"Call My Name" is a song recorded by the

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

band

Third Day Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee (both of whom were the only constant members) and Billy Wilkins. Drummer David Carr was the ...

. Written by

Mac Powell Mac Powell (born Johnny Mac Powell; December 25, 1972), originally from Clanton, Alabama, is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and musician who formed the Christian rock band Third Day with guitarist Mark Lee, with both of them being ...

and produced by Third Day, it was released as the lead single from the band's 2008 album '' Revelation'' through Essential Records. "Call My Name" has been considered a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

and " AC-friendly" song with a basic drum track and a "solid" melody. Lyrically, it has been alternately described as being set from the perspective of God or being a cry out to God. "Call My Name" received positive reception from critics, some of whom praised the arrangement of the song. Third Day has performed the song live and it has been covered by Australian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer Keith Urban. The song was a hit on Christian radio, peaking atop the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...

and Hot Christian AC charts and the ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' Christian AC Monitored, Christian AC Indicator and Christian CHR charts. ''Billboard'' magazine ranked it second on the 2008 year-end Hot Christian Songs chart and third on the 2008 year-end Hot Christian AC chart and at twenty-seventh on the decade-end Hot Christian Songs chart and at thirty-sixth on the decade-end Hot Christian AC chart.

Background

"Call My Name" was one of the first songs that Third Day worked on in their writing session for '' Revelation'' in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. The lyrics to the song were written by Mac Powell, while the music was composed by Third Day. It was

produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and programmed by Howard Benson and recorded by Mike Plontikoff at Bay 7 Studios in

Valley Village, Los Angeles Valley Village is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, located within the San Fernando Valley. History Founding According to Elke Garman, co-president of the Valley Village Homeowners Association in 1991, the history of Valley Village wen ...

and at Sparky Dark Studio in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (from Spanish language, Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains, Santa Susanna mounta ...

. Pre-production was handled at Haunted Hollow Studio in Charlottesville, Virginia by Rob Evans and Steve Miller, at Tree Sound Studios in Norcross, Georgia by Don McCollister, and at Sonica Recording in Atlanta, Georgia by Jon Briglevich. The song was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge at Resonate Music in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

and mastered by

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine. Digital editing was conducted by Paul DeCarli, while

audio engineering Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound * Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...

was handled by Ashburn Miller and Hatsukazu Inagaki.

Composition

"Call My Name" is a song that lasts for four minutes and two seconds. It was composed using common time in the key of

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

, with "driving rock" tempo of 78 beats per minute. Mac Powell's vocal range spans from the low note of B₃ to the high note of F₅. The lyrics to the song have been described as being from the perspective of God, although the members of Third Day have described them differently; David Carr, the drummer for Third Day, described the lyrics as "crying out to God and calling out his name", while Mac Powell described them as "kind of a prayer. It's about when people are going through hard times and going through struggles that we've gotta call out to someone, and for us as people of faith it's calling out to God and hearing his voice... and for someone else it could be a friend or a family member that you've gotta reach out to kind of help share those burdens you go through". Carr also described the drum part on "Call My Name" as "basic", and the song itself has been described as "

", " AC-friendly", and "

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

Critical reception

Critical reception to "Call My Name" was positive, with some critics praising the arrangement and vocals. Deborah Evans Price of ''

'' magazine called the single a "well-crafted number", while Matt Conner of ''

CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. History ''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has bee ...

'' praised the song as "brilliantly crafted". Russ Breimeier of ''

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...

'' regarded the song as a "big AC-friendly single" and praised it as having "smart hooks, a strong melody, and some of Powell's most impressive vocal work to date during the closing vamp, belting out notes I didn't know he was capable of". John DiBiase of Jesus Freak Hideout called the song "an unashamedly catchy

anthem that surprisingly has a similar lyrical message to Cry Out to Jesus' just presented from Christ's own perspective this time around".

Commercial performance

On the ''

chart, "Call My Name" debuted at No. 15 for the chart week of April 26, 2008. It advanced to No. 8 in its fourth charting week and to No. 3 in its sixth charting week. In its eighth chart week, "Call My Name" advanced to the top spot, holding the No. 1 spot for a total of thirteen consecutive weeks. The song dropped to No. 3 in its twenty-first chart week, supplanted from the top spot by

Brandon Heath Brandon Heath Knell (born July 21, 1978) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer, and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released six studio albums: ''Don't Get Comfortable'' (2006), ''What If We'' (2008), ''Leaving Ede ...

's "

Give Me Your Eyes "Give Me Your Eyes" is a song by contemporary Christian musician Brandon Heath from his second album, ''What If We''. It was released in July 2008 as the album's lead single and quickly gained success. It sold nearly 6,000 downloads in the first ...

". After spending twenty-nine weeks on the chart, "Call My Name" dropped out. Note: User must manually input the correct search information to obtain the sourced information. Type in "Third Day" in the "Artist" category, "Call My Name" in the "Single Title" category, and select "Hot Christian Songs" in the "Single Chart Name" category. Then, select "All weeks" in the "Date" category and press "Submit" On the ''Billboard'' Hot Christian AC chart, "Call My Name" spent eleven weeks at No. 1. The following sources show confirmation of the weeks atop for "Call My Name". The first source indicates the first ten weeks, and the second source indicates the eleventh week: * * It also topped the ''

'' Christian AC Monitored and Christian AC Indicator charts for eleven weeks each, and the ''Radio & Records'' Christian CHR chart for six weeks. ''Billboard'' magazine ranked "Call My Name" second on their 2008 year-end Hot Christian Songs chart and third on their 2008 year-end Hot Christian AC chart. ''Radio & Records'' ranked it third on their 2008 year-end Christian AC Songs chart and fifth on their 2008 year-end Christian CHR songs chart. ''Billboard'' magazine also ranked "Call My Name" twenty-seventh on their decade-end Hot Christian Songs chart and thirty-sixth on their decade-end Hot Christian AC chart.

Other uses

"Call My Name" has been featured on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s ''

WOW Hits 2009 ''WOW Hits 2009'' is a two-disc compilation album composed of some of the biggest hits on Christian radio during the previous year. Disc one features more of the adult contemporary hits, while disc two features the CHR–pop and rock hits. The ...

'' and '' Now That's What I Call Faith'', as well as on Third Day's live CD/DVD '' Live Revelations''. Australian

singer Keith Urban covered the song, including it as a bonus track on his 2009 album '' Defying Gravity''.

Live performances

Prior to the release of ''Revelation'', Third Day performed "Call My Name" at several of their concerts on the Third Day LIVE Tour; in particular, the band performed the song on April 3, 2008 at the

Mid-Hudson Civic Center Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center (formerly the Mid-Hudson Civic Center) is a venue located in Poughkeepsie, New York, consisting of Mair Hall (a concert and convention hall) and the McCann Ice Arena (an ice skating venue). It was built in th ...

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, where they were joined on stage by Scotty Wilbanks. At the benefit concert Nashville4Africa, held on April 4, 2009 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, the band performed the song with fellow Christian rock artists Jars of Clay. On the 2010

Winter Jam Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, also referred to as simply Winter Jam (and formerly known as January Jam from 1995–2000), is an annual American music tour featuring contemporary Christian music artists of all genres, stunt and/or comedy Comedy ...

tour, Third Day performed "Call My Name" as part of their set list on January 28 and 30.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album liner notes

Charts

References

External links

Third Day's Official website"Call My Name" lyrics on Third Day's Official website
{{authority control 2008 singles American pop rock songs Third Day songs Songs written by Mac Powell 2008 songs Essential Records (Christian) singles Song recordings produced by Howard Benson