''Russ Taff'' is the self-titled third album by Christian singer/songwriter

Russ Taff Russell Taff (born November 11, 1953) is an American gospel singer and songwriter who grew up in Farmersville, California. He has sung a variety of musical styles throughout his career including: pop rock, traditional Southern gospel, contempora ...

, released in late 1987 on

Myrrh Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...

Word Records Word Records is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records, and is a part of Word Entertainment. It is distributed by Warner Records (the former Warner Bros. Records). History In 1 ...

. Taff covers two songs: "Down in the Lowlands" by

Charlie Peacock Charles William Ashworth (born August 10, 1956), known professionally as Charlie Peacock, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and author. His albums include ''Love Press Ex-Curio'', ''Arc of the Circle'' and ''No Man's L ...

and "I Still Believe" by the Call, plus a 40-second snippet of the American

negro In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...

spiritual "

Steal Away "Steal Away" ("Steal Away to Jesus") is an American Negro spiritual. The song is well known by variations of the chorus: Songs such as "Steal Away to Jesus", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Wade in the Water" and the " Gospel Train" are songs with ...

". Taff also records " Breathe Life into Me", which would later be a UK Top 30 hit and US R&B hitin 1988–1989 by British singer

Mica Paris Michelle Antoinette Wallen (born 27 April 1969), known professionally as Mica Paris (), is an English singer, presenter and actress. Paris was born in Islington in North London, but moved to Brockley, South London, when she was nine. She rel ...

. ''Russ Taff'' reached number two on 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 ...

'' Top Inspirational Albums chart. The album won a

GMA 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 ...

for Rock Album of the Year at the 20th GMA Dove Awards and earned Taff a

Grammy 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 pre ...

nomination for Best Gospel Performance, Male at the

31st Annual Grammy Awards The 31st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 22, 1989, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to George Michael for ''Faith'', and Song of the Year w ...

Track listing

Personnel

* Russ Taff – lead vocals, backing vocals (3, 8, 11) * Robbie Buchanan – synthesizers (1-6, 8-11), acoustic piano (2, 3, 5, 11),

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

(3, 11), PPG bass (5) * Greg Husted – Hammond B3 organ (1, 6) * Eric Persing – synthesizer programming (2) *

Alan Pasqua Alan Pasqua (born June 28, 1952) is an American rock and jazz pianist. He studied at Indiana University and the New England Conservatory of Music. His album ''Standards'' with drummer Peter Erskine was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2008. As a ...

– synthesizers (3, 4, 6) * James Hollihan – guitars (1, 3-6, 8-11),

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

solo (5), acoustic slide guitar (7), acoustic piano (8), guitar solo (9, 10, 11), acoustic guitar (11) *

Lynn Nichols Lynn Arthur Nichols is an American songwriter, producer,(January 24, 2009New 'Day' Dawns ''Billboard (magazine)'' (identifying Nichols as a producer with associations with Phil Keaggy and Switchfoot) and musician from New York who now resides in ...

– acoustic guitar (1) * Dave Perkins – acoustic guitar (1), guitars (1, 2, 6), guitar solo (1), backing vocals (2, 11), additional synthesizers (2) *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

– guitars (2-5, 9, 10) *

Neil Stubenhaus Neil Stubenhaus is an American bass guitarist. Career He started his musical training playing drums and switched to bass guitar at the age of 12. He studied at the Berklee College of Music where he graduated in 1975. After graduation, he was rec ...

– bass (1, 2, 6, 9) *

Mike Brignardello Giant is an American melodic rock band that was formed in 1987. The band originally consisted of founding members Dann Huff (lead vocals and guitar) and Alan Pasqua (keyboard), and had Dann's brother David Huff on drums and Mike Brignardello on ...

– bass (3, 11) *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

– bass (4, 10) * Jackie Street – bass (8) * Mel Watts – drums (1, 6, 8) * Scott Musick – drums (2, 9) *

Paul Leim Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

– drums (3, 4, 5, 10, 11) *

Lenny Castro Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * ''L ...

– percussion (1, 4, 5, 8, 11) * Koji Egawa – door percussion (4) *

Joe Porcaro Joseph Thomas Porcaro (April 29, 1930 – July 6, 2020) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Personal life The Porcaro family is, on the paternal side, originally from San Luca, an Aspromonte village in the province of Reggio Calabria. Joe ...

–

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

(5) *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...

–

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...

(6) * Mark Douthit – sax solo (3), soprano saxophone (4), saxophone (8, 9) * Clarice Devisschu – backing vocals (4) * Vince Ebo – backing vocals (4, 9) *

– backing vocals (4, 9) * Rebecca Sparks – backing vocals (4) *

Jack Joseph Puig Jack Joseph Puig is an American audio engineer, A&R executive, and record producer. He has worked with Tonic, Hole, Jellyfish, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Weezer, Fiona Apple, Roger Hodgson, Taxiride, Green Day, Counting Crows, No Doubt, Klaxo ...

– ethnic vocals (4) * Mark Williamson – backing vocals (6, 8, 10) * Annie Stocking – backing vocals (9) The 'Boys Choir' on This Love is Strong" * James Hollihan, Lynn Nichols, Greg Sparks, Russ Taff, Steve Taylor and Mark Williamson Chant on "(Living on the) Edge of Time" * James Hollihan, Lynn Nichols, Dave Perkins, Jack Joseph Puig and Russ Taff

Production

* Lynn Nichols – executive producer, cover design concept * Jack Joseph Puig – producer, recording, mixing * Steve Ford – assistant engineer * Koji Egawa – assistant engineer * Wade Jaynes – assistant engineer * Julie Last – assistant engineer * Bert Stevens – assistant engineer * Billy Whittington – assistant engineer * Steve Hazelton – technical assistance * Mike Wambsgans – technical assistance *

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charles ...

– mastering at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California) * Joan Tankersley – art direction, cover design concept, logo design * Patrick Pollei – logo design * Phillip Dixon – photography * Zack Glickman – management

Charts

Radio singles

Accolades

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 ...

References

{{Authority control 1987 albums Russ Taff albums Myrrh Records albums Word Records albums