''White Horse'' is the title of the first solo album by

Michael Omartian Michael Omartian (born November 26, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, keyboardist, and music producer. He produced number-one records in three consecutive decades. He has earned 11 Grammy Awards nominations and won three. He sp ...

, released originally in 1974, on

Dunhill Records Dunhill Records was started in 1964 by Lou Adler, Jay Lasker, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts as Dunhill Productions to release the music of Johnny Rivers on Imperial Records. It became a record label the following year and was distributed b ...

and subsequently re-released on Myrrh Records as both a single album and as a compilation of ''White Horse'' and '' Adam Again''. (Both are now out-of-print.) Integrating elements of

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, gospel, and progressive rock (and utilizing the talents of some of the finest studio musicians and back-up singers of the time), ''White Horse'' is considered by some critics of contemporary

Christian rock music Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to w ...

, including Marty Phillips of Jesus Rock Legends (jrocklegends.wordpress.com), to be one of the most influential and revered albums of the genre. In his Allmusic review, Mark Allender wrote, "... this record cooks from beginning to end. Christian Contemporary Music has never been so hip. CCM in general has a reputation for being watered down and unemotional, but this record squeaked through without any dilution at all... this record is his masterpiece."

Track listing

All songs written by Michael & Stormie Omartian.

Side one

# "Jeremiah" – 4:37 # "Fat City" – 3:09 # "Orphan" – 2:01 # "Silver Fish" – 2:34 # "Add Up The Wonders" – 5:19

Side two

# "Take Me Down" – 3:39 # "Right From The Start" – 2:30 # "Rest Is Up To You" – 2:47 # "White Horse" – 7:06

Personnel

* Michael Omartian – vocals, keyboards, percussion, tom tom (6), steel drums (8) *

Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. He has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorde ...

– guitars, lead guitar (8), bass (8, 9) * Dean Parks – guitars, guitar solo (1),

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

(4), alto sax solo (9) *

David Hungate William David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his T ...

– bass (1, 4, 5) * Wilton Felder – bass (2, 6) * David Kemper – drums (1, 4, 5, 9) * Ed Greene – drums (2, 6, 8) * Alan Estes – drumbeg (1) * King Errisson –

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

s (6) * Jackie Kelso – tenor saxophone * Don Menza – tenor saxophone * Paul Hubinon – trumpet, French horn, trumpet solo (1) * The Sid Sharp Strings – strings (3, 7) *Jesse Ehrlich – cello (9) * Patricia Henderson – backing vocals * Stormie Omartian – backing vocals * Carolyn Willis – backing vocals * Ann White – backing vocals

Production

* Michael Omartian – producer, arrangements * Michael Lietz – recording (1, 5, 7), mixing (7) * Tommy Vicari – mixing (1–6, 8, 9), recording (2, 3, 6, 8) * John Guess – recording (4, 9) * The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California) – mastering location * David Jarvis – album cover artwork * James Fitzgerald – album cover concept, management * Harry Langdon – photography

References

{{Authority control 1974 debut albums Michael Omartian albums Albums produced by Michael Omartian