E-Book Content
R A I S E D BY WOLVES
This page intentionally left blank
Raised by Wolves The Sfory op
Christian Rock § Roll
John J. Thompson With photographs by Dinah K. Kotthoff
ECW
The publication of Raised by Wolves has been generously supported by the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program. © ECW PRESS, 2000. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW PRESS. CANADIAN CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA
Thompson, John J. (John Joseph), 1970Raised by wolves: the story of Christian rock & roll ISBN 1-55022-421-2 1. Christian rock music - History and criticism. I. Title. ML3187.5.T473 2000 781.66 COO-9317200-1
Front cover image courtesy of SuperStock. All interior photos by Dinah K. Kotthoff (www.dinahphoto.com). Cover and interior design by Guylaine Regimbald - SOLO DESIGN. Typesetting by Yolande Martel. This book is set in Dante and Loyalty. Printed by AGMV L'Imprimeur, Cap-Saint-Ignace, Quebec. Distributed in Canada by General Distribution Services, 325 Humber College Boulevard, Etobicoke, Ontario M9W 7C3. Distributed in the United States by LPC Group, 1436 West Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60607, U.S.A. Distributed in Europe by Turnaround Publisher Services, Unit 3, Olympia Trading Estate, Coburg Road, Wood Green, London, N2Z 6T2. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Wakefield Press, 17 Rundle Street (Box 2266), Kent Town, South Australia 5071. Published by ECW PRESS Suite 200 2120 Queen Street East Toronto, Ontario M4E 1E2. ecwpress.com PRINTED AND BOUND IN CANADA
To Michelle, Jordan, Wesley, and Trinity
IN MEMORY OF
Keith Green Lonnie Frisbee Danny (D-Boy) Rodriguez Mark Heard Vince Ebo Rich Mullins Chris Wimber Gene "Eugene" Andrusco
This page intentionally left blank
Contents Preface
11
Cktfyter i
White Blossoms from Black Roots
Ckfyter 2,
The First Wave (1966-79)
Cktyter 3
The Second Wave (1980-89)
Cktyttr 4
The Third Wave (1990-99)
tkilvme
Beyond the Third Wave 237
41 87 167
Further Reading and Resources Index
247
17
245
This page intentionally left blank
Preface V
What is "Christian rock"? It has been called everything from Jesus music to righteous rock to the devil's handiwork (the church can't sit idly by and let some waywards peddle "jungle music" in the name of the Lord without casting a little brimstone). But whatever it's called, it's a strange mix indeed, and to many people the term is an oxymoron. Christian rock melds faith and culture. It is called Christian because of the messages in the lyrics, or at least because of the faith backgrounds of the artists, yet it explores every subject from politics to sex to cars to friendship. It is full-on rock and roll with the volume and the syncopation and the downbeats and the noise, yet it is used for worship, evangelism, and the entertainment of abstinent youth-group members and 50-yearold biker pastors. It features every nuance of rock, from techno, house, and disco; to metal, punk, hardcore, and emo; to singer-songwriter acoustic folk and americana, yet once the artist is identified as a follower of Jesus it is, unfortunately, simply called Christian rock. The idea that rock and roll must be synonymous with rebellion was promoted by both the marketers of the music (sin sells better) and the conservative majority in the church. (Convincing believers that something is "of the devil" has often been the quickest way to protect the status quo within the churc