Amy Grant
Amy Grant Bio
If you want to know Amy Grant's story, all you really have to
do is listen to her songs. From the first time she picked up
a guitar as a teenager and sang for her school friends, to the
albums she's recorded that have racked up multiplatinum awards,
Amy's always found a musical way to share her life. And in the
process, she's not only become an icon in Christian music (and
could, in fact, be credited with launching the genre) but also
one of the most celebrated artists in pop music today.
Music was always a part of Amy Grant's life. She can still
recall the thrill of a cappella singing at her family's Church
of Christ services and later, as a teenager, discovering a
freer musical expression with the young people in her school
and church. In fact, one of Grant's first performances was
at a chapel service for her fellow students. The event was
pivotal for Amy -- it unveiled not only a musical talent,
but a true gift of connecting with her peers. From that day
on, Amy Grant was marked as an artist, a role model, a kindred
spirit and a seeker. Through the next 25 years none of those
titles ever faded away.
Although Amy Grant is truly a daughter of Nashville, she
was actually born in Augusta, Georgia in 1960 during her father's
doctor's residency there. Amy was still a baby when the family
returned to Nashville. The youngest of four daughters, Amy
and her sisters (Mimi, Kathy and Carol) grew up in a home
of privilege, strong family loyalty and fervent religious
faith. In church she learned the hymns and stories that would
inspire both her life and her music. During her years at Nashville's
most prestigious private schools, those inspirations found
a home and an outlet as Amy began dabbling with songwriting
and performing.
A Star Is "Discovered"
Like a Hollywood story, Amy's break into music came while
she worked part-time sweeping floors and demagnetizing tapes
in a Nashville studio. Her friend, producer Brown Bannister,
allowed her to use the studio to duplicate a tape of her original
songs that she wanted to give to her family. A Word Records
company producer heard the music and, charged with finding
new talent in Nashville, felt he had just "found it"
and played the tape over the phone for his company executives.
The seventeen-year-old was signed almost immediately.
Amy's first album, the aptly named, AMY GRANT, introduced
the world to a fresh-faced and fresh-voiced young woman with
a contagious faith and engaging spirit. Contemporary Christian
music was still an undefined amalgam of gospel music, church
hymns and the more provocative Jesus Music movement, but somehow
this new foray that seemed to combine all three elements found
a quick home. AMY GRANT the album, was a hit. And so was the
woman who recorded it. Amy soon found herself traveling and
singing across the country in churches, festivals, camps and
schools. More albums followed in her burgeoning new musical
career. FATHER'S EYES in 1979, introduced her to Gary Chapman,
the title cut's songwriter and soon her opening act on tour
for the following album, NEVER ALONE. Gary and Amy married
in 1982. Two live albums (the second recorded with popular
gospel rockers Degarmo and Key as her backup band) pushed
Amy's musical envelope from her folky, singer-songwriter style
into an edgier pop/rock category. It didn't matter to listeners.
Christian music was growing. Amy Grant was the leader and
fans were following every step of the way.
Setting a New Standard
The year 1982 saw the release of what was to become Amy's
signature album, AGE TO AGE. Record company execs stepped
up the production and marketing of both the album and the
artist, and the investment paid off. AGE TO AGE won Amy her
first Dove Awards including Contemporary album of the Year
and Artist of the Year, plus a Grammy win for Best Gospel
Performance. Age To Age was the album that brought the songs
"Sing Your Praise to the Lord," and "El Shaddai"
to the modern church's hymnbook and sent Amy Grant on her
most ambitious tour yet. The album's success led to the quick
turnaround follow-up album, STRAIGHT AHEAD, which brought
more sales records, radio #1's and Dove and Grammy wins, including
a performance of the album's hit, "Angels" on the
Grammy Awards national broadcast. It was a first for Christian
music and for the Grammys, and certainly not the last time
Amy Grant made news and made noise.
In 1985, Christian music was a formidable force, but still
a world within itself. Enter Amy Grant and a new concept,
sort of: crossing over. Some early Jesus Music folks had tried
to take their music to the broader mainstream world. In truth,
most of them had begun in mainstream music and used that platform
to introduce their faith-based music. Amy Grant was different.
