#264 - SINCERELY YOURS by Gary Chapman (1981)

SINCERELY YOURS by Gary Chapman (1981)
Lamb & Lion Records - LL 1053

Producers:

Joe Hardy, Eddie DeGarmo & Dana Key

File Under: CCM/Pop

Time Capsule-Worthy Track:

Sincerely Yours

Gary Chapman is a talented singer-songwriter and former television host with a wicked sense of humor (if you’ll pardon the expression). He’s won Dove awards and written hit songs for everyone from T.G. Shepard to, um, Amy Grant. Of course, he famously married the latter, served as her bandleader for a number of years, made three kids with her, and suffered a very public breakup and divorce. But this ain’t about that.

Long before his role as the male half of the First Couple of CCM, Gary Chapman grew up in the Assemblies of God denomination in Texas where his father was a pastor. 

Gary learned to play guitar as a preteen and after attending an A/G Bible college in Waxahachie, he got a job playing guitar for a couple of storied Southern Gospel groups - the Downings and the Rambos. He no doubt learned a thing or two about songwriting from the legendary Dottie Rambo. By the late 70s, Chapman was earning a living as a songwriter in what had become the unofficial capital of contemporary Christian music - Nashville, Tennessee. He wrote songs that were recorded not just by southern Gospel royalty like the Blackwood Brothers and Rusty Goodman, but also emerging contemporary artists like Jamie Owens-Collins and the aforementioned Miss Grant. 

The first song Chapman penned for Grant turned out to be a classic. She had been sort of hand-picked and groomed by Chris Christian and Brown Bannister to be CCM’s earnest girl-next-door and everything was going according to plan. Her debut album was well-received. But it was her sophomore release that saw her popularity really take off...and that was due, at least in part, to the album’s title song, My Father’s Eyes, which became a big hit and earned young Gary Chapman a Songwriter of the Year Dove award. All of that also earned Chapman more time spent around Grant; he served as the opening act on her 1980 tour...which led to a romance...that led to marriage. But before that wedding, Gary Chapman was given the opportunity to record a solo album of his own. It would be titled Sincerely Yours.

Eddie DeGarmo and Dana Key

Eddie DeGarmo and Dana Key officially arrived on the Christian rock scene in the late 70s, recording two critically-acclaimed albums that set a new standard for Christian rock music. Although the DeGarmo & Key Band was still in its infancy, Eddie, Dana, and producer Joe Hardy were already tossing around the idea of creating a production company that would exist to help other emerging artists. “We liked the idea of bringing a creative and sonic lift for artists in our budding genre,” Eddie DeGarmo wrote in his 2018 autobiography, Rebel For God: Faith, Business and Rock ‘n’ Roll. “Ardent was a world-class studio and we believed that with our combined skills and talents, we could raise the bar for Christian music.” Never lacking in confidence, DeGarmo said that he, Dana and Joe believed they could help CCM compete sonically and artistically with the best in secular music. “We came up with the name Mint Productions,” DeGarmo recalled. “In our insider cool slang, if something was ‘mint’ it was top-notch and of the highest quality.”

Mike Blanton and Dan Harrell

So DeGarmo called Mike Blanton, then the head of A&R at Myrrh Records, to hopefully strike up a deal for Mint Productions to work with one or more of Myrrh’s up-and-coming artists. That led to Eddie being invited to an Amy Grant concert where he would hobnob backstage with Blanton, Grant, Dan Harrell (Grant’s manager), and a young man named Gary Chapman. DeGarmo has vivid memories of the concert that night. He describes Amy’s sound as sweet and gentle, noting that Chapman’s guitar was her only accompaniment that night. 

Amy Grant

“They were very good as an act,” Eddie remembers, “playing off of each other and adding a nice blend of humor, charm and poignancy to her songs. Also, the auditorium was packed. It was a different crowd than we would see at a typical DeGarmo & Key show.”

You might remember that Amy Grant wound up singing a duet with Dana Key on D&K’s third album, This Ain’t Hollywood. The DeGarmo and Key Band would eventually end up serving as Amy Grant’s touring band for a bit and backed her on two live albums. But before that happened, Mike Blanton resigned from his post with Myrrh and formed a management company with Dan Harrell. Blanton contacted DeGarmo one day with a question. “He let me know that Gary Chapman was going to record a solo album and asked if Mint Productions would be interested in taking a meeting about the possibility of producing it,” DeGarmo recalls. “We met with Gary shortly after and we had a great connection. He was a really charismatic and rambunctious guy. He was also very talented.”

Dana Key, Eddie DeGarmo

Gary Chapman soon found his way to Memphis so that Eddie DeGarmo and Dana Key could guide him through the recording of his debut album. According to DeGarmo’s book, Sincerely Yours took about two months to record. “Gary is a wonderful songwriter,” said DeGarmo, “so it was easy to produce a great project for him.” 

DeGarmo & Key, especially from their inception up through 1982, was a full-on rock and roll band. Sincerely Yours is not a rock album. It’s CCM pop up one side and down the other. Blogger David Lowman says the album “is filled with great Christopher Cross type light pop” and “made for CCM radio” pop tunes. However, Eddie’s and Dana’s influence is definitely felt in a subtle way throughout the album. In fact, some of the same musicians and singers from DeGarmo & Key’s This Ain’t Hollywood release were featured on Sincerely Yours as well. 

The album’s opener, No Time At All, is a bouncy light rock tune that, at first, sounds like stereotypical CCM fare from the time period. But then the melody and chords take off in surprising directions, with Dana Key turning in a great electric guitar solo as the song fades.

