Joy Explosion

Evie doesn’t fall under the category of Jesus Music, not in the sense that one considers Jesus Music to be counter-cultural and cutting edge. But she was phenomenally popular in the 70s, and she used her success to help narrow the gap between the hippy music of the Jesus Movement and the church.

Evie was born in New Jersey in 1957. Her parents were Norwegian imigrants. She began her recording career in the late sixties with an album released in Norway. In the next few years she built a solid career and developed quite a following in Scandinavia. In 1974, at age 17, she recorded her first album for the American market — titled Evie. The following year brought Evie Again.

In 1976 she recorded what many consider her best album, Gentle Moments. It contained a cover of Pat Terry’s Meet Me Here and Honeytree’s I Don’t Have To Worry. When artists like Evie, whose easy listening style of music was welcome in traditional churches, performed songs written by Jesus Music artists, it helped these artists gain wider acceptance. Gentle Moments also contains a cover of John Denver’s For Baby (For Bobbie), a daring move since John Denver was a secular artist. Interestingly, the album’s liner notes credits the song to “Deutschendorf, Jr.” — Denver’s real name. So, Evie took chances with her song selections, but she covered her bases at the same time.

Evie retired from performing in 1981, and for many years kept a pretty low profile, devoting herself to her family. Recently she came out of retirement to work with Rebecca St. James in sponsoring She Events — special gatherings of music, teaching and ministry aimed at reaching women.

A popular Larry Norman quote … It first appeared in CCM, but I have yet to nail down a date. He was asked if his first album, Upon This Rock, could be considered a Christian album by today’s standards. His response…

Upon This Rock was written to stand outside the Christian culture. I tried to create songs for which there was no anticipated acceptance. I wanted to display the flexibility of the gospel and that there was no limitation to how God could be presented.

I used abrasive humor and sarcasm as much as possible, which was also not a traditional aspect of Christian music. I chose negative imagery to attempt to deliver a positive message, like I Don’t Believe in Miracles is actually about faith. I Wish We’d All Been Ready talked about something I had never heard preached from a pulpit as I grew up. The Last Supper and Ha Ha World used very surreal imagery which drug users could assimilate.

My songs weren’t written for Christians. No, it was not a Christian album for those believers who wanted everything spelled out. It was more like a street fight. I was saying [to Christians], ‘I’m going to present the gospel, and I’m not going to say it like you want. This album is not for you.’”

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that John Fischer is one of my favorites. He’s the one who wrote the All Day Song (“Love him in the morning when you see the sun arising…”), and he has continued to record good music throughout his career. He also teaches and writes and speaks and still performs.

John has just begun a new website/blog called The Catch. It’s brand new, but it looks like it will be good. There’s also a mailing list you can sign up for here.

A live version of Let Go, from the Sail On Sailor album, performed live at Calvary Chapel in 1977.

Another great band that should have done much more was Mustard Seed Faith. They first appeared in 1973 with two songs on the Maranatha 3 collection: Happy In Jesus and Rest. The following year their song All I Know was included on Maranatha.

In 1975 Lewis McVay joined the group. Sail On Sailor, their only LP to be distributed through normal retail channels, was released soon afterwards. (They recorded a custom LP in 1980 that’s impossible to find these days.) This same year MSF also recorded Sidney The Pirate for Marantha 5, which was released in 1976.

With the popularity of the band’s song on the Maranatha samplers, Sail On Sailor was an eagerly anticipated album…and it proved to be worth the wait. It’s a mellow mix of soft rock, soft country rock and soft ballads. Very smooth, very palatable, every song a good one. This is why it’s such a shame these guys didn’t record more music. As it is, just about every song they have recorded eventually gets played on Joy Explosion Radio.

The cover of Sail On Sailor has become a classic. It was designed by Rick Griffin, the sixties psychedelic artist who created a number of album covers for secular artists, including Grateful Dead and Jackson Brown. Griffin became a Christian in 1970 and later worked some with Maranatha Music. This cover was named as one of “The Fifty Greatest Album Covers Of All Time” in a coffee table book of the same.

The really good news is that Sail On Sailor is now available for download at Itunes. (Also look for Spirit Of St. Lewis — Lewis McVay’s solo album. It’s on Itunes as well.)

Tracks: (links are to youtube videos)

The Question
Let Go
Can’t Work Your Way To Heaven
Once I Had A Dream
Dried Up Well
Sail On Sailor
Lighter Side of Darkness
Sweet Jesus Morning
More Than Sunlight
Back Home

During the 70s there were a number of Maranatha artists that released one album and sort of faded into the sunset afterwards. I’m not sure why this happened so frequently, because some of these bands were very good.

Bethlehem is a good example. Their self-titled album was released in 1978, when country rock was at its pre-Urban Cowboy peak. They were as good as any of the secular bands coming out of Southern California at the time following the long-hair & cowboy boots motif. You could compare them to Poco, or Pure Prairie League, or maybe The Eagles.

The band consisted of Danny Daniels (guitar), Dom Franco (steel guitar, dobro), Randy Rigby (lead electric guitar), John Falcone (bass), Dan McCleery (drums).

Danny is still involved in Christian music. A number of his songs have appeared on Vineyard compilations and his Trust In You appeared on a Jeremy Camp album.

Tracks:

Think It Over
Lover
Desert Song
Holy Ghost Blues
Dead Reckoning
Night Rider
This Road
No Good Excuses
Just a Prayer Away
Pilgrims

2nd Chapter, circa 1975.

Another classic offering from 2nd Chapter was their second lp, In The Volume of the Book. This album, released one year after Footnotes, proved that 2nd Chapter wasn’t just a one-hit wonder. It showed that they had enough talent and artistic depth to survive the success of Easter Song.

Yahweh is the lp’s biggest surprise: no one expected this much rock from a Christian trio. Though the album is pretty tame by today’s standards, the manager of the Christian bookstore where I worked in 1975 wouldn’t allow us to play side one of In The Volume in store because he didn’t want to scare away conservative customers. We played the much more mellow side two … customers would hear it, like it, and buy it … I always wondered what they thought when they got home and heard it from the beginning.

The Yahweh track notwithstanding, this really isn’t a rock album. The best songs are in the classic 2nd Chapter style of soft melodies and close harmonies, such as Morning Comes When You Call, Last Day of My Life, and Prince Song. (These can all be heard on Joy Explosion Radio.)

In the Volume of the Book again includes Michael Omartian on keyboard and Michael Been on bass. Also included is Phil Keaggy on guitar.

By the way, the album title is a reference from Psalm 40:7. “…in the volume of the book it is written of me”.

Start Everyday With A Smile
Yahweh
Something Tells Me
The Grey Song
Now That I Belong To You
Psalm 61
Prince Song
Morning Comes When You Call
Borrowed Time
Last Day Of My Life
Hey Whatcha’ Say
Keep On Shinin’
I Can’t Get Near You