The following is a paper I put together for a music class I recently took. Thought you might enjoy learning about one of my favorite artists and a little about me along the way. You might even discover a new artist you like. I did the best to transfer the format from the Word program:
James Matthews
Music Appreciation
(History of Rock)
FAVORITE POPULAR MUSIC ARTIST - STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN
Who is Steven Curtis Chapman? (http://stevencurtischapman.com) Steven Curtis Chapman is the most
accomplished, and perhaps the most popular Christian contemporary artist in
history. Opinions may be subjective and
open to question, but accomplishment and achievement are not. With 58 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards,
5 Grammys, 1 American Music Award, 47 Number One singles and nearly 11 million
albums sold, Steven Curtis Chapman stands head and shoulders above any other Christian
musician in history. He has released 22
albums from 1987 to the year 2013 (2 of which became Certified Platinum Recordings
selling over 1 million units each and 10 of which became Certified Gold
Recordings selling over 500,000 each), 7 video productions, and over 26
television appearances on shows such as CNN, 60 Minutes, Extra!, E! Entertainment,
MSNBC and Fox & Friends. Among other
things, he has also starred in a movie, written several books and holds an
Honorary Doctorate of Music from Anderson University and was the commencement
speaker for their 2011 class.
Steven
Curtis Chapman writes and performs his own music. His style combines rock, folk and pop and
expresses them in evermore unique and creative ways that evoke emotion, inspire
change, and propel the listener into action.
When performing, he is normally backed by a band ranging from five to
seven people and oftentimes features some of his children playing various
instruments or in some other way contributing to his performances. He plays the guitar, the piano, the mandolin
and the dobro.
How did it all start for Mr. Chapman?
Steven’s father ran a music store and was a talented song writer and
guitar player. His father and friends
performed folk and bluegrass music in the town of Paducah, Kentucky where
Steven grew up. His father had an
opportunity to become a famous, traveling country musician but decided to stay
local in order to be the husband and father he felt he should be. Seeing his son’s interest in music, Steven’s
father gave him a guitar at the age of six.
Steven began playing with his brother Herb, who was already performing
Christian music at school events, at church, and at musicals.
Steven
accepted Jesus Christ into his heart at the age of eight, just a short time
after his parents had rededicated their lives to Christ following some months
of marital trouble. Steven says of that
salvation moment “I went forward and accepted Christ and it was a very real
commitment.” He and his brother Herb
performed music together through their school years. He taught himself piano and says that music
such as that from Dallas Holm, Jim Croce and the Doobie Brothers influenced him
greatly at this time in his life.
His
brother Herb went off to college but Steven continued to perform on his
own. Once in college, Steven initially
was majoring in medicine at Georgetown College.
He later met up with Danny Gaither, brother of Bill Gaither and began
spending weekends practicing with him.
Steven’s songs were shared with Danny’s contacts. Steven transferred to Anderson University
(where the Gaither’s call home) and decided to change his major to music
business. While there, he “shared” a
mailbox with a woman named Mary Beth Chapman (a woman he did not yet know but
who had the same last name) and it was through this “happenstance” that they
eventually fell in love and were married.
He transferred back to Nashville, to Belmont College in order to take
part in their music program. He began
performing at Opryland before large audiences where he honed his performing
skills. His wife became pregnant and
they eventually had three children together; Emily, Caleb and Will Franklin. It has been a lifelong struggle for Steven to
balance his music career with his family commitment and his commitment to his
church. Friends of family attest to his
success and doing so. He and his wife
and family currently live in Franklin, Tennessee.
