It's one of the schmaltziest entries on this list, but it's also a standard-bearer for Contemporary Christian Music. The song at #9 on my countdown presents the Gospel in song form, making it not only an instant classic, but a staple of Christian radio for the entirety of the 1980s. The moment you hear this song, you can't help but feel the emotion coming through.
David Meece's 1980 release, Are You Ready, featured a ballad that would endure in multiple forms, including being performed by drum & bugle corps in marching band competitions (not kidding). But when you have an original song like this that holds up over decades, there's no way it won't be on this countdown.
I'm talking about "We Are the Reason."
I hate the album cover, even though it so loudly shouts out "1980!!!" Meece's delicate piano playing and tenor voice allow this song to draw the listener in from the very start. Although a string arrangement is included, it doesn't feel like it overwhelms the music mix by any stretch. A calm verse and chorus crescendos into a second verse, a chorus where the rhythm section kicks in, and then building even more into a bridge, and a final, triumphant chorus to close the song.
When a great Christian ballad sounds like it could also be a hit by Air Supply, it's both good and bad—one can't deny the superb songwriting present in Air Supply's music, and the arrangement completely matches what was expected in adult contemporary music around that time (face it, folks, pop music of the 1970s just wasn't all that great, and man atrocities were committed in that time). So it wasn't surprising that kind kind of sound would make its way into CCM radio, but also not surprising that a song with this kind of sound would carry such an emotional message.
That emotion sparked something in countless musicians to follow, and listeners of Christian radio would be moved by this amazingly simple melody and lyric.
I've finally found a reason for living
It's in giving every part of my heart to Him
In all that I do
Every word that I say
I'll be giving my all just for Him
It's because God loved us. That's what this song is saying, the crux of the entire Gospel, the musical embodiment of John 3:16, packaged in this one song. We ARE the reason that Jesus gave His life. His love for us knew absolutely no bounds, and in becoming human, and then suffering a criminal's death for us, He did everything one could do in order to show love for another human being. His resurrection gives us hope that, should we as believers be called upon to do the same for another that we love, we will experience the same resurrection of the spirit.
Simultaneously mournful and joyful, "We Are the Reason" stands as an example of a near perfect song in its original version, and deserves the #9 spot on this countdown.
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #21
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #20
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #19
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #18
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #17
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #16
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #15
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #14
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - Honorable Mention
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #13
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #12
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #11
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #10
There Is No Box.
Zach
David Meece's 1980 release, Are You Ready, featured a ballad that would endure in multiple forms, including being performed by drum & bugle corps in marching band competitions (not kidding). But when you have an original song like this that holds up over decades, there's no way it won't be on this countdown.
I'm talking about "We Are the Reason."
I hate the album cover, even though it so loudly shouts out "1980!!!" Meece's delicate piano playing and tenor voice allow this song to draw the listener in from the very start. Although a string arrangement is included, it doesn't feel like it overwhelms the music mix by any stretch. A calm verse and chorus crescendos into a second verse, a chorus where the rhythm section kicks in, and then building even more into a bridge, and a final, triumphant chorus to close the song.
When a great Christian ballad sounds like it could also be a hit by Air Supply, it's both good and bad—one can't deny the superb songwriting present in Air Supply's music, and the arrangement completely matches what was expected in adult contemporary music around that time (face it, folks, pop music of the 1970s just wasn't all that great, and man atrocities were committed in that time). So it wasn't surprising that kind kind of sound would make its way into CCM radio, but also not surprising that a song with this kind of sound would carry such an emotional message.
That emotion sparked something in countless musicians to follow, and listeners of Christian radio would be moved by this amazingly simple melody and lyric.
I've finally found a reason for living
It's in giving every part of my heart to Him
In all that I do
Every word that I say
I'll be giving my all just for Him
It's because God loved us. That's what this song is saying, the crux of the entire Gospel, the musical embodiment of John 3:16, packaged in this one song. We ARE the reason that Jesus gave His life. His love for us knew absolutely no bounds, and in becoming human, and then suffering a criminal's death for us, He did everything one could do in order to show love for another human being. His resurrection gives us hope that, should we as believers be called upon to do the same for another that we love, we will experience the same resurrection of the spirit.
Simultaneously mournful and joyful, "We Are the Reason" stands as an example of a near perfect song in its original version, and deserves the #9 spot on this countdown.
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #21
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #20
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #19
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #18
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #17
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #16
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #15
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #14
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - Honorable Mention
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #13
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #12
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #11
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #10
There Is No Box.
Zach
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