#283 ONE BY ONE by Tom Howard & Bill Batstone (1985)

ONE BY ONE by Tom Howard & Bill Batstone (1985)
A&S Records - SPCN 7-100-92182-1

Producers:

Bill Batstone, Tom Howard


File Under: Soft Rock

Time Capsule-Worthy Track:

Think On These Things

These two gentlemen never really got their due. The talent was first-rate, and they were considered Jesus Music pioneers of sorts. But they never seemed to receive the same recognition that some of their peers enjoyed. And I get the feeling that they were fine with that. It seemed that their personalities were such that they didn't seek the limelight but were happy to simply be used by God however He saw fit. 

A young Tom Howard

Tom Howard grew up in Minnesota. He learned to play piano beginning at age seven from a woman who gave very formal, traditional instruction. By the time the high school years rolled around, Tom immersed himself in jazz. Minneapolis-St.Paul was seen as an artistic city with a fledgling jazz scene, and Tom was happy to become part of it. He also developed a fondness for classical music and actually earned a degree in music theory and composition from the University of Minnesota. 

"I have memories of putting a footstool in the middle of our living room as a little kid and conducting some orchestra thing on the radio," Tom said in an interview with Crossrhythms, "and pretending I was the conductor. So I've always had an affinity for classical music. I got a degree in music theory and composition so I guess I fleshed it out when I was in college."

After a stint as a youth leader at his family’s church (Calvary Baptist Church in Roseville, Minnesota), Tom struck out for California where he began to pester a guy named Larry Norman by sending him demos in the mail. 

Tom Howard in the Solid Rock days

"I was living up in Santa Cruz, which is up in the Bay area; Larry of course was in Los Angeles," Howard remembered. "Finally I just got this bee in my bonnet and I got in my car and drove to Los Angeles and I called Solid Rock (though it was called Street Level at that point). I got Larry on the phone and said, 'I've driven to Los Angeles and I would like to take you out to lunch.' It was 1975 and I was just dumb enough to be dangerous and not know that you just don't do that! But we sat down and had lunch and I was thinking that I would have 45 minutes in which to tell him what I'm about. Five or six hours later we'd just talked about everything. We went up to his office, right there in Hollywood Boulevard, and I played him a few songs and he said, 'I want to do a record with you.' I think it was very much a God's timing kind of thing."

Tom Howard was signed to Solid Rock Records and the result was a classic LP called View From the Bridge in 1977. The pensive, soft-spoken, kind-hearted Howard provided a contrast to some of his label mates. When Solid Rock came apart at the seams, Tom landed on his feet and released Danger in Loving You in 1981 on the NewPax label with help from Randy Stonehill and his buddies in Daniel Amos.  

---------------

A young Billy Batstone

In an online bio, Billy Batstone reveals that he became a Christian at an early age. "I grew up in a Christian family and knew the reality of Christ," Batstone said. "My Dad and Mom loved God and were committed Christians and so were almost all of the members of my extended family. I prayed to accept Jesus when I was 8 years old at Vacation Bible School, but I didn't consider really following Him until I was a senior in high school. I didn't get in any trouble as a kid but I was sort of passively rebellious toward God, trying to find my identity in the music and the culture of the late '60s. My life was kind of a quiet mess. I realized I couldn't live any other way than devoting my whole life to God."

Batstone says he now believes that his interest in music was definitely a gift that God brought into his life. "That gift blossomed as I surrendered my life to the Lord," Batstone says. "I wrote my first song in 1970, and it was pretty terrible! There were no songs at that time that expressed what I wanted to say about my new found faith so I wrote my own, or sometimes stole some other songs and changed the lyrics!"

In 1970, Billy Batstone started a very early Jesus Music band called Rebirth with David Diggs and percussionist Alex MacDougall. Although not directly affiliated with Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel, Rebirth did play a lot in Costa Mesa, California and the surrounding area. The group enjoyed a reputation for musical excellence and was comprised of several musicians who would later play in better-known bands. When Rebirth ended, Batstone went on to form a group called Good News with several other accomplished players, including Diggs, Erick Nelson, a then-unknown Keith Green and a young Bob Carlisle (who would later become the lead singer of Allies and, of course, is best known for his hit song Butterfly Kisses). Like Rebirth, Good News was a band burgeoning with talent and featured members who went on to make a greater mark in other groups or in solo careers. Cornerstone magazine said that the debut album from Good News was "one of the best products to come out of Maranatha! Music...a sophisticated blend of acoustic and harder rock elements, producing an excellent overall sound." 

