Blast from my Past, part 1: Christian Music on the Radio

Couple things appeared this week that reminded me of how much things have changed in our lives (one more MY life than Izzy's.)

Came home to a message on the answering machine: "If you are a female ages 30 to 45 and you listen to Christian Music on the radio, call this number for an important survey." I think there was a $$ offer as well.

Sadly, I had to think for a second to see if I fit the age category. I guess there really is a time when when you stop counting.

More importantly, I realized how little I listen to Christian Music Radio.

In my undergrad years in Tulsa, we listened to an amazing station out of Sapulpa, OK, that played all sorts of music in the new CCM genre. Amy Grant's pop, Keith Green's prophecy, Barry McGuire's growling, the Imperials & Russ Taff's big sound, Andrus Blackwood and Leon Patillo's gospel, plus Nancy Honeytree, Erick Nelson & Michelle Pillar, Issac Air Freight (Christian stand-up--wonderfully funny), Phil Keaggy in both vocal and instrumental, Michael & Stormie Omartian, Andre Crouch, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Stephanie Boosahda, etc. The music was anything BUT homogenized--all earnest, sincere, and careful to present the truth as understood by the artists.

I'd heard bit of this cornucopia in my HS years in SC, despite admonitions from youth leaders that the "rock and roll beats" of the music pointed to its satanic roots. So, rather than listening to hymns and gospel quartets on WMHK (We Make Him Known), we'd sit in someone's car and -- yes, this really happened-- we'd sneak off to listen to an 8-track of the Pat Terry Group.

Moving to Dallas, Izzy introduced me to KPBC AM radio. He had an acquaintance who operated His Place Music in Oak Cliff. KPBC played and His Place sold this same variety of music, and brought wonderful concerts to town. Other groups brought artists to town, and played their music on the air--Larry Norman, Bob Bennett, Petra, Amy Grant (more rock now), DeGarmo & Key, Phil Keaggy, Daniel Amos, Mylon LeFevre, etc. We loved Kemper Crabb and the All Saved Freak Band, Lamb and Steve and Annie Chapman, the Talbot Brothers and Michael Card and Resurrection Band. (There's more; and we've got it on vinyl...)

As AM radio faded, we got KOJO (later KLTY) FM, and 1st got exposed to limited play lists. We heard and saw Randy Stonehill and Rich Mullins, Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, but nobody played Mark Heard, the Swirling Eddies, The Choir, Charlie Peacock, or Julie Miller. We discovered Pierce Pettis via NPR. Bruce Cockburn came to town, but the Christian stations didn't promote his appearance.

Moving to NC, we found friends with similar musical tastes, but no radio. By the time K-Love appeared, with the same folks who had done KLTY, we'd stopped using Christian radio to alert us to new artists. At one point, we listened to lots of "Jesus Music Oldies" on the net, and looked far and wide to see appearances of folks (catching up with lots of them at C'stone 98.) We found "truth" in the music of Jason Harrod, Bill Mallonee and the Vigilantes of Love, and hymns/ballads written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

So, we moved again and have access to WMHK. No more hymns, no more gospel quartets, just the same P&W music over and over on a very limited play list. They had a tiny time period for oldies (Streets of Gold), but that disappeared. Now it's IIIrd Day (which Izzy and I both think sounds like "Hoootie Got Saved"), Zoe Girl, and a few other folks--some sort of knock-off of "Delilah" in the evenings..

Lest this sound like one of those "today's music is horrible--it was better in my day" rants from an old person, I've thought about the difference, What I hear when I listen to CCM is stuff that can be sung as special music or praise music in chuch--lots of it, and that's great if that's what you need to hear. What I don't hear is music that tackles the tough parts of living out our faith; I don't hear music with complex lyrics; I don't even hear re-workings of old hymns.

I don't hear much beyond the "Jesus-is-my-boyfriend" type songs.

So, I erased the message.

Tomorrow: Seed Faith.