Amy Grant

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Amy Grant
Amy Grant in 2005, shortly after the release of her album Rock of Ages.
Background information
Birth name	Amy Lee Grant
Born	November 25, 1960 (age 46)
Origin	Augusta, Georgia, United States
Genre(s)	Christian, pop, Adult contemporary
Years active	1977–present
Label(s)	Myrrh (1977–1997) Word (1977–present) A&M (1985–2004) Warner/Curb (2005–)
Website	AmyGrant.com

Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American Christian and pop singer-songwriter and occasional actress and author.

Grant made her debut in 1977 as a teenager, and scored her first number-one Christian radio hit two years later. In 1982, she released her breakthrough album, Age to Age, which would become the first Contemporary Christian music album to be certified platinum.

By 1985, her music began to reach a wider audience, as her album Unguarded crossed over onto mainstream charts. This feat was reproduced in 1991 when her album Heart In Motion became a best-seller and the single "Baby Baby" became a number one pop hit.

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Grant continued to record pop-oriented albums, and did not make a full-fledged return to gospel music until 2002, with the record Legacy...Hymns and Faith. In 2006, Grant hosted her own reality television show on NBC, called Three Wishes.

As of 2007, Grant remains the best-selling Contemporary Christian music singer, having sold over 25 million records worldwide, and Heart in Motion is the best-selling Christian music album as well, matching sales of 5 million.

[edit] Career

[edit] Beginnings

After she signed to a record company at the age of sixteen, Amy Grant's first, self-titled album (largely self-composed) in 1977, was a runaway success in terms of the Christian music market of the time. A graduate of Harpeth Hall School and then an English major at Furman University and later Vanderbilt University, Grant made a few more albums before dropping out of college to pursue a career in music. These albums included 1979's My Father's Eyes (the title track written by Grant's future first husband, singer-songwriter Gary Chapman) and Never Alone in 1980. During the 70s, Amy was also a backup singer for Bill Gaither, and the Bill Gaither Trio.

The year 1982 marked a turning point in both Grant's career and her personal life. After she married Chapman in June, her album Age to Age forced critics to sit up and take notice. The breakthrough album contained the now signature track, "El Shaddai" (written by Michael Card) and the Grant-Chapman penned song, "In A Little While". Now a star, Grant received her first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Gospel Performance, as well as two GMA Dove Awards for Gospel Artist of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. Age to Age would later become the first Christian album by a solo artist to be certified gold (1983) and the first ever Christian album to be certified platinum (1985).

It was around this time that Grant began touring and recording with young up-and-coming songwriter Michael W. Smith. To this day, Grant and Smith continue to have a strong friendship and creative relationship, often writing songs for or contributing vocals to each other's albums. "El Shaddai" would later be awarded one of the "Songs of the Century" by the RIAA in 2001.

Grant followed up this album with the first of her Christmas albums - albums that later would be the basis for her trademark holiday shows. 1984 saw the release of another pop-oriented Christian hit, Straight Ahead, earning Grant her first appearance at the Grammy Awards show.

[edit] Widening audience

The cover of the single "Find a Way"

Hardly had Grant established herself as the "Queen of Christian Pop", however, when she changed directions to widen her fan base (and hence her musical message). Her goal was to become the first Christian singer-songwriter who was also successful as a contemporary pop singer. 1985's Unguarded shocked some fans for its very mainstream sound (and Grant's leopard-print jacket, in four poses for four different covers). "Find a Way," from Unguarded, became the first Christian song to hit Billboard's Top 40 list, also reaching #7 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Amy Grant scored her first Billboard Number One hit in 1986 with "The Next Time I Fall", a breezy duet with former Chicago singer/bassist Peter Cetera. That year, she also recorded a duet with singer Randy Stonehill for his Love Beyond Reason album, entitled "I Could Never Say Goodbye".

1988's Lead Me On contained many songs that were about Christianity and love relationships, but some interpreted it as not being an obviously "Christian" record, although the album's title track is now considered a CCM classic. Years later, Lead Me On would be chosen as the greatest Contemporary Christian album of all time by CCM Magazine.[1] The mainstream song "Saved by Love" was a minor hit, receiving airplay on radio stations featuring the newly emerging Adult Contemporary format. The album's title song received some pop radio airplay and crossed over to #96 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "1974 (We Were Young)" and "Saved By Love" also charted as Adult Contemporary songs.

[edit] 1990s

The cover of Heart In Motion, Amy Grant's (and Christian music's) biggest album.