Bottom photo: The Richie Furay Band
L-R: Charles Crews, John Mehler, Bill Batstone, Richie Furay

Billy Batstone then spent five years touring and recording with the critically acclaimed Richie Furay Band, playing bass on Furay's Dance A Little Light release and writing three songs on Furay's I Still Have Dreams album (including the title track). Solid Rock Records also turned out to be a hangout of sorts for Batstone; he was the bass player on many recordings and tours for Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill, and Mark Heard. This is undoubtedly where he met Tom Howard.

Fun photo of a "Solid Rock Slumber Party."
Bill Batstone is in the center with glasses; Tom Howard's on the far right. next to Larry Norman.

---------------

In 1985 Tom Howard and Billy Batstone collaborated on an album for A&S Records that some reviewers have retroactively classified as a worship album (a genre that didn't really exist yet). One By One had a breezy, soft rock, California feel as Howard and Batstone co-wrote the songs and took turns providing lead vocals. CCM magazine called it "a decidedly melodic album" and proclaimed it to be "one of the year's real sleepers." The melodies and arrangements were easy on the ears. Reviewer Mike Rimmer noticed the fact that One by One fits nicely between the early Jesus Music output of Maranatha! Music and the modern worship movement that was waiting just around the bend. And, because Batstone and Howard were very measured and intelligent in their songwriting, these were songs about faith that you would not be embarrassed for your non-Christian friends to hear. 

Batstone & Howard

Appropriately, the album begins with Howard's keyboard and Batstone's bass trading lines. The polyphonic synthesizer voicings on When the Curtain Falls set the album's opening song squarely in the 80s. It has an airy feel. Batstone shows off a bit on bass and sings the lead vocal on this somewhat ominous track that previews the end times.

We'll be watching through the burning skies
Oh, when the curtain falls
Truth will wash away the world's disguise
Oh, when the curtain falls

All the wisdom of a dying age
Will be exposed that final night
When the light of Heaven floods the stage

Leaving no place to hide

We'll be listening for the trumpet sound
Oh, when the curtain falls
Standing together on the higher ground
Oh, when the curtain falls

The tears and laughter start to fade away
The actors take their final bow
The world is silent, and the Savior's face
As they behold Him now

They say life passes like a story told
Oh, when the curtain falls
Take the new life and throw off the old
Oh, when the curtain falls

By the way, When the Curtain Falls was covered by Darrell Mansfield on his Get Ready album, backed by members of the superb jazz band Koinonia.

Tom Howard wrote the moody Storm Moving On and sings lead. Howard's Daniel Amos buddies Jerry Chamberlain and Alex MacDougall supply guitar and percussion, respectively. This one features some chords and a melody that is at times reminiscent of Howard's work on View From The Bridge. Pretty sure it was the only CCM song in 1985 to include the words cheap champagne in the lyrics.  

The next two songs featured a slightly-50s rock and roll feel. On Night and Day, we're back to Batstone on lead vocal (he wrote this one). The two men's singing voices sound remarkably similar, which is probably one reason they worked so well together, from a musical standpoint. Night and Day is a song that could be interpreted as a plea for the Lord to remain close during troubled times...  

It was early when a knock came at my door
And I've heard that sound many times before
I felt so lonely til You came around
You led my trembling hand to the solid ground

Night and day
Stay near when the teardrops hide Your face
Night and day
Night and day
Hold on
Don't let trouble carry me away
Night and day
Night and day

Highway burning in the afternoon
Blacktop shining and I think about You
Black crows circling in the wind
Won't you tell me that You love me again and again

Tom Howard's Think On These Things is a hilarious piece of satire that contains enough pointed truth to make the listener just a little bit uncomfortable. It's definitely a highlight, and probably the record's most memorable song.

Whatsoever is cute
Whatsoever is elating
Whatsoever favors you with higher media ratings
Think on these things
Think on these things

Whatsoever makes news
Whatsoever's attractive
Whatsoever gizmo will keep the people active
Think on these things
Think on these things

The world's been drinking from a dirty glass
While we're sweatin' in a Christian aerobics class
Life is a fad that soon will pass
What's wrong with this picture
Think on these things

Whatsoever is bold
Whatsoever's exciting
Whatsoever differences keep the various factions fighting
Think on these things
Whatsoever's in vogue
Whatsoever is reigning
Whatsoever is easy to grasp
And appeals to the mass
And is slick and entertaining
Think on these things
Think on these things

Howard's 80s-era polyphonic synthesizer chords are used to maximum effect here and his Frankie Valli impersonation is dead on.

