Contemporary Christian Music Songs I'd Have Liked To Have Seen Cross Over (Part One?)

1. Jim Morrison's Grave-Steve Taylor (1987) Taylor began his recording career in the mid-'80s as a godly new wave/synth pop type who was already controversial to some who weren't open to his often satirical lyrics. He went darker by a fair extent wth his I Predict 1990 album, from which this song inspired by Tayor's visit to the late Doors singer's gravesite in France derives. Have you ever looked up to a hero who let you down?

2. I Choose Joy-Larnelle Harris (1992) Harris first became known singing wtih the contempo' Christian jazz/funk rock band First Gear. But his popularity soared when he went solo on a series of albums full of highly orchrestrated, dramatic renditions of hynmody and balladry. Here, however, he lands comfortably in the pocket of where soul music (rendered at a medium tempo) was in the early '90's. He could sound excellent singing a dictionary page, but this relative change of pace for Harris suits him well I say. How joyful are you as you read this?

3. Easter Song-The Second Chapter of Acts (1974) According to the notes accompanying a 2-CD anthology of work by this coed sibling trio with a specifically biblical name and wondrous harmonies, this tuneful 7/8 meter (I think) retelling of Jesus Christ's resurrection did receive scattered seasonal airplay on regular ol' pop radio stations for a while but not to the point where it made any national music trade magazine singles charts..in part because it was never issued as a 45 r.p.m. 7" record to retail. Do you celebrate Easter, or, as I prefer to call it, Resurrection Sunday?

4. Why Don't You Look Into Jesus-Larry Norman (1972) If only for the brilliant couplet "Gonorrhea on Valentine's Day/You're stil looking for the perfect lay," this song should be better known, by my estimation. Norman is the best-known figure to emerge from the rock music being made as an outgrowth of the Jesus hippie movement/revival of the late 1960-'s-early '70's (before launching his solo career, he was a member of People, who had a top 20 US pop hit wtih a remake of The Zombies' "I Love You"). The best-known version of "Why..." is found on Norman's album Only Visting This Planet, produced by The Beatles' frequent collaborator, George Martin. Are there any relatively obscure songs with one especially memorable line that you wish were better known?

5. Is It Any Wonder-Ideola (1987) Ideola's an alias for folk rock singer/songwriter Mark Heard, used for his one-album venture dance -oriented, new wavy rock with a bit of an industrial leaning. He recorded it for a label that purposefully attempted to bridge the contempo' Christian and general markets; though the video for this song made it into low MTV rotation briefly, it was a bigger deal on Christian rock radio, where it topped CCM Magzine's chart for that format. Oddly, Heard was better received with this break from his usual style than his equally lyrically probing and poetic, folkier work. As recounted in the biography, Hammers & Nails: The Life and Music of Music of Mark Heard, he felt alienated from much of evangerlival Protestant culture. Have you ever felt uncomfortable in a place or situation in which you should, ideally, feel at home?