Billy Ray Hearn
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Billy Ray Hearn
Billy Ray Hearn (April 26, 1929April 15, 2015) was the founder and chairman of the Capitol Christian Music Group (formerly EMI Christian Music Group) the world's largest Christian music label.McNeil, W. K. Encyclopedia of American gospel music.' Routledge, 2005. In 1954, Billy Ray Hearn graduated from Baylor University with a degree in church music. In 1972, Hearn started Myrrh Records, one of the first labels devoted to contemporary Christian music, at Word Inc., the label of Amy Grant. In 1976, he formed his own label, Sparrow Records, the label behind musicians Keith Green, John Michael Talbot, and Margaret Becker. In 1992, Hearn sold Sparrow to EMI Music, the label of artists including Steven Curtis Chapman and BeBe & CeCe Winans. Hearn was a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and in 1999 received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of suppor ...
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Myrrh Records
__NOTOC__ Myrrh Records (also known as Myrrh Worship) was an American Christian music record label. According to ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music'', the label was instrumental in developing a popular following for contemporary Christian music, as the label that first published music by: Barry McGuire, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Randy Matthews and Nancy Honeytree. The label is also known for serving as the first label for popular Christian crossover singer Amy Grant, who joined the label in 1977. She stayed with Myrrh until 1999, and with Word Records until 2005. The label has released recordings by Al Green, B.J. Thomas, Benny Hester, Billy Preston, Bob Ayala, The Choir, Cliff Richard, Crystal Lewis, Dakoda Motor Company, David and the Giants, GLAD, Jaci Velasquez, David Meece, Malcolm and Alwyn, Mark Heard, Michael and Stormie Omartian, Mike Warnke, Miss Angie, Maria Muldaur, One Bad Pig, Petra, Phil Keaggy, Randy Matthews, Randy Stonehill, Richie Furay, Earth, Wind & Fir ...
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Sparrow Records
Sparrow Records is a Christian music record label and a division of Universal Music Group. History Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then artists and repertoire (A&R) director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by Thorn EMI in 1992, Sparrow's parent underwent a demerger four years later to become the EMI Group, and the label is now part of the Capitol Christian Music Group. Sparrow Records rose to prominence with the signing of singer, songwriter, Contemporary Christian musician and minister Keith Green. Within a year of his 1976 signing by Sparrow, Green was the top selling Christian artist in America. As of 2009, Sparrow's artists include Britt Nicole, Chris Tomlin, Mandisa, Matt Redman, Matthew West, Steven Curtis Chapman and Switchfoot. Since 1996, a popular production of Sparrow Records has been the annual '' WOW Hits'' contemporary Christian music series. In 1998, the WOW franchise then added the annual ''WOW Gospel'' series of albums. The ''WOW Worship'' ...
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EMI Christian Music Group
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, it was the fourth largest business group and record label conglomerate in the music industry, and was one of the "Big Four" record companies (now the " Big Three"). Its labels included EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records, and Capitol Records, which are now owned by other companies. EMI was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but faced financial problems and US$4 billion in debt, leading to its acquisition by Citigroup in February 2011. Citigroup's ownership was temporary, as EMI announced in November 2011 that it would sell its music arm to Vivendi's Universal Music Group for $1.9 billion and its publishing business to a Sony/ATV consortium for around $2.2 billion ...
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Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the first educational institutions west of the Mississippi River in the United States. Located on the banks of the Brazos River next to I-35, between the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex and Austin, the university's campus is the largest Baptist university in the world. As of fall, 2021, Baylor had a total enrollment of 20,626 (undergraduate 15,191, graduate 5,435). It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity". The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. Baylor University's athletic teams, known as the Bears, participate in 19 intercollegiate sports. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference in the NCAA Division I. History In 1841, 35 d ...
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Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop". she had sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, won six Grammy Awards, 22 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, and her album was the first Christian album to go platinum. She was honored with a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 for her contributions to the entertainment industry and in 2022, she was announced as a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. Grant made her debut in her 20s gaining fame in Christian music during the 1980s with such hits as "Father's Eyes", " El Shaddai", and "Angels". In the mid-1980s, she began broadening her audience and soon became one of the first CCM artists to cross over into mainstream pop on the heels of her successful albums '' Unguarded'' and '' Lead Me On''. In 1986, she scored h ...
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Keith Green
Keith Gordon Green (October 21, 1953 – July 28, 1982) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter in the contemporary Christian music genre, who was originally from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. His most notable songs are " There Is a Redeemer", which was written by his wife Melody, and "(Until) Your Love Broke Through". Early life Green was raised in the Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Science). Green took to music at a young age, as he "began with the ukulele at three, the guitar at five, and the piano at seven."Los Angeles Times, February 18, 1965, pg. SF1 His talents were noted by a major newspaper when he was eight, following a performance of Arthur Laurents' '' The Time of the Cuckoo''. A local review by the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote, "roguish-looking, eight-year-old Keith Green gave a winning portrayal"Green, M. & Hazard, D. (2000) ''No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green'', Chapter 2 of "the little Italian street urchin, Mauro";Los Angeles ...