Mark Heard playing with Bill Batstone (back turned)

By the way, One by One was engineered and mixed by the late, great Mark Heard. It was recorded and mixed at Heard's Fingerprint Recorders studio. Howard and Batstone arranged all the songs.

The album featured performances by drummer David Raven and percussionist Harry Stinson. Howard played all keyboards (as you would expect), while Batstone played guitar, bass and programmed some drum sounds. 

The album had a clean, attractive cover; that was the work of art director Tim Alderson and photographer Stewart Ivester. 

On Side Two of One by One, Batstone's earnest He Took the Form of a Man uses an acoustic framework to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus. It's not a Christmas song, per se, but it could be...and a very effective one at that.

And Jesus, lowly born
Brought riches to the earth
The Lord of Heav'n came down
Risking human birth

God's thoughts and ways are not our own
And I can't understand
Why He wrappped His love in flesh and blood
And took the form of man

The One who dwells in perfect light
Chose to call us His friends
The selfless One, in love, came down
And took the form of man

Batstone's melodic bass lines really add to this track.

Tom Howard's ballad Show Me the Shepherd was another highlight of Side Two. Musically, the melody offers traces here and there of melody lines from View From the Bridge and Danger in Loving You. Lyrically, it's simply a beautiful, poignant realization of how much we need the Lord's guidance in every aspect of our lives. 

Show me the Shepherd
I hear His calling
This mountain's steep and rough
And I'm afraid of falling
I need to know He'll be
Keeping watch and guiding me
Show me
Show me the Shepherd

Show me the Shepherd
There' so much danger
I want to know Him well
No longer be a stranger
I'm making it my choice
To learn His call and know His voice
Show me
Show me the Shepherd

Show me the Shepherd
I want to serve Him
I've played the rebel's part
I know I don't deserve Him
But I've begun to see
How He can live His life in me
And serving Him is liberty
Show me 
Show me the Shepherd

Bill Batstone today

Howard and Batstone also made a huge impact by creating and collaborating on the Psalms Alive series for Maranatha! Music. That series of Scripture-based worship songs and choruses gave the body of Christ some "new songs" to sing as the modern worship renewal was beginning to take hold. Billy Batstone recorded a handful of solo projects over the years, but he made his greatest impact as a worship leader and worship musician, playing at churches, rallies and conferences all over the U.S. and the world. He's been a member of The Maranatha! Praise Band, the Tommy Coomes Band, and the Harvest Worship Band at Harvest Christian Fellowship. As a result, Batstone has worked with Promise Keepers, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Greg Laurie's Harvest Crusades, and more. Unless your church sticks strictly to hymns written in the 19th and 20th centuries, chances are you've worshiped on Sunday with a Billy Batstone song at least once. 

Tom Howard

Tom Howard became a sought-after arranger and conductor for others, working with a seemingly endless list of artists. But he is perhaps most remembered for a series of contemplative instrumental projects, displaying a depth of beauty...albums that offered complexity and tranquility at the same time...projects that helped us meditate on Scripture and experience peace.

Tom Howard, pictured shortly before his Homegoing

Sadly, Tom Howard passed from this life while still a relatively young man in the year 2010. He is lovingly remembered by all who knew him - as a tremendously gifted musician, yes, but also as a friend...a warm, gentle, funny, loving brother in Christ. He is greatly missed.

#284 REVIVAL IN THE LAND by Carman (1989)

REVIVAL IN THE LAND by Carman (1989)
Benson Records - RO2588

Producers:

Keith Thomas, Phil Naish, Brian Tankersley


File Under: CCM

Time Capsule-Worthy Track:

A Witch's Invitation

By 1989, every new Carman album was like an over-the-top, one-man variety show. And a sizable slice of Christian music consumers absolutely loved them. Couldn't get enough. They bought the albums and played them at home and in the car; they heard the songs all over Christian radio, and they saw them interpreted live at church -- since every Carman record had two or three songs that were tailor-made for presentations in church services by drama groups, dance teams and mime troupes. 

