Danny Hollis is a

Christian country music Christian country music (sometimes marketed as country gospel, gospel country, positive country or inspirational country) is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as (in terms of t ...

singer-songwriter who was a finalist for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 1980 as a member of the

Mercy River Boys The Mercy River Boys were an American Christian country music band who performed from 1979 to 1985. They were nominated for a Grammy Award for their first album, ''Breakout'' (Canaan Records, 1979). The album was also a finalist for the Gospel Mu ...

. He has toured across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for over fifty years, performing as a member of several bands, a studio guitarist, and as a solo artist. Danny Hollis is in the Texas Gospel Music Hall of Fame as a former member of the

Singing Christians The Singing Christians were a Southern gospel music band. They released five albums on the Canaan Records label and charted in the Southern gospel radio markets. Wayne Christian led the band, performing at concert venues and ’All night gospe ...

and the

. Danny Hollis began his musical journey as the guitarist and lead singer of the Journeymen Quartet in 1974. In 1977, he joined the

, recording one album on

Canaan Records Canaan Records is a Christian record label and is a subsidiary of Word Entertainment. History The label was started in 1965, by Marvin Norcross, for the label's Southern gospel quartets. Their biggest artist to date is the Happy Goodman Fa ...

. He also toured with

Wally Fowler John Wallace "Wally" Fowler (February 15, 1917 – June 3, 1994) was an American Southern gospel music singer, manager, and music promoter and businessman. He founded the Oak Ridge Quartet, a gospel act that eventually became the Oak Ridge B ...

, and Jimmie Davis playing electric guitar. In 1979, Danny Hollis and seven other musicians formed the

. They recorded an album, ”Breakout”

. The album crossed over from Southern Gospel to Country music, recording hits in multiple music genres. The album was a finalist for the prestigious NARAS’ Grammy award in 1980 for ’Best Gospel Performance Traditional.’ The album was also nominated for the

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...

’s

Dove award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

. The

disbanded in 1984. Danny, Emory Atkins and Ronny Ricks started a new Christian country band, Paradise. He recorded two albums on Englwood Records, ’God Bless The U.S.A.’ and ’Invade the Darkness.’ Danny continues to live in East Texas and performs country music. In 2015,

Wayne Christian Walter Wayne Christian (born September 26, 1950) is an American politician and financial planner from Center, Texas, who serves as a Republican member of the Texas Railroad Commission, having first won the position in the general election of Nov ...

, Emory Atkins, Danny Hollis, and the original eight members of the

were inducted into the Texas Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Discography

References

External links

* Photo Danny Hollis playing guitar at the Last Mercy River Boys Concert in Oklahoma City circa 1984 * https://web.500px.com/photo/298887685/danny-hollis-mercy-river-boys-1979-84-paradise-1985-91-by-emerson-lee/ * Photo Grammy Award * https://web.500px.com/photo/298901757/grammy-award-nomination-finalist-1979-mercy-river-boys-breakout-canaan-records-by-emerson-lee/ * Photo Dove Award * https://web.500px.com/photo/298901245/dove-award-nomination-finalist-1979-80-mercy-river-boys-breakout-canaan-records-by-emerson-lee/ * Photo Mercy River Boys - Breakout Album 1979 Cover A * https://web.500px.com/photo/298864099/mercy-river-boys-breakout-canaan-records-1979-by-emerson-lee/ * Photo 1979 Concert Handout * https://web.500px.com/photo/298866503/mercy-river-boys-publicity-photos-1979-80-u-s-tour-by-emerson-lee/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollis, Danny Christian country music Country singers American performers of Christian music Southern gospel performers Guitarists from Texas American male singer-songwriters Living people Singer-songwriters from Texas Music of Texas Year of birth missing (living people)