Amy Grant‘s Secret: 2 Jobs & A Prayer

05/20/21 • 95 min

Through countless slings and arrows, and her own mainstream pop superstardom, Amy Grant has remained the defining face and voice of contemporary Christian music for over forty years. She was the first CCM artist to have a platinum record, (followed by five more platinum albums, three multi-platinum albums, and four gold albums.) She was also the first CCM artist to have a #1 pop single and has placed 17 hits on the Top 40 Adult Contemporary chart. She has earned 6 Grammy Awards and numerous Dove and other statues. With sales in excess of 30 million units, Amy Grant is the best-selling contemporary Christian singer of all time. But beyond all that, she crafted and delivered songs that spoke honestly, and vulnerably, to a generation.

Amy Grant is currently marking the 30th anniversary of her breakthrough Heart In Motion album as well as a brand new collaborative worship album, Faithful that finds her working alongside a slew of talented young women, including True Tunes Podcast alums Taylor Leonhardt, Christa Wells, and Sandra McCracken. She graced the cover of the original True Tunes News in 1993 and is back with us for this very special episode of the True Tunes Podcast.

As the Christian subculture seems to have become defined by that to which it is opposed, its political meanderings, and any number of culture wars and distractions, Grant’s legacy as a person of warmth, generosity, grace, and hospitality only continues to grow. What might young artists, songwriters, and listeners have to learn from someone with such an unlikely story?

And on a special extended edition of the True Tunes Jukebox, we welcome two guest commentators to reflect on many of Grant’s most significant songs from very different perspectives. Industry veteran and radio expert Chris Hauser and singer-songwriter (and childhood Amy fan) Michelle Lynn Thompson join host John J. Thompson for a comprehensive dive into the deep cuts and musical watermarks of Grant’s amazing career. Plus guitarist and visual artist Jimmy Abegg (you can hear his whole story on his own episode, including a special contribution from Amy, AND you can hear him on our 2-part special with his former bandmate Rich Mullins,) is offering a hand-made, one-of-a-kind, personally signed painting to ANYONE who sponsors a child through Vision Trust!

It’s our longest, fullest, episode yet.

Click HERE to make a secure donation in support of this show.

Full Show Notes, including a list of all songs and a special Spotify mix, available at TrueTunes.com. If you would like to support the show, please consider joining our Patreon community or dropping us a one-time tip and check out our NEW MERCH!

It’s our longest, fullest, episode yet.

Click HERE to make a secure donation in support of this show.

Previous Episode

Natalie Bergman’s Jesus Music for a New Generation

Third Man Records artist Natalie Bergman joins host John J. Thompson to talk about her stirring, vulnerable, and exceptionally cool new album, Mercy, and the heartbreaking tragedy that inspired it. Bergman, who until recently was best known as one-half of the alt-pop band Wild Belle, has crafted a collection of songs that has more in common with the Jesus Music of a half-century ago than anything released since. With that inspiration, we have loaded up the Jukebox with long-lost Jesus Music obscurities and will get a first-person account of what those days were like from our own producer, Bruce A. Brown.

Fifty years ago, a generation of young people was reeling with confusion and pain as the American Dream unraveled at the seams. Millions turned to a counter-cultural understanding of the rebel Jesus and found comfort, peace, and community in his words and story. Bergman, who is navigating a devastating loss of her own, reminds us of a time before Christian music became a subculture or industry and offers a new way for us to understand the potential of Gospel music.

If you would like to support the show, please consider joining our Patreon community or dropping us a one-time tip and check out our NEW MERCH!

SPONSOR A CHILD THROUGH VISION TRUST

Next Episode

Renaissance Man Jimmy Abegg (+ Peter Gabriel & Lowland Hum on the Jukebox)

Call him a creative polymath or the quintessential Soul Man, but Jimmy Abegg (Rich Mullins' Ragamuffin Band, Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil, The Charlie Peacock Group, Vector, etc) has been a reliable source of musical and visual beauty and coolness for over forty years. And now, with his vision fading, this veteran side-man and accomplished craftsman is settling into his new role as a blind visionary; still painting – still making music – and still offering graceful sketches of beauty in a damaged world. Join us as we visit with him in the brand new East Nashville studio built for him by friends far and wide who have been blessed by his work. You'll hear what a few of them have to say as Amy Grant, Charlie Peacock, and Steve Taylor drop by to offer a few words on Jimmy as well.

On the Jukebox, we consider the massively successful, and yet still somehow meaningful, 1986 mainstream breakthrough by Peter Gabriel. What secrets might So have for us to unpack 35 years after its release, and what mysteries might indie-folk artists Lowland Hum have uncovered in their recent homage to the classic LP.

Full song list and Show Notes available at TrueTunes.com.

Produced by John J. Thompson and Bruce A. Brown for Gyroscope Productions. Please consider sponsoring a child through VisionTrust.org. If you do, Jimmy will send you a personally signed, hand-made, one-of-a-kind print (valued at between $100 and $150!) For more info visit VisionTrust.org/JimmyA. If you would like to support the show, please consider joining our Patreon community or dropping us a one-time tip and check out our NEW MERCH!