A Sea Of Red

I was thinking through a list of the top 10 Christian Rock songs of the 80s and 90s and would love some nominations from you old guys. Shoot.

I think you may have 5 people that can contribute to this thread.

To Hell With the Devil...Stryper

How do you define "rock"? Just want to know who would be included. Punk? Hardcore? Heavy Metal? Ska? Rap-core? etc...

ALUmnus wrote:How do you define "rock"? Just want to know who would be included. Punk? Hardcore? Heavy Metal? Ska? Rap-core? etc...

Include what you like.

Most of this I guess would be classified more as Christian Contemporary or pop, but, off the top of my head, here's who and what I remember listening to a lot back in the day...

This goes back to early '70s? and my sisters, but I still remember Larry Norman ("I Wish We'd All Been Ready") and some of the Jesus-people music. One Way.

The '80s. Amy Grant.

Probably early '90s: Stephen Curtis Chapman, "The Great Adventure."

Later '90s: Third Day, Watermark and Avalon ("Testify to Love").

I know I'm forgetting stuff. I suppose I am old.

You have to start with Petra or Stryper...

Anyone every heard of One Bad Pig? First Christian Head Banger band.

I know One Bad Pig!

Here's my contribution:

White Cross, "Hammer and Nail" Album 1988
White Cross, "In the Kingdom" Album 1992 (Dove best metal album of the year)
Note: Rex Carol was won of the best guitarist ever!

most Rez Band.

will bring more later...

Yea, I dug Stryper, Whiteheart, and mostly Petra. Loved Idle Cure, Allies, Rick Cua, Russ Taff, Some Randy Stonehill, Phil Keaggy. In the 90's Audio Adrenaline, Jars of Clay, Third day, and PFR.

When the '80s began the genre was essentially limited to Petra, Whiteheart, Keaggy, Stonehill and a youth pastor named Steve Taylor. The '80s saw an explosion of growth in Christian arena/hair metal. It would be impossible to not mention everyone's favorite bumblebeesduring this time. But Christian metal was huge in the Late '80s.

The '90s saw more diversity in styles. And come on, Jesus Freak was the most influential album ever in the genre.

I'm not sure if this thread was supposed to be about songs or artists. But it brought back positive memories either way.

One Bad Pig was from my hometown of Cincy and they were ahead of their time.

I started with songe, but we all (including me) took it the group direction.

Here are a few favorites from the time periods:

Degarmo and Key - Alleluiah Christ is coming, Rock Solid
Mylon Lefevre and Broken Heart - Trains up in the sky, Stranger to Danger, Closer than a heartbeat
Petra - Everything - Not of this world, Judas Kiss, Beyond Belief, This means War
Whiteheart - Bye Bye Babylon, Freedom, Seventy Times seven
WhiteCross - You're mine
Michael W. Smith - Rockettown, Secret Ambition
Russ Taff - Not Gonna Bow
Allies - Voice of the Spirit, the Devil is a Liar
Steve Camp - The Cross is a radical thing
Idle Cure - Breakaway
PFR - Wonder Why
Audio Adrenaline - Can't take God Away
Rick Cua - I can I will
Mastedon - It is done
Stryper - Always there for you, Free, Soldiers under command

To name a few

Petra Praise- The Rocks Cry Out ( on cassette back in the day)
DC Talk -Jesus Freak

I have nothing when it comes to 80's Christian rock. Growing up in Connecticut, I didn't know there was such a thing.

As for the 90's, these were the best, because I listened to them:
POD (Snuff the Punk & Brown)
EDL (every day life)
MxPx
Supertones
ValuPac
Delirious
Starflyer 59
Soulfood76
Ghoti Hook
Five Iron Frenzy
Jars of Clay
Plankeye
Stavesacre
Zao
Back then it was also Chevelle (Point No. 1), because everyone thought they were a Christian band, but the joke was on us.
There are some others but my mind can't stretch back that far. As soon as I can get them off the tip of my tongue I'll write them down. I might have to get out my box of cassette tapes to remember the names.

ALUmnus wrote:...because everyone thought they were a Christian band, but the joke was on us.

Eh. It was kind of our own fault for assuming that just because Steve Taylor signed them to his label they must be A Christian Band.

Good picks, though. I listened to almost all of those a lot in high school and college. Been a while since I thought about Soulfood76. Ha.

I had an enormous 90's CCM collection, but all of my CDs were stolen out of my car on a road trip to Albany for an LU friend's wedding. I had two of those huge Case Logic notebook cases that held hundreds of CDs. Gone. That was a saaaaad trip home for me.

And that's the story of how I stopped listening to CCM.

ALUmnus wrote:I have nothing when it comes to 80's Christian rock. Growing up in Connecticut, I didn't know there was such a thing.

As for the 90's, these were the best, because I listened to them:
POD (Snuff the Punk & Brown)
EDL (every day life)
MxPx
Supertones
ValuPac
Delirious
Starflyer 59
Soulfood76
Ghoti Hook
Five Iron Frenzy
Jars of Clay
Plankeye
Stavesacre
Zao
Back then it was also Chevelle (Point No. 1), because everyone thought they were a Christian band, but the joke was on us.
There are some others but my mind can't stretch back that far. As soon as I can get them off the tip of my tongue I'll write them down. I might have to get out my box of cassette tapes to remember the names.

A nice list indeed....for the most part.

Haven't heard Zao in a long time.

SeoulFlame wrote: Note: Rex Carol was won of the best guitarist ever!

Quoted for truth

White Cross, DeGarmo and Key, Allies, Mylon and Broken Heart, Petra, Steve Taylor -- these are the bands that got me through Liberty (and got me a bunch of demerits at Liberty, too). In the 90s -- Dakoda Motor Company, Magdelan, Angelica (got to meet them at a bookstore in Pensacola, FL).

All time greats -- Phil Keaggy (from Sunday's Child all the way through Crimson and Blue), I guess Petra would really go here, too.

Bryan Duncan
Twila Paris
Geoff Moore
DC Talk
Anointed
Bebe & Cece Winans
Steven Curtis Chapman
Kathy Troccoli
Amy Grant
Michael W. Smith
to name a few.
Who remembers when the TV's in DeMoss used to play Christian Music videos? What channel was that? It was probably around the mid 90's.

I have a friend who hosts a classic ccm/rock show on Saturday mornings and he plays all those artists and more. Its called Final Flight. Its at 8 AM so it may be a tad early for some of the older posters on here but if some of the newer generation want to check out the kind of music that was the foundation for what we have today itd be a good listen

BJWilliams wrote:I have a friend who hosts a classic ccm/rock show on Saturday mornings and he plays all those artists and more. Its called Final Flight. Its at 8 AM so it may be a tad early for some of the older posters on here but if some of the newer generation want to check out the kind of music that was the foundation for what we have today itd be a good listen

BJ - as you age you'll realize that sleeping past even 7 AM is rarely possible. Us older posters are more likely to be up then. Nature calls earlier and more frequently.

BJWilliams wrote:I have a friend who hosts a classic ccm/rock show on Saturday mornings and he plays all those artists and more. Its called Final Flight. Its at 8 AM so it may be a tad early for some of the older posters on here but if some of the newer generation want to check out the kind of music that was the foundation for what we have today itd be a good listen

I don't want be negative, but...this show is aweful.

I will agree that he needs a LOT of work on his on air manner. The music is pretty solid though. I think I filled in for him once a couple years ago

someone provide a link or stream. If the kid even approaches "Boom Goes the Dynamite" level this is worth getting up to listen. At least once.