David Meece (born May 26, 1952) is an American

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

ian who enjoyed success in the mid-1980s, and into the early 2010s, with more than thirty Top 10 hits including several No. 1 songs. In November 2012, Meece was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for his body of work by the Artists Music Guild.

Early life and education

Meece was raised in

Humble, Texas Humble ( ) is a city located in the Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing oilfield in Texas. Humble ...

, with an abusive and

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

father. Meece found solace in playing piano, and by his mid-teens he was touring in Europe and the US. Meece went on to study music at the

Peabody Conservatory of Music The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, The Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and ...

where he met his wife Debbie, who played

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

. While attending

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

's Peabody Institute, he experienced a

religious conversion Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

, and devoted his life to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. Meece became a

youth pastor Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry of faith groups or other religious organizations, usually from ages 12 to 30, whose mission is to involve and engage with young people who attend th ...

, and began writing songs reflecting his

Christian beliefs Christianity is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism, monotheistic religion based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, life and Teachings of Jesus, teachings of Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth. It is the Major religious groups, world's ...

, adding classical influences to pop melodies.

Music career

Meece came to the attention of the Christian music label

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 ...

, and in 1976 they released his debut album, ''David''. Meece would release ten albums between 1976 and 1993, becoming a major figure in the

Christian music industry The Christian music industry is one aspect of the broader music industry, with a focus on Christian music and subgenres such as gospel music, southern gospel, contemporary Christian music, contemporary worship music, and even traditional church mus ...

. Meece is perhaps best known for his song "We Are the Reason", which has been recorded by more than 200 other artists, and sung in several languages. His song "Seventy Times Seven" peaked at No. 77 on the Australian Charts. Meece worked with Canadian songwriter and producer

Gino Vannelli Gino Vannelli (born June 16, 1952) is a Canadian rock singer and songwriter who had several hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s. His best-known singles include "People Gotta Move" (1974), "I Just Wanna Stop" (1978), "Living Inside Myself" (1981) an ...

for his albums ''Chronology'' and ''Candle In the Rain''. Possibly due to his conservatory training, Meece uses pieces of classical piano works as intros or settings for many of his songs. For example, in the song "This Time" from the album ''Learning to Trust'', the opening section of the song (as well as the bridge and ending tag) is from

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

's " Revolutionary Etude" (Op. 10, No. 12) in

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...

. The introductory melody for "You Can Go", from the album ''7'', is taken from the Two-Part Invention No. 13 in A Minor (BWV 784) by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

. Because of the prevalent use of

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s, "You Can Go" is sometimes incorrectly connected to an advertisement in the early 1980s for

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

, which used the Bach Invention played by a synthesizer. Also, the song "Falling Down" from his album ''Count the Cost'' is based on a sonata by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

. Meece was requested to appear in

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

crusades, among other

outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

groups and television broadcasts. He was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame on June 14, 2008, and received the 2009 Visionary Award for the Inspirational Male Soloist category. In 2012, Meece co-wrote the piece "Hands of Hope", with fellow performers

David L. Cook David L. Cook (born November 11, 1968) is an American Christian country music singer, songwriter and comedian. Born to Donnell and June (née Mercer) Cook, David is the oldest of six children. He has written more than 2,500 songs and has won ...

and Bruce Carroll. The song was a current day remake of "We Are the World", which featured many famous voices from the music industry. The song was recorded by the Charlotte Civic Orchestra and featured the voices of:

Babbie Mason Babbie Yvett Robie Wade Mason (born February 1, 1955) is an American gospel singer, songwriter, writer, and adjunct professor of songwriting at Point University and Lee University, and also a television talk-show host. Born to Georgie and Geor ...

, Christy Sutherland, Cook, Caroline Keller,

Fantasia Barrino Fantasia Monique Barrino-Taylor (born June 30, 1984), known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series ''American Idol'' in ...

Gayla Earlene Gayla Earlene (born January 31, 1954, in Inola, Oklahoma), is a Christian country music recording artist and musician. Biography Earlene began her professional career at the age of 16 as a singer/songwriter. In 1971, she met and married fellow ...

, Joshua Cobb, Paul Zeaman, and many of the former

PTL Club ''The PTL Club'', also known as ''The Jim and Tammy Show'', was a Christian television program that was first hosted by evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, running from 1974 to 1989. The program was later known as ''PTL Today'' and as ''Heri ...

singers from

Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

and

Tammy Faye Bakker Tamara Faye Messner (née LaValley, formerly Bakker ; March 7, 1942 – July 20, 2007) was an American evangelist, singer, author, talk show host, and television personality. She gained notice for her work with ''The PTL Club'', a televangelist ...

's show. The song was used as the theme song for Turning Point Centers for Domestic Violence. "Hands of Hope" reached No. 1 on the charts and remained there for two weeks. In May 2012, the

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...

announced the song garnered Meece, Cook and Carroll an

Emmy nomination The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Best Arrangement/Composer of a Television Theme Song.

Discography

* ''

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

'' (1976) * ''

I Just Call on You I Just Call On You was David Meece's second album. It is currently out-of-print. Track listing All songs written by David Meece, except where noted. ;Side 1 #"It's Gonna Be So Lovely" (Meece, Chris Christian) - 2:46 #"I Just Call On You" - ...

'' (1977) * '' Everybody Needs a Little Help'' (1978) * ''Are You Ready?'' (1980) * '' Front Row'' (1982) * '' Count the Cost'' (1983) * '' 7'' (1985) * ''Chronology'' (1986) * ''Candle In The Rain'' (1987) * ''Learning To Trust'' (1989) * '' Once in a Lifetime'' (1993) * ''Odyssey'' (1995) * ''Send Down The Rain'' (1995) – unreleased * '' There I Go Again'' (2002) * ''David Meece: The Definitive Collection'' (2007) * ''Hands of Hope'' (2012) * ''The Ultimate Collection'' (2014)

References

External links

*
TheBeginningsConcert.com
- Reunion Concert Event. {{DEFAULTSORT:Meece, David 1952 births Living people American performers of Christian music Myrrh Records artists People from Humble, Texas People from Houston People from Franklin, Tennessee Peabody Institute alumni Performers of contemporary Christian music