Carman Licciardello had a versatile singing voice and movie star good looks, and he could energize a Christian concert audience like few before or since. [For details on his early life and how he became a Christian artist, click here.] He made quality music, but one got the sense that it was never really about the music. The message was paramount; the music was just an entertaining vehicle to help carry the message along. He was musically schizophrenic. For example, one description of Revival in the Land files the album under Jazz, Funk, Soul, Pop, Folk, World Music and Country...proving that Carman could take pretty much any musical genre and use it effectively to preach, praise and testify. 

One reviewer noted that Carman's religious fervor was in no way diminished on Revival in the Land. "On the contrary," wrote Evan Cater at allmusic.com, "this is one of his most passionate and deeply felt albums, a fiery Pentecostal plea for widespread renewal of conviction throughout the Christian world." Cater praised the album's "remarkably cohesive blend of R&B, pop, hip-hop, praise music, and black gospel to express the charismatic energy of [Carman's] message."

Carman always seemed comfortable with militaristic imagery. The album's first track, God's Got An Army, certainly fit that mold. 

Pearson

I Got the Joy immediately followed. It was a nod to Black Gospel. Heck, more than a nod...it WAS Black Gospel...complete with a video set in a Black church. The song and the video both featured Carlton Pearson, Carman's pastor at the time. Pearson has since gone off the theological deep end. A fourth-generation Pentecostal preacher who came up under Oral Roberts, Pearson has shifted to something he calls “Expanded Consciousness” and calls himself a Sacred Activist and Spiritual Progressive who defends homosexuality, promotes "Self Actualization,” and teaches that all humans go to Heaven. As a result, he was labeled a heretic by his former denomination in 2004. It is unknown (to me) whether Carman maintains a close relationship with Pearson. Pearson teaches others "the development of the personal Self and Soul." Meanwhile, he and his wife divorced in 2015. 

Carman and Carlton Pearson are joined on I Got the Joy by The Higher Dimensions Sanctuary Choir. 

Perhaps the album's most memorable song is up next. 

A scene from the 'Witch's Invitation' video

A Witch's Invitation was a novelty track. It was a story song, a genre Carman had basically perfected by now. Well, let me rephrase that...it was a story spoken over a music bed. There was no song to it, really. "Not quite a spoken word jam, but not quite a song," wrote blogger Tyler Huckabee, "it falls into some genre of music that belongs to Carman alone." 

It did not hold up well to repeated listening, but the video was wildly entertaining and featured production values that were quite high for 1989. Carman's actually a good actor, and the camera likes him...a lot. Had he not been saddled with this calling from God to evangelize the world thru music (sarcasm intended), he might've had a quite successful career as an actor, either on the small screen or in feature films. At the very least, he could make a substantial side income as a voice actor. 

A Witch's Invitation is said to be taken from the real-life testimony of Mario Murillo. This song was played at every church youth group "Halloween alternative" event for years and years; New Age religions, Zen Buddhism, and Dungeons and Dragons all took a turn in Carman's cross-hairs before this one was done. 

The aforementioned blogger Tyler Huckabee had a very entertaining take on the video treatment to A Witch's Invitation: "In this story, we find Carman (our hero, always) being invited to a house that looks like Walgreens’ holiday aisle the day after Halloween, featuring a Ouija Board, a Dungeons and Dragons player’s guide and, most chillingly, herbal tea. This house is owned by the titular 'witch,' who has everything except for red horns and a pointy tail. These are Carman’s younger days so we can excuse the fact that there is no bloodshed or violence—just a claymation demon dragging an old man to hell." 

The music for A Witch's Invitation was composed by Keith Thomas.

Get Your Business Straight With God was either a call to holiness or a song that was preoccupied with sin (depending on your point of view). Personally, I think Morgan Cryar's A Few of My Old Friends, Steve Camp's Squeeze and Steve Taylor's Sin for a Season were much more effective. Interestingly, Ashley Cleveland sang background vocals on this one. 

This Blood closed Side One of Revival in the Land. It was a hugely popular inspirational song that reminded us of what Jesus suffered in order to purchase our salvation. Carman employed the spoken-word technique even on this ballad. Some objected to the title, assuming that it was a take-off on the Budweiser advertising slogan and was, therefore, unseemly. Others weren't bothered by that at all. Using a time-honored formula, the song navigates several key changes and builds in intensity throughout. The Christ Church Choir featuring Guy Penrod (among others) supplied backing vocals on this song. 