I Wanna Be Loved By You, written by Chapman and a young Keith Thomas, is a pop track obviously aimed at radio. It has a smooth jazz vibe and some nice sax work by Andrew Love.

Chapman’s songwriting talent was on full display on Love Is A Name. Consider these lines…

Every song I seem to hear lately is talkin’ ‘bout makin’ love

When there’s already plenty of love to go around

People got it all in reverse, everybody is takin’ love

When in truth, love has got to be given before it is found

The acoustic guitar-based song features some really pleasing chords and a very tasteful performance by bassist Joe Hardy.

Open Up My Eyes is basically a prayer...today, it would be considered a worship song, perhaps. More great bass lines from Mr. Hardy as well as Eddie DeGarmo stretching out a little bit on the organ.

Side One wraps with the title track, the undisputed highlight of the record for me. Similar to All I Ever Have To Be, Sincerely Yours is a thought-provoking ballad that further established Chapman as a very talented writer.

Lord, I take my pen to write to You a letter
Knowing even now You know what's on my mind
But I think perhaps it might make me feel better
If I see myself here written in a line

As I close I see a phrase I took for granted
And it leaps out as I see it written there
As the truth of it begins to become planted
These two words have now become my heartfelt prayer 

Sincerely Yours
Lord, I sign my life to You
Sincerely Yours
With a strong and honest wish
To be the best that I can be at what I am
Without a thought for me
Lord, teach me now to be...
Sincerely Yours
Without a proud or selfish line
Sincerely Yours
From now until there is no time
Please make my life become a letter you can keep
And never throw away
I'll write it 'till the day
That I become

Sincerely Yours

Musically understated, this song is just acoustic guitar...strings...and a heartfelt vocal from Gary Chapman. 

In addition to Ardent Studios, portions of Sincerely Yours were recorded at the famous Great Circle Sound in Nashville, where so many Benson/Impact/Greentree albums were made. Private Eye Studio and Bill Brunt were responsible for the album cover; the pictures were taken by Mike Borum.

Amy Grant herself shows up on the up-tempo Anywhere. This song just seems hurried and is a little irritating. I read where one reviewer thought it was one of the strongest tracks on the record. Maybe it’s just me. The only thing I like is Dana Key’s Michael McDonald-esque supporting vocal lines on the chorus. I think a tender ballad would’ve been a more effective vehicle as a duet between Gary and Amy. Anywhere just doesn't do it for me.

I'd Really Like To Tell You is a clever love song (perhaps describing Chapman’s then-budding romance with you-know-who). Again, Gary’s skill and talent as a songwriter is evident here…

I thought I’d try to tell how much I love you in a song

But I found out very soon that that would make it last too long

I started it last evening when the sun was going down

I’d barely just begun it when the sun came back around

I’d really like to tell you

I’d really like to show how much

I’d really care to share the love with you

I’d really like to tell you

I’d really like to show you

But I’m afraid I might not ever quite get through

Next up was a fast-paced rocker called Feelin’ Right. This song seems to have been written in response to those who like to downplay feelings and emotions where our walk with the Lord is concerned (John MacArthur, I’m lookin’ at you). Well, I grew up in the same Pentecostal denomination as Gary Chapman. And I’m glad that I can feel the presence of the Lord. I identify strongly with the message of this song…

There seems to be a notion

If you’re showin’ some emotion

You had better stop and check yourself out

They stop and try to tell us

That we’re being over-zealous

When we start to praise the Lord and shout

Well, they say it’s not prestigious

To be overly religious

But in love I must say I disagree

‘Cause this whole religious thing

Was put together by a King

And now He’s living deep inside of me

They can get depressed if they want but I’m feelin’ right

They can negative confess if they want but I’m feelin’ right

Well, I know we can’t live by feelings

So please don’t get me wrong

But ain’t it kinda nice

When the good feelings come along

Well said, Mr. Chapman.

One Hope was a ballad that presented the Gospel in clear terms, wrapping up this solid debut effort from Gary Chapman. 

Of course, Amy and Gary would soon marry and Gary would write or co-write a ton of popular songs that she recorded. Eventually problems surfaced and they would split. I won’t dwell on that except to quote Gary from a magazine interview in CCM:

"Irreconcilable differences is such a lame and hollow phrase. That's what you say when you're afraid to say anything. It's the legalese that allows you to walk away. From my vantage point, we had one irreconcilable difference: I wanted her to stay, and she wanted to leave. Everything else, God could have reconciled."

I believe him. As a husband and father who has experienced rejection and betrayal...I believe him. I’ll just let it go at that.

In addition to experiencing success as a comedic television host on CMT, Gary Chapman has also given us a lengthy catalog of meaningful and memorable songs down through the years, including Sweet Glow of Mercy, Finally, Look What Has Happened To Me, I Prefer the Moonlight, Treasure, Everyday Man, and many more.

Gary Chapman and wife Cassie

In recent years, Chapman has become somewhat known for his A Hymn a Week social media posts, where he grabs an acoustic guitar and sings classic, beloved hymns as a tribute to his parents and his upbringing.

Finally, a “fun fact” is that Gary Chapman is reportedly a private pilot with a fondness for helicopters. His trademark humor came through in a quote shared in Mark Allan Powell’s Encyclopedia of CCM when he said, “A helicopter occupies both feet, both hands, and a big part of your brain. It’s basically a peddle steel guitar that can kill you.”