters, etc. "The Misfit was an album way ahead of its time," said Bob Bennett. "The songs were challenging and sophisticated lyrically, and in many ways open-ended as to interpretation...it's a wonder the album even got made." Of interest are some covers on the record, including a remake of the Randy Stonehill classic, First Prayer, and a medley that includes the Nazareth hit, Love Hurts. Nelson's music career fizzled after this; Pillar became a sweetheart of CCM in the 80s.
STREAMS OF WHITE LIGHT INTO DARKENED CORNERS (Part One)
Larry Norman (AB Records, 1979)
So the early '70s were jam-packed with quasi-spiritual secular songs that actually became hits. Some of these had questionable theology (at best)...but we were just happy to hear Jesus' name on the radio! This album by Larry Norman (with a big assist from Randy Stonehill) by no means belongs on the list. But it had to be mentioned here. The production values are certainly lacking...in fact, some of these sound like impromptu demos that were never intended to be heard by the public. But it's really cool to hear Larry's take on these songs, and this record gets big points just for the weirdness of it all. Randy Stonehill comedically impersonating an obnoxious LA DJ between cuts is a huge bonus.
FLYAWAY
Nutshell (Myrrh, 1977)
This probably did not actually belong on the countdown, but Nutshell is worth a mention. CCM historian David Di Sabatino said they were sort of like a British version of the 2nd Chapter of Acts. Nutshell did not approach either the talent level or production budget of the 2nd Chapter, but the comparison is most apt on songs like Conversation Pieces, Feel Like a River, Safe and Sound, and In The Father's Hand.
LAUGHTER IN YOUR SOUL
Jamie Owens (Light Records, 1973)
The daughter of Jimmy and Carol Owens gets an album of her own at the tender age of seventeen. She had grown up in a musical home, with folks like Andrae Crouch and Barry McGuire hangin' out all the time. But she proves here on her debut that she was more than just her parents' kid - she had actual talent. She got a little help from friends like the 2nd Chapter of Acts and Michael Been (later of The Call). Author Mark Allan Powell labels this record "a Jesus Music classic" and reveals that Laughter In Your Soul was the top-selling CCM album of 1975 in Great Britain. Jamie wrote some of the songs herself, but also served up covers of two classic Jesus Music tunes by Barry McGuire.
LOVE EYES
Jamie Owens-Collins (Light Records, 1978)
Well, would you look at that! In the span of less than a decade, it would appear that Jamie Owens-Collins went from little girl to grown woman. Her music grew up, too. Produced by her husband, Dan Collins, Love Eyes was radio-friendly CCM pop with just a hint of country. Pleasure Servin' You and the title song would get lots of airplay, while Jamie rocked out a bit on Radio Man. It's Been Quite A Year had a bittersweet feel, and New Day was a personal favorite. There weren't a plethora of female solo artists in '70s CCM. Jamie was in the same space as Evie, Honeytree and Amy. By 1978, Evie and Honeytree were closer to the end of their recording careers than to the beginning. Amy Grant was just getting started and would soon eclipse them all. But Jamie Owens-Collins, an excellent songwriter, moved more toward the praise & worship space and released more albums throughout the '80s and '90s.
COME TOGETHER (A Musical Experience in Love)
Jimmy & Carol Owens (featuring Pat Boone) (Light Records, 1972)
Come together! Come together! Come together in Jesus' name! Jesus people, come together, let your light shine... Remember Jesus People musicals that could be performed in churches? Jimmy and Carol Owens were the king and queen of the genre. This wasn't rock and roll; it was hip folk music intended to give youth pastors a little street cred as they sought to reach the young people of their towns. Today, these musicals sound quite tame, but make no mistake...they were a little radical back in the day. Author Mark Allan Powell says, "Come Together was the Owens' high point, and by the year 2002 would remain the best selling Christian musical of all time." Featuring the talents of heavy hitters such as Barry McGuire, the 2nd Chapter of Acts and Pat Boone, Come Together has been called the very first contemporary praise album.
IF MY PEOPLE...
(A Musical Experience in Worship and Intercession)
(A Musical Experience in Worship and Intercession)
Jimmy & Carol Owens (featuring Pat Boone) (Light Records, 1974)
Another much-loved musical from the Owens, this one was a mixture of hippie-era folk, church choir anthems and early congregational praise & worship. There was a bit of a nod toward charismatic/pentecostal theology, as some of the participational worship songs encouraged the clapping and lifting of hands; there was also a track where the audience was exhorted to "sing a new song," creating a song from their own hearts, with a unique melody. If My People featured a heavy dose of narration by Pat Boone, as well as musical performances by an all-star cast, including Bili Thedford, the 2nd Chapter of Acts, Barry McGuire, and Jamie Owens. The title song was something special; it was later expertly covered by The Imperials. This was one musical the youth pastor could present to the church without fear of losing his job!