Revival in the Land employed an impressive list of musicians, including guitarists Jerry McPherson and Tom Hemby; keyboardists Keith Thomas, Phil Naish and Carl Gorodetzky; bassists James Michael and Jimmie Lee Sloas; drummers Mark Hammond and Paul Leim; percussionists Eric Darken and Farrell Morris; and a horn section comprised of Mark Douthit, Chris McDonald, George Tidwell, and Mike Haynes. 

Kicking off Side Two was Saved, Delivered And Healed, a mashup of 80s pop and Southern Gospel. Chris Harris, Mark Heimermann, and Susan Ashton sang background vocals. 

On Jesus Is The Light, Carman finally took the spoken word technique a little too far, talking over his own singing, which was just confusing. With a chorus that sounds like a sing-along from children's church, this one would've been better left on the cutting room floor (so to speak).

And then came The Resurrection Rap. 

Oh, dear. 

This is only marginally more authentic than Terry Taylor's RapSures albums. In fairness, it's hard to look back at 1980s rap through eyes and ears that have (unfortunately) seen and heard hip-hop of the 2000s and beyond. So it is what it is. But that video...it's a veritable all-you-can-eat buffet of stereotypes. File this one alongside Bryan Duncan's Don't You Wanna Rap. 

With lyrics like these, Resurrection Rap isn't in danger of landing on any list of the greatest CCM Easter songs of all time:

Yo listen up, this is Captin C

I got the deffest, freshest tale to tell

The disciples just stood there shruggin' 
An' thought, "Our Home Boy must be buggin'."

But when Christ talks you best be chill,
He made the wind and the waves stand still.
'Cause the Son of God don't pop no jive.

He slams religion, He just won't chill,
He's wipin' away the grin on my grill.

He felt so crush, he busted a pose.
"I'm goin' back to My crib, this case is closed."

Yeah. I'm pretty sure that when Jesus rose from the dead He said, "I'm goin' back to My crib."

One reviewer called The Resurrection Rap "ill-advised and laughable." I tend to agree. Maybe we should blame it at least partially on Brian Tankersley. He produced, recorded, mixed, and programmed the track. He also played all the instruments.

Musically, Shine Through Me was a song made for a Vegas lounge crooner. And Carman had been just that in a former life. 

The album wrapped with the title track, one of Carman's most epic good vs. evil story songs of all time. It's basically Carman’s impersonation of a conversation between Satan and a demon minion. In the video, it's played out by two actors in impressive, movie-worthy makeup, with lots of special effects. By the end of the video, Hell seems to fall apart, Satan and the minion are sent running, and the Devil's throne explodes. "It is ludicrous and it is awesome," writes blogger Tyler Huckabee. "More music videos should end with Satan’s exploding chair."

On a serious front, the song does include an accurate and devastating description of abortion here in America:

Satan: Is there something wrong with my abortion clinics?

Demon: No, sir, that's all fine. We kill 4,000 unborn a day through, shall we say, surgical removal. It's selective breeding. We eliminate human life in the name of convenience like the Nazis and the Jews and with the government's approval.

Some people have wondered about Carman's supposed preoccupation with the devil. Looking back, Satan, demons and evil were central figures in a lot of songs and videos. Either he knew what motivated people and what would sell...or he was the most determined devil-chasing opponent of evil the music industry has ever seen! Then again, Satan, demons and evil are also, sadly, central figures in a lot of people's daily lives. Maybe Carman was onto something.

By the way, Carman has also been a favorite with Black audiences over the years. He appeared on The Bobby Jones Gospel Hour one time and broke the record for the highest rated Gospel TV show on the BET network TV in 20 years. For whatever reason, he seems to connect in a way that many white artists do not. And this song concludes with another nod to the sort of worship that's heard and experienced in Black churches across the USA every Sunday morning before building to a dramatic crescendo...

Lift your hands in victory, this is our finest hour!
For this sleeping giant called the church is rising up in power!
Cry loud, spare not, this lion's got a roar!
We may have lost some battles, but we will win this war!

We've made it through the fire and our faith in God is strong!
We're a revelation generation with fire in our bones!
We're filled up with the Holy Ghost, trusting in the Bible!
Fasten your seatbelts, saints of God, the world is breaking forth in a Revival!

