Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #11

It might be presumptuous to put out a compilation album after only a handful of albums and less than 10 years of releases, but in 1986, Myrrh Records released Amy Grant's The Collection. It was one of the first of many greatest hits compilations in the CCM world that kind of set the standard for the best-of format: a couple of new songs followed by a group of hits from earlier in the artist's career. And in Amy Grant's case, it presented some of her older material to a younger audience that may have only found her as a result of her smash release Unguarded.

Not a bad way to sell more records, and certainly not a bad way to give a history lesson on the growth of an artist, which was certainly the case for Grant, as the production and quality on her recordings increased with each release. Age to Age, for instance, was very much imbedded in the CCM world, featuring fully orchestrated scores that revealed the time and era in which the music was made; however, it also featured the more contemporary stylings that Grant's music seemed to call for.

Rich Mullins, who was eventually called upon to tour with Grant, got his official start in the recording industry in a huge way, when Grant recorded one of the songs he penned, the lead track from Age to Age, and #11 on my countdown, "Sing Your Praise to the Lord."


This isn't the first Amy Grant song I remember hearing, but when the record was placed on the turntable in our living room (man, I'm old), and I began to hear the piano leading into the orchestrated intro, and then into the band's rhythm section kicking in, I do remember this being the first Amy Grant song that sent chills down my spine. Once the lyrics kicked in, I was hooked.

Sing anew
The song your heart learned to sing
When He first gave His life to you
But life goes on, and so must the song
You gotta sing again
The song born in your soul
When you first gave your heart to Him
Sing your praises once more

As close to a modern psalm as any I've heard, this song is a command and a cry of praise all at once. The conviction in Grant's voice comes through, aggressive and commanding, as a reminder of what the Scripture tells us to do. Not that we should simply not be silent, but that we should praise the Lord in all things, and constantly come back to the reasons we have to praise Him. This song is a joyous reminder of our responsibilities to praise God, and a celebration of praise in and of itself.

This song also showed people who were stuck in the old style of non-contemporary Gospel music that . . . . well, that they were wrong.

And that's pretty much all I have to say on this one. Just listen to the song and enjoy.

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

There Is No Box.
Zach

Comments

  1. I was in the grade school when I discovered Amy Grant's Age to Age cassette at my grandmother's house, probably in 1982. I liked this song for a very specific reason: the aggressive (to my ears) guitars that start at 1:07 and end around 1:13. I would rewind the tape and play that guitar "shred" over and over. Unsurprisingly, I grew up to be a metalhead and collector of the harder side of Christian rock/metal/industrial music.

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