THE WITNESS (With Barry McGuire as Peter)
Various Artists (Jimmy & Carol Owens present...) (Light Records, 1978)
Of all the youth/church musicals to flow from the hearts, minds and pens of Jimmy and Carol Owens, The Witness is perhaps best-loved and most fondly remembered. Featuring Barry McGuire as Peter, Matthew Ward as Judas, and Tim and Steve Archer as James and John, this musical recounts the life and ministry of Christ, including the story of His crucifixion and Resurrection in a way that is deeply satisfying. The songwriting is more creative, the storytelling is more inventive, and the sonic quality is leaps and bounds beyond Christian musicals from earlier in the decade. The Witness also features Carol Owens as James' and John's mother, Annie Herring as Peter's wife, and Jamie Owens-Collins as Mary. The supporting cast is amazing, both in the studio and in the control room: Jim Fielder, David Kemper, Jack Joseph Puig, Mike Deasy, Clark Gassman, Buck Herring, Jimmy Owens, Sid Sharp, Michael Omartian, Dan Collins, Nelly Ward-Greisen, and more. This 2-record set is a classic and probably should have made our list. [Imagine being the poor schmuck in the local church that gets picked to play Judas and has to sing the song performed by Matthew Ward...]
EMPTY HANDED
John Pantry (Dove, 1978)
If you like mellow, adult-contemporary music with a British accent, then here's a record for you. Pantry never really caught on in the states, though some thought of him as sort of an English Michael Omartian, due to his production work with the likes of The Who, Bee Gees, and others. Kelly Willard is not listed in the credits of this album...but that's her...oh, that's her, all right. I'd know that voice anywhere. Pantry also did production work for albums by Liberation Suite, Parchment, Lewis McVay and Debbie Kerner & Ernie Rettino. This record does not belong on the countdown, but I thought Pantry's name was worth a mention.
SHAMBLEJAM
Parchment (Myrrh Records, 1975)
Corners of My Life from the Jubilation, Too sampler album served as my personal introduction to this hippie-trippy, psychedelic folk outfit from the UK. Parchment, comprised here of Brian Smith, Sue McClellan and John Pac, had been part of the British Jesus Movement from way back. But judging them from the album cover and perhaps some of the instrumentation, a few American Jesus Music listeners incorrectly applied an Eastern mysticism or even occult-like influence to the trio, which was quite unfortunate. They have been described by reviewers as "psychedliec-Seals-and-Crofts-on-acid" and "Jethro Tull colliding with Canned Heat." This record is a guilty pleasure/rare find/real treat.
DANCE, CHILDREN, DANCE
Leon Patillo (Maranatha! Music, 1979)
Leon Patillo had put in a little time with Santana...so the feeling at the time was, "Hey! We nabbed a big one!" (Meaning, we scored another big conversion from secular rock.) In hindsight, Patillo was at best a footnote in the history of Santana. But that didn't stop the CCM press from making as much as they could from the association. [All I knew of Santana as a teenager was the album that had a gratuitous shot of naked women on the cover. A record store was one of the few places a Southern preacher's kid could get a good look at well-endowed, topless ladies in the 70s. But I digress.] This solo record from Patillo made an immediate impact. Historian Mark Allan Powell calls it "one of Christian music's first and liveliest dance albums." Songs like Temple to the Sky and the title track exuded joy. And that cool pic of Leon blowing into that melodica on the back cover didn't hurt, either.
MORE FROM THE ASTONISHING, OUTRAGEOUS, AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, UNBELIEVABLE GARY S. PAXTON
Gary S. Paxton (Newpax Records, 1977)
The guy was just funny. What a character! I remember listening to When the Meat Wagon Comes For You and There Goes a Cigar Smoking A Man and laughing hysterically as a teenager. But Paxton was more than a goofball. He was actually a pretty good songwriter and producer. This record picked up where his debut left off, but it's not just a bunch of songs that didn't make it onto the first album...this is actually a pretty strong track list on its own. Paxton had a knack for wrapping some incredibly serious points in humor and zaniness, you know, to help the medicine go down. It worked. His was a complicated, storied life. And this record, while not generally recognized as a great album, is nonetheless very fondly remembered by his fans.
WASHES WHITER THAN
Petra (Star Song, 1979)
Is this Petra? Is it? Can we really say this is a Petra album? I guess. This was the in-between record. Petra's awkward teenage phase...when they were trying to find themselves, banish their zits, get up the nerve to ask a pretty girl to go to the homecoming dance, and figure out the meaning of life. It definitely was not a proper follow-up to Come and Join Us. Such amazing rock and roll promise had been shown on that 1977 album...and it all gets squandered here...all for some hoped-for radio airplay, I guess. Am I being too hard on WWT? After all, if it had been released by any group not named Petra, I would've thought it was a pretty darn good record in 1979. There was a songwriting shift here, as the group's lyrics began to be more focused on equipping Christian young people, rather than evangelizing the unsaved. The musical shift was reportedly the idea of the suits at Star Song. Greg X. Volz sang lead on about half of the songs; the other half was sung by short-term member Rob Frazier. Pretty sure this is no one's favorite Petra album...but maybe it was a necessary transitional record. Thankfully, Never Say Die was just around the corner...
