CCM Spotlight on Lamb

 

The Sacrifice Lamb – Joel Chernoff  (Lamb), 1972

Some early album cover art:

Lamb, “I will talk to my brothers” 1978 Album, “Songs for the Flock”

Lamb is a contemporary Christian musical duo from the 1970s through the early 1990s. The duo was Joel Chernoff and Ted Pearce who was replaced by Rick ‘Levi’ Coghill.

Home site: http://www.lambmessianicmusic.com/

Messianic Judiasm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_Judaism

 

Brokenbeliever’s Classic CCM Index–(a collection of early Christian music is found at): https://brokenbelievers.com/classic-christian-music-index/

CCM Classic Spotlight on DeGarmo & Key

 “Long Distance Runner” by DeGarmo & Key from the album “No Turning Back:Live,” 1982, Lion & Lamb Records

 
You are a long distance runner
You can feel the pain in your side
Yet you must run on
You are a long distance runner
Keep your face in the wind
And you’ll soon be home
I can see the strain on your face
Keep your eye on the goal and you’ll win the race
 
Up from the gun – you are no sprinter
The soles of your feet are on fire
Yet you must run on
You came to run – that’s why you entered
So put one foot in front of another
‘Till your race is won
I can see the strain on your face
Keep your eye on the goal and you’ll win the race
You are a long distance runner
When others are falling away
Your race begins
You are a long distance runner
The Spirit that strengthens your soul
Will ensure that you win
 
————

DeGarmo & Key was a Christian Rock group that started professionally in 1978. The primary members were Eddie DeGarmo and Dana Key. Eddie played keyboards and sang background vocals (and occasionally lead), while Dana played lead guitar and did the majority of the lead vocals. Other members included Tommy Cathey on bass and Greg Morrow on drums. The group’s music was of the pop and rock genres. Their best known songs are: Destined to Win (also the title of their 1992’s early “best of” album: Destined to Win), Let the Whole World Sing, Six, Six, Six, Boycott Hell, Every Moment, and Casual Christian. Also most noted for their 1986 album “Streetlight”, their 1987 album D&K, and their 1989 album “The Pledge”. See Discography for more info Other notable musicians who have recorded and/or toured with DeGarmo & Key include:Kenny Porter(bass), Kevin Rodell (drums), Chuck Reynolds (drums), Steve Taylor (guitar) (not related to another Steve Taylor, also a popular CCM artist) and Mark Pogue (guitar).

Eddie and Dana have individually recorded solo albums.

During Spring 2007 Dana and Eddie received the ASCAP Vision Award at the 29th Annual ASCAP Christian Music Awards.

Dana Key and Eddie DeGarmo reunited to do a concert on October 21, 2007 at TLC Church in Cordova, Tennessee.

DeGarmo and Key played at the 2008 Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, Illinois.

Dana Key died on June 6, 2010 from complications associated with a blood clot; although he had previous health problems, his death was unexpected.

The duo has been selected for the Gospel Music Association’s Hall of Fame, and is scheduled for induction in January 2011.

 

Internet Links:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeGarmo_%26_Key

The Unofficial DeGarmo & Key Website:  http://degarmoandkey.webs.com/

Brokenbelievers CCM Index: featuring other artists and bands of the 60s – 80s https://brokenbelievers.com/classic-christian-music-index/

CCM Classic Spotlight on Ken Medema

“Mr. Simon,” Click the youtube link

Ken Medema (born December 7, 1943 as Kenneth Peter Medema in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a composersingersongwriter who has been performing in the United States, Canada, and Europe for more than thirty years. Ken Medema was born almost blind; his eyes let him tell light from shadow and look at outlines of major objects. He began playing the piano when he was five years old, and three years later began taking lessons in classical music through braille music, playing by ear and improvising in different styles. In 1973, he began performing and recording his own songs. His lyrics generally provide social commentary on themes such as justice, hunger, poverty, homelessness, and Christian charity as it pertains to them. He has published a total of 26 albums, the first of which he recorded for Word and Shawnee Press, and then went on to found Brier Patch Music in 1985. Through Brier Patch Music he organizes and schedules his events, as well as publishes his music. Performances regularly include songs improvised both musically and lyrically by accepting audience recommendations, sermon topics, or guest speaker stories as their basis. He performs in national and worldwide (church) congregations, campuses, youth gatherings, and annual assemblies. He lives in San Francisco, California. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Medema This featured song, “Mr. Simon,” is based on the words of Jesus as found in Luke 18:10-14, ESV. 