Steven Curtis Chapman is not only an excellent Christian, husband,
father, musician, song writer, and performer, but he has also demonstrated a long
standing commitment to impacting the world for Christ through social activism,
among other things. For example, he has
worked with the late Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship Ministry. He spent time visiting prisoners and raising
awareness and support for the PFM’s Angel Tree Program that provides Christmas
gifts to children who have incarcerated parents (http://www.prisonfellowship.org/). His song “Free” was inspired by his
interactions with prisoners. I can tell
you it greatly impacted me when it was first released. I have donated several times to PFM after
becoming aware of it through his album “Signs of Life.” Here are some of the lyrics to give you an
idea:
The sun was beating down inside
the walls of stone and razor wire
As we made our way across the prison yard
I felt my heart begin to race as we drew nearer to the place
Where they say that death is waiting in the dark
The slamming doors of iron echoed through the halls
Where despair holds life within its cruel claws
But then I met a man who's face seemed so strangely out of place
A blinding light of hope was shining in his eyes
And with repentance in his voice he told me of his tragic choice
That led him to this place where he must pay the price
But then his voice grew strong as he began to tell
About the One he said had rescued him from hell, he said...
I'm free, yeah, oh, I have been
forgiven
God's love has taken off my chains and given me these wings
And I'm free, yeah, yeah, and the freedom I've been given
Is something that not even death can take away from me
Because I'm free
Jesus set me free
A school shooting at Steven’s alma mater in
West Paducah, Kentucky led him to dedicate a song called “With Hope” from his
“Speechless” album to the families that lost someone. He also sang at the funeral held for three
victims. He then gave a memorial concert
and partnered with Chuck Colson to make a video to reach out to teenagers in
preventing things like school shootings.
Steven has toured in a number of Asian
countries and was the first Christian to ever perform for soldiers in South
Korea. He was also the first Gospel
artist to publicly perform in Shanghai, China.
Steven and his wife eventually
felt led to adopt three girls from China named Shaohannah Hope Yan, Stevey Joy
Ru, and Maria Sue Chunxi. He and his
wife became promoters of adoption and started a charity called Show Hope that
helps others who wish to adopt make their dreams come true (http://showhope.org/). One of Show Hope’s largest accomplishments
was the building of Maria’s Big House of Hope which is a medical care center in
China that provides holistic care to orphans with special needs.
Sadly, the Chapman’s adopted daughter,
Maria Sue, was hit by a car and died. It
was during this dark moment in their lives that Steven almost quit music all
together and had vowed to never perform the song “Cinderella” again. Here are some of the lyrics to that song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrWMBC6yoME
She spins and she sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I'm sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders
It's been a long day
And there's still work to do
She's pulling at me
Saying "Dad, I need you
There's a ball at the castle
And I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oooooh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone...
Eventually Steven began to realize
that his daughter would want him to go on singing and to honor her memory by
continuing to sing “Cinderella.” Since
that time, he and his wife have publicly spoken on a number of occasions about
their struggles with losing their daughter and have been used of God to help
many go through this same struggle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ySghBeUuNM
). His later album entitled “Beauty Will Rise”
has many songs inspired by the death of his daughter.
Steven and his wife have also
done missionary work in Africa and they have promoted World Vision for at least
ten years (www.worldvision.org ). (I fell in love with my wife, Heather, while
watching her perform a song she wrote as a part of her endeavors to raise money
for the World Vision ministry at the Baptist Student Union at TVCC Athens
campus. The song she wrote and performed
is entitled “Calling All Lambs”.)
Steven Curtis Chapman’s
latest Album was released on September of 2013 a.d. and is called “The Glorious
Unfolding.” It’s his 18th album and is
his first album of all original material to be released in the last seven
years. The challenges and the growth of
the last several years are said to be reflected in each of the songs of this
new album. There’s a song called
“Together” dedicated to his wife of 29 years as of October of this year. He’s written a song of encouragement for his
13 year old daughter Shaohannah saying “It’s that wonderful, incredibly awful
time to try to be a young lady in this world and culture. I’m just very, very proud of her and I wanted
to write a song to tell her how amazing she is.” The song “Take Another Step” is about taking
steps of faith in dark and uncertain times.