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John Michael Talbot
John Michael Talbot (born May 8, 1954) is an American Christian musician, author, television presenter and founder of a monastic community known as the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. Life and career Talbot was born into a Methodist family with a musical background in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and started learning to play the guitar at an early age. At age 15, he dropped out of school and was performing as a guitarist for Mason Proffit, a country folk-rock band formed with his older brother Terry. Talbot embarked on a spiritual journey that led him through Native American religion and Buddhism and finally to Christianity. At this point, he and his brother, Terry, joined the Jesus movement and recorded the album ''Reborn'', which was re-released by Sparrow Records (originally released as ''The Talbot Brothers'' on the Warner Brothers label). Two solo albums followed for Talbot: ''John Michael Talbot'' (1976) and ''The New Earth'' (1977). Both of these were recorded at Golden Vo ...
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Margaret Becker
Margaret Becker (born July 17, 1959) is an American Christian rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She has had twenty-one No. 1 Christian radio hits, won four Dove Awards, and been nominated for four Grammy Awards. Biography Becker was born in Bay Shore, New York, United States, raised in East Islip, New York, and began playing in coffeehouses while teaching music and taking opera lessons. Having graduated from James Madison University with a degree in communication, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1985, and signed to Sparrow Records as a songwriter; soon after she toured with Rick Cua as a backup singer and sang on Steve Camp's 1986 album '' One on One''. The next year she landed a contract as a solo artist, and released her debut album, ''Never for Nothing''. The single "Fight for God" was her first hit, and her second LP, ''The Reckoning'', followed with two more hits, "Light in the Darkness" and "Find Me". Becker began working with producer Charlie Peacock starting ...
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EMI Music
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, it was the fourth largest business group and record label conglomerate in the music industry, and was one of the "Big Four" record companies (now the " Big Three"). Its labels included EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records, and Capitol Records, which are now owned by other companies. EMI was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but faced financial problems and US$4 billion in debt, leading to its acquisition by Citigroup in February 2011. Citigroup's ownership was temporary, as EMI announced in November 2011 that it would sell its music arm to Vivendi's Universal Music Group for $1.9 billion and its publishing business to a Sony/ATV consortium for around $2.2  ...
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Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman (born November 21, 1962) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist. Chapman began his career in the late 1980s as a songwriter and performer of contemporary Christian music and has since been recognized as the most awarded artist in Christian music, releasing over 25 albums. He has also won five Grammy awards and 59 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, more than any other artist in history. His seven "Artist of the Year" Dove Awards are also an industry record. As of 2014, Chapman has sold more than 10 million albums and has 10 RIAA-certified Gold or Platinum albums. History Steven Curtis Chapman was born to Judy and Herb Chapman in Paducah, Kentucky, on November 21, 1962. Chapman's father is a guitar teacher in Paducah, and young Steven and older brother Herb Jr. grew up playing the guitar and singing. Upon finishing high school, Chapman enrolled as a pre-med student at Georgetown ...
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BeBe & CeCe Winans
BeBe & CeCe Winans are an American gospel music brother and sister duo. BeBe and CeCe Winans are the seventh and eighth of the Winans family's ten children, most of whom have had gospel music careers. Together, they have received several awards, including three Grammys. Music career While BeBe and CeCe were in high school, four of their elder brothers formed the successful gospel group The Winans. Initially known as The Winans Part II, BeBe and CeCe first appeared in the public eye when they debuted in 1982 as part of the singing group The PTL Singers on the Christian television show ''The PTL Club''. They were introduced by Jim Bakker, and recorded their first album ''Lord Lift Us Up'' as a duo for PTL Records. Self-titled debut BeBe and CeCe left the PTL Singers in 1987 to pursue a musical career and that same year, Sparrow Records offered the two siblings a Gospel recording contract. Their mainstream debut release was the self-titled album ''BeBe & CeCe Winans''. It was prod ...
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Gospel Music Hall Of Fame
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame, created in 1972 by the Gospel Music Association, is a Hall of Fame dedicated exclusively to recognizing meaningful contributions by individuals and groups in all forms of gospel music. Inductees This is an incomplete list of those inducted into the GMA's Gospel Music Hall of Fame, listed alphabetically with the year of induction. Many of these were honored posthumously for their contribution in gospel music. Individuals * Lee Roy Abernathy (1973) * Bentley D. Ackley (1991) * Yolanda Adams (2017) * Doris Akers (2001) * Charles M. Alexander (1991) * Bill "Hoss" Allen (2010) * Brown Bannister (2014) * Cliff Barrows (1988) * E.M. Bartlett, Sr. (1973) * Clarice Baxter (1981) * J. R. Baxter (1973) * Les Beasley (1989) * Samuel W. Beazley (1992) * George Bennard (1976) * John T. Benson, Jr. (1981) * John T. Benson, Sr. (1982) * John T. Benson III (2006) * Robert "Bob" Benson, Sr. (1991) * James Blackwood, Sr. (1974) * P. P. Bliss (1989) * Pat Boon ...
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