She was firmly entrenched in the gospel world and was ready
to take her message to the outside world. UNGUARDED was the
vehicle for that dream--an album made with "crossing
over" definitely in mind. It also marked the beginnings
of tension between those who thought crossing over was tantamount
to "selling out the gospel" and Amy's desire to
share her heart, her music and her faith in any arena that
would listen--even if that meant pop stardom.
Breaking More Ground
And that's exactly what it did mean. UNGUARDED opened doors
that Christian musicians could only dream about before. Her
first single, "Find a Way," found its way onto mainstream
radio and even birthed a video for MTV. The album charted
in Billboard and Amy made her way through the maze of national
publicity opportunities, including morning television talk
shows, late night talk shows, afternoon entertainment shows
and a host of specials, including her own CBS Christmas outing.
In her personal life, Amy became a mother with the birth
of Matthew Garrison in 1987, while recording her next album,
LEAD ME ON. The album passionately reflected the new turns
her life had taken. Its unmistakable folk leanings and stark
vulnerability of lyric marked it as a decided departure from
UNGUARDED, yet the album seemed a very natural progression
for this always surprising and innovative artist. In fact,
it became Amy Grant's most critically acclaimed album. Her
ever-present vulnerability, both in her music and her life,
seemed even more poignant and her new maturity as she began
the adventure of motherhood permeated the songs.
Two years later, Amy welcomed Gloria Mills ("Millie"),
her first daughter and the inspiration for what was to become
Amy's trademark and breakthrough song, "Baby, Baby."
Recorded for HEART IN MOTION, the now multiplatinum album
that made Amy a mainstream pop star, "Baby, Baby"
was the first "Christian" music song to reach the
coveted number one spot on Billboard's chart. A video for
the song that celebrated the romantic over the motherly translation
of the tune landed lauds from the MTV crowd, but controversy
from some of Amy's older fans, who again saw her courting
of a mainstream audience as a sell-out of her faith. Nothing
could have been farther from the truth, but Amy didn't let
the criticism rule her. As her celebrity grew, so did the
opportunities. As Christian music's most well-known export,
Amy became an ambassador for the faith and for the musical
tradition that celebrated it. Amy Grant put Christian music
on the map and was having no trouble keeping it there.
Two years after the birth of her second daughter, Sarah Cannon
(named for beloved Grand Old Opry star and Grant family friend,
Minnie Pearl), Amy's 14th album, HOUSE OF LOVE released. The
album included the hit title cut duet with country superstar
Vince Gill. Although not the multiplatinum blockbuster of
its predecessor, the album hit double platinum and continued
the trail that HEART IN MOTION blazed. Lighthearted love songs
mingled with straightforward songs of devotion to God in a
pure pop package proved again to be a winning combination.
Life's Hardest Stretch
Three years later, life became very different for Amy Grant.
Her 15th album, BEHIND THE EYES, released to critical acclaim,
but lacked the upbeat quality of previous releases. Fans noticed
and critics noted the "darker side" of Amy Grant
and her music and soon the news of an impending divorce brought
context to the brooding lyrics and music. The album very much
showcased the natural ease with which Amy always poured her
life into her songs, but for many the news of her divorce
superseded any artistic catharses and led to rumors, speculations
and chastisements. Amy weathered the storm, taking time to
sort through the changes and recharge her family and musical
callings. Amy did not enter the studio or hit the road again
for two years.
Becoming a Holiday Tradition
They say the third time's the charm, but for Amy Grant, the
release of her third collection of Christmas music, CHRISTMAS
TO REMEMBER, in 1999 was really just the continuation of an
already grand tradition. Amy first stepped into the seasonal
spotlight back in 1983 with the release of A Christmas album,
a holiday offering that birthed her now classic and signature
song, "TENNESSEE CHRISTMAS." Seven years later,
Amy did it again with HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, a Yuletide ride
that put another classic into everyone's holiday repertoire:
the haunting and elegant "Breath of Heaven." Back
in 1993, with two holiday albums under her belt, it seemed
only natural to take the magic on stage. That year Amy, together
with her hometown Nashville Symphony, started what became
an annual tradition--Amy Grant's TENNESSEE CHRISTMAS--a live
concert event filled with music, nostalgia, friends and the
spirit of the season. To date, the annual tour has raised
millions for many of the countless charities Amy supports.