Revival is coming to our land
The Holy Ghost is moving just like a hurricane
Revival is coming to our shore
Get ready for the moving of the Spirit of the Lord

It's what we've been waiting for
It's what we've been praying for
From America to England
From Africa to Spain
From Mexico to China
The Spirit of God is being poured out
On all flesh and there is
Revival in the land! 

Now, there have been outbreaks of what some have called "revival" in specific locations and for relatively short periods of time since 1989. But we're still waiting for what was described in this song. I'll be the first to say I hope it happens. 

Not a lot is known (for sure) about Carman's personal life. He's been linked romantically with everyone from Kim Boyce to Cindy Morgan to Kathy Trocolli. There have been whispers as to why he's not married, internet rumors of affairs, and even rumors of a short-lived marriage and possible annulment - nothing substantiated, just innuendo and conjecture. What we do know is that he appears to be winning a serious battle with cancer, thankfully, and he continues to record and minister. 

For all of the snarky comments he's endured and for all of the bad reviews he's received, he can just sit back, smile and point to a list of successes like no one else in the history of contemporary Christian music:

He was the first Christian artist to receive a coveted spot in the "Parade of Champions" at the Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.

In 2004, Carman was presented the prestigious Humanitarian Award, from the House of Hope - an award usually reserved for the likes of Billy Graham and Ronald Reagan.

His Heart of a Champion Tour was broadcast on the Armed Services Network to 800,000 of our fighting soldiers in 157 countries one Easter.

He headlined the first Christian Night at the RiverBend Festival in Chattanooga Tennessee, setting a record for the largest solo outdoor Christian concert - 80,000 plus in attendance, with more than 20,000 people giving their lives to Christ.

Carman aired, on national television, his Halloween 3:16 special, with over 70,000 first time decisions for Christ recorded before the phone lines jammed up. 

He also started 15 R.I.O.T Centers (churches specifically designed to meet the needs of the inner city). 

He collected one million names for a "constitutional amendment favoring prayer in public schools" - said to be the most names collected by any one person on any issue in U.S. history.

And he holds the record for the largest solo CCM concert in history, at Texas Stadium, with over 72,000 people in attendance.

He must've been doing something right.

Oh -- and Revival in the Land ended up being a heavily decorated album. The Revival in the Land video ended up RIAA Certified Platinum and won an Ampex Golden Reel Award, and the album spent 33 weeks at #1 according to Billboard Magazine. The Revival in the Land album has been RIAA certified Gold, while winning Dove Awards for both Long Form and Short Form Video of the Year. Revival in the Land was named Contemporary Christian Album of the Year by both Billboard Magazine and The CCM Update; it was the #1 album for Bookstore Journal and Christian Retailing as well, and Revival in the Land and A Witch's Invitation were both named #1 Video Singles by The CCM Update.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Let's end this with more words from blogger Tyler Huckabee. I don't know that I agree with him completely, but it's definitely an interesting take:

"Christian music is notoriously, suffocatingly self-serious, forever burdening itself with saving the world with one hand while reminding yourself of what a bad person you are with the other.

Carman wasn’t immune to that, but it was definitely an afterthought. He saw it all, first and foremost, as something exciting; a call to be Clint Eastwood, James Bond and William Wallace all rolled into one. If that’s a little bit egocentric, it’s also pretty fun. For an 11-year-old Christian boy living in the middle of nowhere Nebraska, let me tell you, it lent something to the whole concept of Christianity nothing else did: It made it cool. 

Carman has recently survived what was evidently a serious cancer scare, I hope he’s around to give us another music video or two. The forces of hell remain forever in need of an ass-kicking, and who among us does it better than Carman?"

#285 CHOOSE LIFE by Debbie Boone (1985)

CHOOSE LIFE by Debbie Boone (1985)
Lamb & Lion  LLR-3008

Producer: Michael Omartian


File Under: Dance/CCM

Time Capsule-Worthy Track:

Choose Life

It was Debby Boone's eighth studio album, released in 1985, and it peaked at #7 on CCM album sales charts. It had a sparkling new, crystal-clear sound that appealed to younger fans of dance-oriented pop. There were plenty of keyboard-dominated hooks and meaty lyrics thanks to the extraordinary songwriting team of Michael and Stormie Omartian. The mellow tracks had a sweetness about them, providing an atmosphere conducive to worship. In the words of one reviewer, "You will find yourself singing these songs throughout the day, carrying them with you in your heart as your spirit soars with joy." Choose Life was a good album. Perhaps her best. 

