Amy Grant
Amy Grant is a singer-songwriter and America's top selling Christian Artist as well as a bonafide Pop Star. She was born in Georgia but raised in Nashville and began singing and songwriting as a hobby at the age of fourteen. Amy states, The reason I began writing about songs about my faith was to round out the repertoire of life.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6oQ8dnVMhE A friend heard a demo tape Amy made for her family and played that song over the phone to a producer from Word Records. She was quickly offered a record deal at 15, just six weeks shy before her 16th birthday.http://www.artistopia.com/amy-grant
Her 1977self titled debut album, Amy Grant sold 250,000 copies and eventually went Gold. Her second album produced her first #1 hit on the Christian Charts, "Father’s Eyes." After a few more years of seasoning and growing into her music her fame grew exponentially with the release of her break out album Age to Age the first Contemporary Christian album to go Platinum which put Christian music on the map.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIrGL62ptt4 Her faith inspired songs popularized the uprising of Gospel music crowning her as the "Queen of Christian Pop."http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5438318/ladies_in_music_alphabetamy_lee_grant.html?cat=33
Unguarded pushed Grant’s first major cross over song, "Love Will Find A Way" into the Billboard Hot 100 reaching #29 on the charts.http://m.billboard.com/artist/amy-grant/chart-history/2929#/artist/amy-grant/chart-history/2929 A few years later she was ready for a change of genre and took the leap to fully crossed over from Christian music to Popular Music with the release of her album Heart In Motion scoring a #1 Hit single on the charts with "Baby, Baby" making her a household name. The album went on to produce three other #1 hits on the Billboard Charts and grabbed the attention of her peers with four Grammy nominations.http://www.amygrant.com/
Controversy
Heart in Motion album caused national controversy within the Christian community as they saw their most popular star now immersed in the secular market. The backlash was an emotional time for Amy and she was treated somewhat as a traitor. Time and a balance of Christian and Pop music in her later albums mended the attitudes of the traditionalist listeners of Gospel music.http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Amy_Grant.aspx
Personal Life
Amy married her band's guitarist Gary Chapman in 1982. They had three children: Matthew Garrison, Gloria Mills (nicknamed Millie) and Sarah Cannon named after Minnie Pearl famous for her stints on the Grand Ole Opry. After 17 years of marriage Grant filed for divorce in 1999 citing "irreconcilable differences." She married Country Singer Vince Gill in 2000 and they had a child in 2001 named her Corrina Grant Gill. Vince has a daughter Jennifer Jerene from his ex-wife Janis Oliver from the Country duo Sweethearts of the Rodeo. Amy and Vince currently live in Nashville.
Current Project
Somewhere Down The Road recorded in 2010 marks Amy's 25th album to date. She produced this project under her own label Amy Grant along with Sparrow Records. The music is a mixture of Christian and Pop melodies plus a bonus feature for Amy as she sings a duet with her daughter Sarah on the track: "Overnight."
Discography
- 1977: Amy Grant (GOLD)
- 1979: My Father's Eyes (GOLD)
- 1980: Never Alone
- 1981: Amy Grant in Concert
- 1981: Amy Grant In Concert Volume Two
- 1982: Age to Age (PLATINUM)
- 1983: A Christmas Album (PLATINUM)
- 1984: Straight Ahead (GOLD)
- 1985: Unguarded (PLATINUM)
- 1986: The Collection (PLATINUM)
- 1988: Lead Me On (GOLD)
- 1991: Heart in Motion (5xs PLATINUM)
- 1992: Home for Christmas (3xs PLATINUM)
- 1994: House of Love (2XS PLATINUM)
- 1997: Behind the Eyes (GOLD)
- 1999: A Christmas to Remember (GOLD)
- 2002: Legacy...Hymns and Faith (GOLD)
- 2003: Simple Things
- 2004: Greatest Hits...1986-2004
- 2005: Rock of Ages...Hyms and Faith
- 2006: Time Again...Live CD/DVD
- 2006: Greatest Hits
- 2008: Lead Me On - 20th Anniversary Edition
- 2008: The Christmas Collection
- 2009: She Colors My Day - EP
- 2010: Somewhere Down The Road
"Age to Age" album - #1 Contempoary Christian Hit Song- "El Shaddai"
"El Shaddai" is Hebrew and the chorus translates to: El-Shaddai, El-Shaddai (God Almighty, God Almighty) / El-Elyon na Adonai (God in the highest, Oh, Lord) / Age to age You're still the same / By the power of the name / El-Shaddai, El-Shaddai / Erkamka na Adonai (We will love You, Oh, Lord) / We will praise and lift You high / El-Shaddai.
"Heart In Motion" album - #1 Pop Song - "Baby, Baby"
Amy's inspiration for the lyrics for this song was her newborn baby girl Gloria Mills (Millie). She co-wrote the song with Keith Thomas who produced the song with an upbeat tempo geared for the pop crowd. The song stayed #1 on the charts for three weeks and is her biggest solo pop single to date.
Charities supported by Amy Grant
References
Fast Facts
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Birth Name
Amy Lee Grant
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Born
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Birthplace
Augusta, Georgia
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Hometown
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Record Labels
EMI/Sparrow/AG Productions
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Genre
Contemporary Christian Music - Pop Music
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Fact:
Chosen by People Magazine as one of the 50 most beautfiul people in the world
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Milestone
Her album Age To Age was the first ever Contemporary Christian Album to go Platinum
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Billboard Charts
Scored five #1 hit singles and Top 5 hit singles
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Awards
6 Grammy Awards, 26 Dove Awards including 4 time "Artist of the Year"
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Record Sales
30 million units sold world wide
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Fact:
Inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006