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Bryan’s note: I guess there is a touch of sarcasm in this song, but never delving into cynicism.  He communicates the very real world of hypocrisy and acceptance in the life of the believer.  This is not a classic worship song, but is a song that starkly reveals the iniquity of our hearts as we approach the presence of God.  Perhaps this touch of sarcasm is a definite weapon of choice in exposing the hypocrisy that confuses us. The CCM Music Index on Brokenbelievers can be found at:  https://brokenbelievers.com/classic-christian-music-index/

Classic CCM Spotlight on Larry Norman

Song, “I Wish We Had All Been Ready”

Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008[1]) was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, record producer, writer, playwright, actor, photographer, and humorist, who is credited as “a key figure in the development of contemporary Christian music“,[2] “the most significant artist in the creation of contemporary Christian music (CCM)”,[3] the “father of Christian rock music”,[4] the “Godfather of gospel rock”;[5] “Christianity’s first rock star”,[6] the “bad boy of Christian music”,[7] and “the poet laureate of the Jesus revolution”.[8] “By 1970, Norman had the most recognized name (and face) in the Jesus Movement and the Christian music scene”,[9] with Time magazine soon describing him as “probably the top solo artist in the field”.[10] While he had long been associated with the Jesus people,[11][12] and was even described as “the personification of the Jesus Movement of the late ’60s and early ’70s”,[13] Norman himself “did not particularly identify himself with the youth-oriented ‘Jesus movement’ of the time”.[14][15] He has been credited with having a significant influence on many artists, both secular and religious.[16] Norman has also been described as having a “propensity for spinning stories”,[17] and a “penchant for revisionist history”.[18]

Since Norman’s first professional release in 1967, more than 100 of his own albums have been released through such commercial record labels as Capitol, MGM, Verve, and his own independent labels: One Way Records, Solid Rock Records, Street Level Records, and Phydeaux Records. Norman’s first album, I Love You, recorded when he was one of the lead singers for the group People!, was released in 1968. The band’s cover version of The Zombies song of the same name reached number 14 on Billboard magazine‘s top twenty list in 1968 as a single.[19] Norman left People! in 1968 and subsequently performed as a solo artist, appearing both on mainstream and independent labels.[20] In 1969 Norman recorded Upon This Rock, “the first commercially released Jesus rock album”,[21] and in 1972 one of “the most influential Christian rock records of all time”, Only Visiting This Planet.[22] Norman’s recordings are noted for their Christian and social subject matter, having successfully “wed the rhythms of pop music with the spiritual and social outlook of Christianity to create a kind of flower-power gospel.”

–Copied from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My note:  Larry Norman seemed to struggle most of his life.  He was a very talented and gifted songwriter.  Some of his “issues” seem to be proceed from what some considered bipolar disorder, but that probably was never medically confirmed.  He was known by many to be a rascal (the kind of person we minister to at BB.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Norman

 

An excerpt from Christianity Today, announcing his death.

“Christian music legend Larry Norman died Sunday of heart failure, according to his brother Charles Norman. He was 60.

Norman, a blonde, long-haired rocker who is often called the father of Christian rock music, was a giant in the Christian music industry, said Chris Willman, senior music writer for Entertainment Weekly.

“His influence outweighed his sales so much that it’s comical,” Willman said. “He certainly had a heart for evangelism — almost to his detriment, I might say. He really could’ve been a star if he were singing about something other than Jesus.”

Norman’s 1972 Only Visiting This Planet album is regarded as one of the top contemporary Christian music albums of all time. His many hits were at the cutting edge, said Larry Eskridge, associate director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College.

“The song ‘Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?’ was one of his enduring trumpet blasts against the stodgy, old Christian establishment,” Eskridge said. “‘I Wish We’d All Been Ready’ fit with the end times, apocalyptic feel that was in the air at the time.”

“I Wish We’d All Been Ready” was also featured in the 1972 end times film, A Thief in the Night. In concerts, the singer gave his trademark “One Way” gesture, pointing an index finger toward heaven.

Eskridge said Norman was an icon during the Jesus People of the 1960s but distanced himself from the movement when it became a fad and eventually faded.”

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/februaryweb-only/109-22.0.html

———————————-

The Broken Believer Main Index of CCM  https://brokenbelievers.com/classic-christian-music-index/