Nevertheless, when Heart in Motion was released three years later, many fans were shocked and outraged that the album was so clearly one of contemporary pop music. Amy's desire to widen her audience was frowned upon by the confines of the popular definitions of "ministry" at the time. The track "Baby Baby" (written for Grant's newborn daughter, Millie, whose "six week old face was my inspiration,") however, became a massive hit (hitting number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart), and Grant was established as a name in the mainstream music world. The music video created outrage in the industry,^{[citation needed]} for in it, Grant dances and playfully flirts with model Jme Stein, not her husband. When interviewed about the theme of the video, she said she thought the song was more relatable to others when seen in a romantic light.^{[citation needed]} Grant has also said that her original vision for the song's video clip involved many small babies in one room; however, A&M executives nixed the idea.^{[citation needed]} "Baby Baby" received Grammy nominations for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record and Song of the Year (although it failed to win in any of those categories). Four other hits from the album made the Pop top 20: "Every Heartbeat" (#2), "That's What Love Is For" (#7), "Good For Me" (#8), and "I Will Remember You" (#20). On the Adult Contemporary chart, all five songs were top 10 hits with two of the five ("Baby Baby" and "That's What Love Is For") making it all the way to #1. Many Christian fans remained loyal, as the album also topped the Billboard's Contemporary Christian Chart for 32 weeks. Heart in Motion is her best-selling album and one of the best selling albums of all time according to the RIAA, having sold over 5 million copies. She followed this album with her second Christmas album, Home For Christmas, in 1992, containing "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)", which would later be covered by many artists, including Donna Summer, Jessica Simpson (who would acknowledge Amy as one of her favorite artists), Vince Gill, Sara Groves, and Point of Grace.

House of Love in 1994 continued in the same vein, boasting catchy pop songs mingled with spiritual lyrics. The album was a multi-platinum success and produced the pop hit "Lucky One" (#18 pop and #2 AC; #1 on Radio & Records) as well as the title track (a duet with country music star and future husband Vince Gill) (#37 pop) and a cover of Joni Mitchell's frequently-covered "Big Yellow Taxi" (#67 pop).

In 1995, Amy expressed a desire to create more guitar-driven, rock-oriented music, pointing to Hootie & The Blowfish and Sheryl Crow as influences.^{[citation needed]} As part of this newfound direction, she participated in Lifetime's 1st Annual "Girls & Guitars" benefit, singing a number of songs, including a duet with Melissa Etheridge on "You Sleep While I Drive".

After she covered the 10cc song "The Things We Do For Love" for the Mr. Wrong soundtrack, 1997's Behind the Eyes was released in September. The album struck a much darker note, leaning more towards downtempo, acoustic soft-rock songs with more mature (yet still optimistic) lyrics (such as the radio hit "Takes A Little Time"). She called it her "razor blades and Prozac" album. The video for "Takes A Little Time" was certainly a new direction for Grant; with a blue light filter, acoustic guitar, the streets and characters of New York City, and a plot, Amy was re-cast as an adult light rocker. She followed up "Behind The Eyes" with A Christmas To Remember, her third Christmas album, in 1999.

Grant and Chapman separated and divorced in 1999. In 2000 Grant married Vince Gill, who had divorced country singer Janis Gill of Sweethearts of the Rodeo.

[edit] 2000s

After giving birth to her fourth child Corinna Grant Gill, Grant returned to her gospel music roots with the 2002 release of Legacy...Hymns and Faith. The album featured a Vince Gill-influenced mix of bluegrass and gospel and marked Grant's 25th anniversary in the music industry. Grant followed this up with the pop release Simple Things in 2003. The album did not see the success of her previous pop efforts, however. Soon after Simple Things, Grant and Interscope/A&M parted ways. True to all of her work, spiritual themes weave in and out of the everyday experience. The same year, Grant got inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame by the Gospel Music Association, an industry trade organization of which she is a longstanding member, in her first year of eligibility.

Grant released a sequel to her hymns collection in 2005 titled Rock of Ages... Hymns & Faith. Despite publicly musing that life would be easier if she weren't working,^{[citation needed]} Grant joined the reality television phenomenon by hosting Three Wishes, a show in which she and a team of helpers make wishes come true for small-town residents. The show debuted on NBC in the fall of 2005 and was cancelled at the end of its first season due to high production costs. After Three Wishes was cancelled, Grant won her 6th Grammy Award for Rock of Ages... Hymns & Faith. In a February, 2006 webchat, Amy stated she believes her "best music is still ahead".

In April of 2006, a live CD/DVD entitled Time Again...Amy Grant Live [2] was recorded in Fort Worth, TX, at Bass Performance Hall. (Amy's first paid public performance was at the Will Rogers Auditorium in Fort Worth, TX.) The concert was released on September 26, 2006. (The CD and DVD are sold separately). In addition to receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, media appearances included write-ups in Contemporary Christian Music Magazine [3] and a performance on The View.

In a February 2007 web chat on her website, Amy discussed a book she is working on entitled "Mosaic": "It’s not an autobiography, but more a collection of memories, song lyrics, poetry and a few pictures." The book is scheduled to release in Fall 2007. In the same web chat, Amy noted that she is "anxious to get back in the studio after the book is finished and reinvent myself as an almost 50 performing woman."

