Music Minute: The Golden Age of Contemporary Christian Music

Ok, let's face it: Christian music is hard to define. The book of Psalms, hymnal songs with the notes stacked up like plastic cups, the worship band at your church with two drum sets, three electric guitars and that guy who thinks he's Eric Clapton singing, Keith Green's 70s-style pop-gospel, and Hawk Nelson don't seem like they have a lot in common, but they are all examples of Christian music. Christian music might be defined as "music about Jesus," except that sometimes it isn't. Sometimes Jesus isn't even mentioned. Johnny Cash released songs that could properly be called Christian, but they weren't on a Christian record label—do they count? Worship music differs a lot from most contemporary Christian music.

Christian music is usually a personal expression of Christian faith. It's usually produced by a Christian record label. It's separate from secular music and (usually) their record labels.

That idea of separation probably came from a desire by the Christians who were producing the music to have some artistic control over what the songs said and sounded like. These days, Christian music is very popular and well-established...but it wasn't always that way. In the late 1960s, a group of believers called the Jesus Movement—Christian hippies, more or less—branched out to start their own labels. (The term Jesus freak was originally aimed at—and later embraced by—Jesus movement people.) The contemporary Christian music of the early 70s was a blend of folk music and southern rock. Word Records signed 16-year old Amy Grant to a five-week record contract in 1977. Her album was released in the spring of 1978, a few weeks before her high-school graduation. Christian music in the 80s enjoyed a long run of pop and rock hits.

But contemporary Christian music really took off in the 90s. What I've called the "golden" age of Christian music happened right next to the alternative music explosion we talked about a few weeks ago. Christian music had its own fashion, aesthetic, and sound. These days, Christian music isn't very different from secular music. It's a lot cleaner, but the sound tends to be pretty similar. The mid-1990s were the beginning of that for Christian music...the point where Christian music started to become a serious music market.

Now that you have a little history, here are five Christian albums from the 90s you should check out:

1. dc Talk, Jesus Freak. Yes, we know everyone knows the song. But there are so many good songs on this album, from "What If I Stumble?" to "Colored People."



2. Jars of Clay, Jars of Clay. Four college boys from Illinois won a Gospel Music Association talent contest—and this album shows why. The song "Flood" was a giant crossover hit.



3. Sixpence None the Richer, Sixpence None the Richer. Leigh Nash's soaring vocals shine, especially on Kiss Me and "There She Goes," which have been used in a lot of movie and TV soundtracks.



4. SonicFlood, SonicFlood. Probably the first really big full-length praise and worship album (though I could be wrong about that), this album is not to be missed. Check out "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever."



5. The OC Supertones, Chase the Sun. These Orange County, California boys mixed rock, soul, ska, and surf sounds into one big happy mashup. Check out "Hallelujah."



Here's hoping you find something new and interesting in the Christian music of the 90s!