Of the album as a whole Steven says “God has continued faithfully to
reveal Himself through dark places and reveal His mysteriousness. I get the sense that He’s telling an amazing
story. He’s not confused. He’s not biting his nails worrying if the
plan is going to turn out okay the way I do.
He’s fully confident of His plans and He’s in control. That’s been something that I’ve held onto.”
So how did I come to discover Steven Curtis Chapman? When I was a junior in High School, my best
friend and next door neighbor loaned me a copy of the album “The Great
Adventure.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVFPjIp6nkk
) I had accepted Jesus Christ as Savior
and Lord at age 7. Although I had a deep
love for God since that time, the embers had become cold and dark through the
years and I was not living for the Lord any longer. The friendship with this Godly friend and his
family, and partly the energy and sincere passion for Christ that poured out of
Steven’s music and heart in both the sound of the music and the lyrics really
helped to re-ignite that passion for God in me and brought me back to
life. Through the years, this has
continued to be the case.
Steven is someone I feel like I’ve journeyed life with. His music and his image have changed so much
over time but that impact has not. His
example in perpetually intertwining God’s most important callings to serve Him,
to expand His Kingdom, to his wife and his children, and to holiness before God
and man has been compelling. That
example of a real servant of God who lives what he says, who is faithful to God
and wife and family, and who impacts our world and increases the Kingdom of God
with his whole life has served to encourage and inspire me for a lifetime.
In an age of sanitation of anything of meaning, in an ocean of
meaningless or destructive lyrics and lifestyle examples, we need those heroes
like Steven that God raises up. It’s
this example and impact which makes all other forms of music and purposes for
music and performance seem pale to me.
Why not reach for the highest goal?
Why wouldn’t someone want to use their gifts to bring glory to the Giver
and call others to do what matters most?
What will God say of the time we have been given? While the allure of the call to rebellion and
nonconformity can seem attractive, I want to dedicate myself to conformity with
Christ and submission of my life to His will and to His call.
Steven Curtis Chapman’s words as he spoke concerning his latest album
seem to address the question with a challenge.
He goes on to say “Yet a part of the mystery is that He is revealing it
[His story] in our lives and it’s this unfolding incredible tale of His love
for us. This album gave me a chance to
tell that, to celebrate loss and hope and new life. For all of that, I’m really grateful. It really is my hope that people will hear
the sound of God’s voice whispering to them: ‘I know the plans I have for
you. Will you trust me? Will you trust me through the hard seasons
and through the good seasons? The story
is good. Will you trust me and watch it
unfold?’” And so Steven calls and
carries God’s call to us. What will we
do with this call? It seems fitting to
share the song Steven sings that pulled and pulls still so hard on my heart
when I hear it: “For The Sake of the
Call” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sb4RrF9VxI
Drawn like the rivers are drawn to the
sea
No turning back for the water cannot help but flow
Once we hear the Savior's call we'll follow wherever he leads
Because of the love He has shown
And because he has called us to go we will answer
We will abandon it all for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Wholly devoted to live and to die
Not for the sake of a creed or a cause
Not for a dream or a promise
Simply because it is Jesus who calls
And if we believe we'll obey
References:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Curtis_Chapman
Retrieved Dec. 2nd, 2013
- http://stevencurtischapman.com/about/
Official website. Retrieved Dec. 2nd,
2013
- http://blog.al.com/mcolurso/2008/10/crowd_says_amen_to_steven_curt.html
Birmingham News. Published Oct 28th,
2008. Retrieved Dec 2nd,
2013.
- http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/05/22/daughter-5-christian-music-star-steven-curtis-chapman-killed-by-suv-driven-by/
Fox News. Published May 22nd,
2008. Retrieved Dec 2nd,
2013.
- http://www.klove.com/music/artists/steven-curtis-chapman/
Retrieved Dec 2nd, 2013.
- http://voices.yahoo.com/getting-know-steven-curtis-chapman-biography-1504097.html
Published Jun 2nd, 2008. Retrieved
Dec 2nd, 2013.