It was also in 1999 that Amy tapped into her other talents
and took a turn at television. She not only hosted her own
prime-time network television Christmas special, Christmas
to Remember, but she starred in the made-for-TV movie, A Song
from the Heart. In the movie Amy played a blind music teacher
searching for and finding love and meaning. In her own life,
Amy did the same. In March of 2000 Amy Grant married Vince
Gill, and a year later the family grew with the welcome addition
of daughter Corrina Grant Gill.
Celebrating The Journey
Today Amy is happily settled into another round of motherhood
and celebrating the comforts of home and family. Approaching
the anniversary marking her 25th year in the business of making
music, Amy Grant has finally come full circle. A 2002 release,
LEGACY HYMNS & FAITH, brings Amy both in her music and
her faith back to her roots. A collection of favorite hymns
(and some newly penned tunes) provides a nostalgic look back
at the songs that, as Amy recalls, truly shaped the woman
she is today and the truths she holds in her heart. Produced
by long time friend and producer Brown Bannister, together
with Vince Gill, the music is a comfortable mix of Americana,
folk, bluegrass and gospel. Critics might call this musical
move a departure for Amy, but in reality, it's a returning.
Amy Grant is home again. And happy. And it is these songs
that have provided the soundtrack for her life all along its
journey.
Amy’s much-anticipated 2003 release, “Simple Things”
was three full years in the making. Was it worth the wait?
You bet. Emotional, honest songs, glistening productions,
arrangements that sweep through fields of strings and settle
into a nest of solo acoustic guitar—every detail of her
seventeenth album exceeds the her standards, which are as
high as standards come in this business.
Which brings Simple Things into full circle. From the personal
to the global, from the playfulness of "Happy" through
the impassioned duet shared by Amy and Vince on "Beautiful,"
Simple Things is perhaps the most intimate glimpse ever offered
into her heart. With tracks brilliantly produced by Keith
Thomas, Brown Banister and Wayne Kirkpatrick, this music seems
to rush through storms and sunlight before coming to rest
in "After the Fire," a summary of all that we've
experienced on our own and heard on this disc—simple,
soft, and quietly triumphant.
In the fall of 2004, the first “best of” collection
from Amy to span her pop career, Greatest Hits 1986-2004 (A&M/UTV/UMe),
was released featuring two new recordings, “Come Be With
Me,” featuring Keb’ Mo’ and co-written by Beth
Nielsen Chapman (Faith Hill’s “This Kiss”),
and “The Water,” co-written by Grant and with husband
Vince Gill on electric guitar.
Following on the heels of the GOLD certification of "Legacy...Hymns
and Faith," Amy again released in May of 2005 a CD of
hymns, “Rock of Ages.” The new recording contained
several classic hymns such as, “Sweet Will of God,”
“Abide With Me,” “Joyful, Joyful,” “I
Surrender All,” as well as the title track, “Rock
of Ages,” which is a duet with Vince Gill.
Today following 25 years of sharing her music around the
world, Amy hosts her first primetime network television series
“Three Wishes” on NBC. Wishes come true in the series
providing the hopes and dreams of deserving people in towns
all across America.
It seems a lifetime ago that a young Nashville girl picked
up her guitar and her heart and decided she had something
to say to the world. Today Amy Grant would tell you she never
meant to leave a legacy, she was just doing what she loved.
But those who have been touched by her and her music know
differently. Amy Grant knows how to capture a heart. She's
been sharing her life, her music and her faith for decades--and
somehow, through that amazingly graceful and vulnerable spirit
she's caught up thousands in her circle. And that's been the
story of Amy Grant's life. Courtesy amygrant.com
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