Pat and the girls

Deborah (Debby) Anne Boone grew up in the showbiz family headed by parents Pat and Shirley. She and her three female siblings got the bug early, singing on her Dad's TV specials. You can read more about the family's early years at my 70s blog. The Boone Girls (as they were then called) recorded a CCM album together in 1976. Glass Castle was notable for covers of a great song called Water Grave and a song by Carole King, an unfortunate jacket (that was later redesigned), and instrumental performances by drummer John Mehler (of Love Song fame) and keyboardist Michael Omartian. In fact, Omartian also arranged the songs on Glass Castle, so Choose Life would represent a major reunion some 9 years later.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the next Boone Girls record. Debby was singled out for stardom and given a song to record for a movie soundtrack. You Light Up My Life spent a then-record ten weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; Boone won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist the following year, making her CCM's first crossover artist. 

Debby made two more records with her sisters, each one better than the one that preceded it, but she had a concurrent secular career going from 1977 to 1980, releasing little-noticed albums with song titles such as I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love, Breakin' In A Brand New Broken Heart, Every Day I Have To Cry, I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again and Even A Fool Would Let Go.

She eventually shed the split personality and eased into a (temporary) solo career in Contemporary Christian Music that lasted throughout the 1980s. After that she basically left Christian music behind, dipping her toe in Country Music, Broadway, even a live dinner theater routine in Branson, Missouri. But she's always been considered a one-hit wonder due the massive popularity of You Light Up My Life in 1977. Which isn't really fair...but it happens.

With My Song in 1980 was basically a worship album that was somewhat ahead of its time. It was produced by Brown Bannister and featured a cover of a Bob Dylan tune. Boone came back with Surrender in 1983. This one is known for the hits Keep the Flame Burning (a David Baroni song sung as a duet with Phil Driscoll) and an excellent Billy Sprague song called Can You Reach My Friend. But she hit her stride and really found her voice on Choose Life in 1985. And Michael Omartian's production expertise and hook-laden, danceable songs were largely the reason. 

Speaking of Omartian, the record begins with his unmistakable acoustic piano work before the beat kicks in on The Time Is Now. Lyrically, this is a song that joyfully celebrates the character and attributes of God. Sounds like it could well have been inspired by teaching from Pastor Jack Hayford, the Omartians' pastor at the time.

Michael & Stormie Omartian

The time is now 
His love is here 
To work a total transformation in your soul 
To swallow every care 
His supply is there 
For strength to hope and power to be changed 
To see the captives freed 
Provide for every need 
He's here to give what He came to give if we allow Him to 
He is the Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Redeemer 
Counselor, Refiner, Jesus, Messiah 

Pressure Points had a style and a sound that was right smack dab in the middle of the 80s...and takes me back to when I used to spin this record at a small Christian rock AM radio station in Greer, SC. No, really - we actually played vinyl LPs in 1985.

Teach Me How to Love was a unique, 80s dance pop/Caribbean island hybrid that served as a thorough examination of the Biblical definition of love.

When I Accepted You was a ballad of the type that Stormie Omartian often sang on the albums that the Omartians released as a couple (Seasons of the Soul, The Builder, Mainstream). It was enhanced by Michael's classical keyboard flourishes. The song is a theological treatise on salvation and justification.

Delight In Him was an ultra-80s exhortation to, well, delight yourself in the Lord. Next time you're depressed or just feeling a little down, put this track on and you'll soon be praising God and dancing all over the room. The great Abraham Laboriel played bass on this track; that's reason enough to love it right there.

By the way, Choose Life featured a somewhat different-looking Debbie on the cover than we'd seen before. Stan Evenson was responsible for the cover design and Sue Choi took the photographs. By the way -- the plaid "fat pants" on the back cover? Not a good look. I know it was 1985. And I know they were in style. But they tend to make a girl's bottom half look super thick (Debby Boone was/is anything but). And that wraps up the fashion commentary for today.