HE TOUCHED ME
Elvis Presley (RCA Victor, 1972)
The King of Rock and Roll gets an honorable mention! Much has been made of Presley's love for Black Gospel, as was exaggerated in the glitzy 2022 biopic Elvis. But his love for and devotion to Southern (white) Gospel quartet music and culture is a story that is not as well known. He grew up singing in his local Assembly of God church in Tupelo, and attended First Assembly in Memphis when he knew the Blackwood Brothers would be there. Presley idolized the Blackwoods and their charismatic bass singer, J.D. Sumner. He always included Gospel songs in his secular concerts and always had a Gospel quartet backing him on stage (Jordanaires, Imperials, Stamps). The stories are legendary of how Presley would regularly summon the Gospel group members to his penthouse suite after the 2nd show, in order to sing Gospel favorites around the piano until the sun came up. He is backed by The Imperials on this classic, Grammy-award winning album. In fact, it's been said that this is basically an Imperials album with Elvis Presley standing in as lead singer. Fun fact: the only Grammy awards Presley ever won were for his Gospel recordings.
LADY
Reba Rambo (Greentree Records, 1977)
Talk about a Drama Queen! Her music and stage persona was glamorous, dramatic and "extra," as were elements of her personal story over the years. But she's always had a core of support from die-hard fans. Reba Rambo grew up the daughter of Southern Gospel royalty and was one-third of The Rambos. Her mother Dottie was a songwriting machine and her parents had a troubled marriage (though Dottie would not go public with allegations of adultery and abuse until decades later). But Reba grew up immersed in that Gospel Music eco-system of traveling, writing and performing. She toured some with Andrae Crouch & the Disciples, sang at Explo '72 at age 19, and served as a bit of a bridge from the Southern Gospel world to Jesus Music/CCM (although much less so than The Imperials). Lady was her first LP under just her first name, and it put her on the radar screens of many listeners who like their CCM served up with a little pizzazz and flair. The Land of Oohs and Ah's and Somewhere Over the Rainbow were highly memorable tracks from this album. Lift Him Up was a popular early worship chorus. Lady, produced by the great Phil Johnson with a tiny budget, was Grammy-nominated and won the Dove for Contemporary Album of the Year. No less an amazing singer than Kelly Willard has said that she was influenced and inspired by Reba in the 70s.
THE LADY IS A CHILD
Reba Rambo (Greentree Records, 1978)
The Lady was now a Child...only, with a bigger budget. Campus Life magazine said the orchestrations were impressive and compared Rambo to Streisand. Cash Box invoked the name Diana Ross. Her voice would soar, glide and slide between notes...at full volume one moment, whispering the next. There's an Andrews Sisters send-up here (All Day Dinner) that is very well done; the disco-inspired Child of the Music Maker was also quite popular; and Sacrifice of Praise was sung in churches around the world. This record earned Rambo another Grammy nomination. She was always a lightning rod for controversy. She and her now ex-husband, fellow-Southern Gospel star Dony McGuire (of Downings fame) engaged in what looked like some kind of spouse-swap situation back in 1980. He's been public about bouts with substance abuse...they became pastors of a church, which later was rumored to be a LGBTQIA+ affirming church...and then they divorced in 2019. So, yeah, it's a lot. But Reba will always be fondly remembered for 2 records that she made in the 1970s, and for the long shadow that she cast for female performers in CCM. Margaret Becker, Kelly Willard, Kim Boyce, Kim Hill, and Rebecca Sparks (of Found Free/Bash n the Code) all count her as a major influence.
EIGHT DAYS (A Personal Journey)
Austin Roberts & Advent (Newpax Records, 1976)
Never mind his country hit Rocky...or all of that Sonlight Orchestra stuff. THIS was mind-blowing, hair-raising stuff in 1976. Who could've guessed that Austin Roberts would come up with a full-on, highly dramatic, openly theatrical, Christian-themed rock opera concept album in 1976? Was it derivative? Probably, yes. Low budget, low quality? Yeah, kind of. But who cares?! It was also artistic, risk-taking and just downright weird in spots...with plenty of good, old-fashioned, hard-driving rock and roll...with crunchy guitars, distortion, synth solos and the type of gutsy vocals we just weren't used to hearing in the mid-70s. Kudos to Mr. Roberts for sticking his neck out for this one.
Can you believe it? Time for the Top Twenty Greatest CCM Albums of the 70s. Let's carry on!