[edit] Trivia

• Grant has appeared on the cover of CCM Magazine more than any other person, including a special "All Amy" issue.
• Michael W. Smith and MercyMe are among the artists who credit Amy at least in part for helping to launch their careers.
• Grant is known for her very successful semi-annual Christmas tour, which is often co-headlined by her husband, Vince Gill
• "Tennessee Christmas" is one of the most-covered original Christmas songs of the 20th Century
• MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine" was originally written for Grant, who revised the lyrics and recorded it as "Imagine". Grant decided to delay her release of the song (which later appeared on "Legacy...Hymns and Faith") to allow MercyMe to release it as their own single.
• A platform at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center is named in her honor. Amy raised and/or donated one million dollars to support the center in Nashville, TN. [4]
• Grant is notable for her very large and dedicated fan base, which are sometimes referred to as "Grantheads" or "Friends of Amy."
• Grant was the first Christian music artist to have a #1 pop song, the first to sell a Platinum record, the first to perform live at the Grammys, and the first to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• Grant was asked to be one of the lead acts in the original VH1 Divas concert but turned it down, not wanting to label herself a "diva".
• Following the 9/11 attacks, Grant's "I Will Remember You" saw a resurgence in popularity as many radio DJs mixed a special tribute version of the song.
• In 2005, Grant released one of the first and most popular iTunes Originals albums.
• Some Christian denominations have officially adopted several Amy Grant songs as hymns, including "Thy Word", "El Shaddai" (by Michael Card), "Sing Your Praise to the Lord", and others.
• Grant's managers reportedly turned down an offer for Grant to play the female lead in a 1990s Tom Hanks film (rumored to be "Sleepless in Seattle").
• Kevin Costner recorded a duet with Grant for his 1997 film, "The Postman", titled "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice". It plays during the end credits.
• In 1999, CBS aired a primetime Christmas special starring Grant, entitled "Amy Grant: A Christmas To Remember". Artists Tony Bennett, 98 Degrees, and CeCe Winans also appeared to perform with Grant.
• In 2001, Grant won $125,000 for charity on the "Rock Star Edition" of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?".
• Hollywood often recognizes Grant's exceptional philanthropy.
• A particular breed of rose was bred in the United States and named the "Amy Grant" after the singer.
• Grant has been a spokesperson for Target and Land O'Lakes Butter, among others.
• Grant performed at the World Series in 2004 and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2003.
• Grant shares her birthdate with John F. Kennedy, Jr - November 25, 1960.

[edit] Popular culture

• A 2006 episode of "Family Guy" parodied "Three Wishes" and featured an animated Amy Grant.
• The Young Fresh Fellows wrote a comical song about the singer titled "Amy Grant", which went #1 on College Radio and remains The Young Fresh Fellows' biggest hit.
• The 2004 film, "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle" features "Baby Baby" as part of its diegetic soundtrack.
• A cover of "Baby Baby" by Alana D plays in the 2005 film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith".
• The character "Rachel Jordan" in The Simpsons, lead singer for the Christian rock group "Kovenant", is thought to be a composite of Amy Grant and Sara Evans.
• The cover for the comic book Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #15 (March 1990) featured an unauthorized image of Grant, leading to a lawsuit against publisher Marvel Comics ("Amy Grant Sues Marvel" The Comics Journal, No. 136, July 1990).
• A day time soap opera played "Our Love" in the background of a scene.
• A 1995 episode of the sitcom "The Nanny" (titled "A Kiss Is Just a Kiss") features a storyline in which a record store holds a contest for a kiss from country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. The record store prominently features promotional displays for Grant's 1994 album, House of Love, in most of the shots.
• A 2002 episode of the sitcom "Still Standing" (titled "Still Reading") references Amy Grant.
• A 2004 episode of "Wonderfalls" (titled "Pink Flamingos") references Amy Grant and Vince Gill's marriage.
• In a Saturday Night Live skit, John Goodman's character tells Cheri Oteri's character that she makes "Courtney Love look like Amy Grant," a reference to Love's wild antics and Grant's conservative reputation.
• In another Saturday Night Live skit, Cheri Oteri's character talks with Chevy Chase's character about Amy Grant and sings part of "Lucky One". Both skits are available on the Best of Cheri Oteri DVD.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Amy Grant discography

[edit] References

• Ruhlmann, William (2005). allmusic ((( Amy Grant > Biography ))). Retrieved Sept. 21, 2006.

[edit] See also

• CCM Magazine
• Best selling music artists

[edit] External links

• Official Amy Grant website
• German/English Amy Grant archive website
• Official Amy Grant Christmas website
• Official Amy Grant Behind The Eyes website
• Amy Grant at the Internet Movie Database
• Amy Grant at All Music Guide

[edit] Overview