Gary Winther Chapman (born August 19, 1957) 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 ...

singer-songwriter and former television

talk show host Below is a list of talk show hosts, sorted alphabetically by their surnames. __NOTOC__ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z See also * List of game show hosts This is a list of ...

Early life and music career

Born in

Waurika, Oklahoma Waurika is the county seat of Jefferson County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,064 at the 2010 census, a 4.36 percent decrease from 2,158 at the 2000 census. An article from 1985 in ''The Oklahoman'' claimed that Waurika promoted ...

, Chapman grew up in De Leon, Texas, the son of an

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

pastor, the Rev. Terry W. Chapman, who ministered for 56 years before his death in 2009. Chapman performed in bands throughout high school and college. After going to Bible college at what is now

Southwestern Assemblies of God University Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) is a private Christian university in Waxahachie, Texas. SAGU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and officially endorsed by the Assemblies of Go ...

Waxahachie, Texas Waxahachie ( ) is the seat of government of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. Etymology Some sources state that the name means "cow" or "buffalo" in an unspecified Native American language. One possible ...

, he moved to

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 ...

, and was hired as guitar player for

The Rambos The Rambos were an American Southern gospel music group that was formed in the 1960s. They were one of the most successful Gospel trios of the 20th century. The group consisted of Buck and Dottie Rambo at first along with several various people ...

. In 1979, his song "Father's Eyes" was recorded as the title track to

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 Christia ...

's Grammy-nominated second album '' My Father's Eyes''. In 1982, his song "Finally", recorded by

T. G. Sheppard William Neal Browder (born July 20, 1944) is an American country music singer-songwriter, known professionally as T. G. Sheppard. He had 14 number-one hits on the US country charts between 1974 and 1986, including eight consecutive number ones ...

, reached No. 1 on the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

charts. He also received a

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 ...

as Songwriter of the Year from 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 ...

in 1981. During the rest of the 1980s and the early 1990s, Chapman continued to write, record, and produce music, while touring as an opening act for various artists. He sang "Brave Hearts" in 1987 for the

Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...

film ''

Ernest Goes to Camp ''Ernest Goes to Camp'' is a 1987 American comedy film directed by John Cherry and starring Jim Varney. It is the second film to feature the character of Ernest P. Worrell and was shot at Montgomery Bell State Park. It was also the first "Ernes ...

''. He also collaborated with numerous artists in the singing of "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" in the 1994 film ''Maverick''. He was nominated for a

Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album was awarded from 1991 to 2011. From 1991 to 1993 it was awarded as Best Pop Gospel Album. According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award is reserved "For alb ...

in 1994 for ''The Light Inside''. The album also resulted in a Dove Award nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, and yielded a

chart No. 1 song, "Sweet Glow of Mercy." He won a second Dove Award in 1994 for co-producing the album ''Songs from the Loft'', featuring various artists. In April 1996, Chapman won Male Vocalist of the Year at the

GMA Dove Awards 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 ...

. His 1996 album, ''Shelter'', delivered another No. 1, "One of Two", with "Man After Your Own Heart" resulting in a Dove Award for Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year and featuring on the Dove Award-winning Special Event Album of the Year, ''

My Utmost for His Highest ''My Utmost for His Highest'' is a daily Christian devotional by Oswald Chambers (1874–1917) that compiles his preaching to students and soldiers. Chambers' widow self-published the book with Alden in Oxford circa 1924 (Lukabyo, "From a Ministr ...

''. ''Shelter'' also received a 1997 Grammy nomination for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. At the 1998 Dove Awards, his album ''Hymns From The Ryman'', featuring him and other artists, won Country Album of the Year.

Television career

In the middle of 1996,

The Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September ...

announced that Chapman would replace

Tom Wopat Thomas Steven Wopat (born September 9, 1951) is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Lucas K. "Luke" Duke on the long-running television action/comedy series ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. Since then, Wopat has worked regularly, ...

as host of their evening talk show, ''Prime Time Country''. The show ended after 1999. Chapman went on to produce ''Muzik Mafia'' on CMT as well as appearing numerous times on the network's ''Gone Country'' as a songwriting mentor. Chapman, along with John Rich and Big Kenny (the country duo Big and Rich) traveled to Vietnam to document the story of Niles Harris, a Vietnam veteran, in the production of ''The 8th of November: A True Story of Pain and Honor''. Chapman produced, wrote, directed, and scored the documentary.

Radio show host

Gary Chapman hosted the weekly syndicated program ''CCM Countdown'
Billboard

Personal life

Chapman married

on June 19, 1982. Grant filed for divorce from Chapman in March 1999, citing "irreconcilable differences", and the divorce was finalized in June 1999. Chapman married Jennifer Pittman in July 2000. Chapman and Pittman divorced in 2007. On December 22, 2008, Chapman married Cassie Piersol. The couple began a project called A Hymn a Week in 2010 to honor the musical heritage left to Chapman by his parents. Chapman has stated that both his parents, who were small-town pastors for their entire lives, had a strong influence in his life and they "implanted the hymns into isheart". Chapman's mother Mary died on December 26, 2002. His father Terry died on April 12, 2009, after a lengthy battle with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...

. During his last years, he lived with Chapman and Cassie, and Chapman played and sang old hymns at his father's bedside. Being asked to perform a hymn at a friend's funeral inspired him to begin compiling a brief history and personal connection to a different hymn each week, on a webpage that he titled A Hymn a Week. Chapman has three children with Grant. He and his third wife, Cassie Piersol Chapman, adopted an infant girl, Eva, in March 2014. He is a licensed helicopter pilot, and once surprised his friend and fellow Christian singer/songwriter

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 conte ...

(no relation) by landing in his yard. Chapman and his wife are involved in many charities and organizations, including the Nashville Rescue Mission, Agape Animal Rescue, the

T.J. Martell Foundation Tony Martell (June 23, 1926 – November 27, 2016) was an American music industry executive and philanthropist. He was the founder of the T.J. Martell Foundation, the music industry's largest foundation for leukemia, cancer and AIDS research. Care ...

, and the

Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqua ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Official MySpace Music site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Gary 1957 births Living people People from Waurika, Oklahoma People from De Leon, Texas Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee American country singer-songwriters American television talk show hosts Assemblies of God people Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma American performers of Christian music Singer-songwriters from Texas Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Southwestern Assemblies of God University alumni Country musicians from Texas Country musicians from Tennessee Country musicians from Oklahoma