The title track succumbed to a bit of cheesiness right off the bat as a deep, pitch-transposed voice warns that you're entering the "danger zone." At first listen, Choose Life is not an overt treatise on abortion, but rather seems to be a more vague, danceable, up-tempo exhortation to avoid bad decisions in general. But when you know Stormie Omartian's personal story - she wrote in great detail in her autobiography Stormie about having had two illegal abortions before she became a Christian - it's easy to factor that testimony into these lyrics and come to the conclusion that, yes, it is indeed a powerful, pro-life song:

Appeared to be a good plan at the time
Seemed so harmless, no big crime
The choice was mine and I made it
But I didn't choose life

What I wanted was all I could see
Desire dangled in front of me
I lived on the brink of destruction
'Cause I didn't choose life

Each bad choice chipped away my soul
Soon survival became my goal
I ended up splitting up pieces
'Cause I didn't choose life

The sound of judgment was hard to hear
'Til the facts came in loud and clear
It's either one way or the other
And I better choose life

While the truth comes to free you, to lift and console you
Lies will cut you deeper than a two-edged knife
When the wrong way that seems right begins to control you
Don't let bad decisions make you pay the price
Cut the power of death and choose life

Heart of the Matter was another Stormie-esque ballad with some unmistakably Michael-esque chords. Seriously, at times you'll feel like you're listening to a Michael and Stormie Omartian album with Debby Boone as a guest singer. This track addresses an old friend who once walked with the Lord but has strayed. 

Old friend
When did it happen?
When did your eyes become dazzled by the world
Instead of lit up by His light?

Too many voices
Was there one too many battles
So you gave up on the fight?
Was your love for Him a decision of the mind to be changed in time?
Was it really not a committed walk but rather a display of religious talk?
I need to know
Because I love you so

If you really knew Him the way that I knew Him
You would never walk away
If you truly understood what His love was all about
You would never shut Him out
All this talk of Jesus working in our lives
Is nothing more than childish chatter
If we don't allow Him past the mind
To penetrate with depth into the heart of the matter
Into the heart of the matter

How do spiritual eyes go blind?
When does deception infiltrate the mind?
I know it's hard to comprehend
But the choice is still yours, old friend
Don't let it happen

Right For You is actually a duet featuring Debby and Michael Omartian. Smart, crisp pop song that makes excellent use of keyboards and Gary Herbig's saxophone. It's a song of encouragement for people who might've lost sight of who Jesus is. This one would've fit right in on Seasons of the Soul or The Builder.

The Omartians did not write the album's final two songs. Song of Deliverance, written by Debby with help from Wendell Burton and Marty Goetz, is actually a prayer...a cry to the Lord for help. This one fits better in the "inspirational" genre. File it next to songs by Sandi Patti, Larnelle Harris or Steve Green.

Marty Goetz also penned the record's final song. The Lord is Good contains lots of Scripture and is worshipful in a high church, classical sort of way. Goetz gives Omartian a breather and plays piano on this track, concluding the album. 

Michael Omartian

Apparently, Boone's musical pairing with Michael Omartian went well enough that they decided to collaborate again in 1987 on an album titled Friends for Life. Co-produced by Omartian and Dan Posthuma, Friends For Life contained just two songs written by Michael and Stormie. This time she also included tunes composed by other CCM notables such as Chuck Girard, Billy Batstone and Gary Chapman. Her cover of Glad's Be Ye Glad was a highlight. 

But Choose Life would effectively be Boone's final attempt at appealing to a younger audience. Everything she's done since then has been aimed at an older demographic.   

She and husband Gabriel Ferrer have written several children's books together, and Debby also appeared in several musical theater productions, including a regular gig for a while in Branson, Missouri. Her focus in recent decades has been almost exclusively secular music (singing "the Great American Songbook," and 60s Las Vegas Swing Music). She and Ferrer have four grown children and, at the time of this writing, one granddaughter. They live in Los Angeles where Ferrer serves as an Episcopal priest.

Straying from Biblical teaching on the subject, Debby Boone revealed in 2014 that she is a supporter of "gay rights" and same-sex "marriage." As part of her rationale, she explained that "It's about continuing to tell the truth, and the truth will continue to do the work" -- apparently completely unaware of the irony of what she was saying. Sadly, if you simply hold to God's guidelines for marriage and sexuality, according to Debbie Boone you are stuck in "an old way of thinking." However, if you are accepting of sexual practices that are outside God's boundaries, then you are "coming slowly into the future and starting to get it." Understand?

I'm reminded of the lyrics to The Heart of the Matter...

When did it happen?...When did your eyes become dazzled by the world instead of lit up by His light?...Confusion...Rising delusion...How do spiritual eyes go blind?...When does deception infiltrate the mind?...I know it's hard to comprehend, but the choice is still yours, old friend...

Maybe Debby needs to pull that one back out, dust it off and start singing it again...if only to herself.