In 1986, the CCM market was having a very good year. Most of the singles that were the top CCM songs of that year were standards that have had a very long shelf life, including Michael W. Smith's "Rocketown", Petra's "Thankful Heart", Sandi Patti's "Was It a Morning Like This?", "He Covers Me" by Steve Camp, "How Many Times" by WhiteHeart, the massive ballad "Undivided" by First Call, and DeGarmo & Key's 1-2 ballad punches of "Casual Christian" and "Destined to Win". America's Dan Peek even covered his own song "Lonely People" with a Christian message, and at least 2 other songs on my countdown are from 1986.
But regardless of the year, sometimes the simplest ideas make the best songs. "Simple Blues" by The 77's took only about 5 minutes to write. "Your Love" by The Outfield was written in about 20 minutes. Both songs had simple premises, and both were catchy as hello there. This story repeats itself throughout the years, and some of the best and most-loved songs came from fairly simple ideas that came together with practically no complications. Sometimes, something is so obvious that when the idea present itself, it's almost as if you were just meant to discover it.
Another single from 1986, "Christian" by Sheila Walsh, is kind of like that, but a somewhat different story.
I remember hearing a year-end countdown on the local Christian radio station where Walsh was being interviewed, and she recalled where the idea for the song "Christian" came from. Apparently someone who wasn't a believer saw how her life was impacting him, and either told her or wrote to her the ideas that became the verses and chorus of this song.
My friend
You hold the keys to paradise
You live alone to pay the price
Bright eyes
What is this power you possess?
Compassion with a sweet caress
In everything you do
I wanna be like you
At a time when CCM songs were confirming the Word, offering praise to God, and encouraging believers to live right, here comes a song that bucked the trend. As a young man of only 10 when this song came out, and once I understood the implications of it, I wondered what it would take for someone to look at my life and say the same thing. Would someone be taken by me because of the residual stuff God was working in my life? Would the power of God shine through in what I was putting out into the world?
This song gave me something to aspire to in a way the Scriptures hadn't really put into words so that my 10-year-old brain could process it properly. To this day, this song still rings in my ears when I think about the people around me who don't know Jesus, and I wonder if what they're seeing from my life is pointing them to the Father.
Christian
Show me what true love is
Teach these eyes to see
Without your star to guide me
What am I to do?
I believe in you
For previous entries in this series, look here:
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
There Is No Box.
Zach
But regardless of the year, sometimes the simplest ideas make the best songs. "Simple Blues" by The 77's took only about 5 minutes to write. "Your Love" by The Outfield was written in about 20 minutes. Both songs had simple premises, and both were catchy as hello there. This story repeats itself throughout the years, and some of the best and most-loved songs came from fairly simple ideas that came together with practically no complications. Sometimes, something is so obvious that when the idea present itself, it's almost as if you were just meant to discover it.
Another single from 1986, "Christian" by Sheila Walsh, is kind of like that, but a somewhat different story.
I remember hearing a year-end countdown on the local Christian radio station where Walsh was being interviewed, and she recalled where the idea for the song "Christian" came from. Apparently someone who wasn't a believer saw how her life was impacting him, and either told her or wrote to her the ideas that became the verses and chorus of this song.
My friend
You hold the keys to paradise
You live alone to pay the price
Bright eyes
What is this power you possess?
Compassion with a sweet caress
In everything you do
I wanna be like you
At a time when CCM songs were confirming the Word, offering praise to God, and encouraging believers to live right, here comes a song that bucked the trend. As a young man of only 10 when this song came out, and once I understood the implications of it, I wondered what it would take for someone to look at my life and say the same thing. Would someone be taken by me because of the residual stuff God was working in my life? Would the power of God shine through in what I was putting out into the world?
This song gave me something to aspire to in a way the Scriptures hadn't really put into words so that my 10-year-old brain could process it properly. To this day, this song still rings in my ears when I think about the people around me who don't know Jesus, and I wonder if what they're seeing from my life is pointing them to the Father.
Christian
Show me what true love is
Teach these eyes to see
Without your star to guide me
What am I to do?
I believe in you
For previous entries in this series, look here:
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
There Is No Box.
Zach
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