Carmen is the name of an opera by Bizet.
Carman is a CCM artist.
Now that that's out of the way . . .
When Freddie Mercury wrote "Bohemian Rhapsody", he had a vision for the song to be heard by millions. People would understand his vision, he believed, and the radio stations would play it, regardless of the giant song length of over six minutes. And he was right. Not only did the song peak at number 9 on the Billboard charts when it was released, it hit #2 with its re-release in 1992 after it was featured in the movie Wayne's World, and eventually became the most-streamed song of all time, as of December 2018.
So how does Carman figure into that? Well, picture yourself as a record producer or record executive, and one of your bright, talented artists brings you the idea of a song that eclipses "Bohemian Rhapsody" both in scope and in length, creating a cosmic story about the ultimate battle between good and evil, played out like a boxing match.
Sound crazy? Yeah, it does. Crazy enough to get recorded and released as the primary single from the album of the same name, crazy enough to get played on radio, and crazy enough to be Carman's very first number one single.
Come on, do I even need to say what song it is?
"The Champion" was the song that absolutely cemented Carman's place in Christian music history. Yes, in some ways, he kind of has the vibe of a sanctified version of a lounge singer, but if you listen to the album The Champion as a whole, you'll be surprised to find a massively high level of professionalism throughout the record. To be sure, it's kind of a disjointed mess, as he never sticks to one genre, save for the ballads. However, he executes with precision every single song on the album. Keith Thomas, who helmed the project, brings his expertise and depth of knowledge, and many well-known session musicians are all over this album, exemplifying the best that the CCM world had to offer at the time.
Then comes track 9. Combining the message of the Gospel with a School House Rocks! approach, "The Champion" grabs you from the very beginning and doesn't let go throughout the narrative. To be sure, it was an inspired choice, using the boxing motif as a parallel to the crucifixion and resurrection, with Jesus rising due to a ten-count in reverse, coming from God the Father.
Carman gets a lot of flak these days for the novelty songs that marked his career. It's true that during the early part of the 1990s, he didn't really have his finger on the pulse of popular culture the way he thought he did (encouraging people like Stephen Curtis Chapman to do a rap song, for instance), and future albums like Addicted to Jesus began to show the cracks in his armor. The people who had grown up on his music had, well, grown up, but it had become apparent that Carman hadn't really grown much past what had gotten his audience's attention in the first place.
However, "The Champion" is a moment of triumph not only for Carman, but for the Christian music world, as well. The power and emotion of the music is undeniable, and when I listen to it, I still get chills. This was the Gospel spelled out in what sounded like a cool way, and as a 9 or 10 year old kid, I wouldn't think twice about having a friend who didn't know Jesus listen to it. Not only was it entertaining, it was an interesting way to present the Gospel using a method that nobody else was doing at the time.
Carman may be a lounge singer, but he knew one thing that all other successful lounge singers knew—how to be entertaining. That was his draw; he would entertain people so that he could draw them in and share the love of Jesus with them. And to his credit, he created one of the biggest songs to ever be released on Christian radio.
While the song may not hold up as well so many years later the way it did back in 1985, it was a powerhouse record at the time that defied every expectation of what Christian music could do. And so it is without any irony whatsoever that I place "The Champion" in the #5 slot of the top CCM songs of the 1980s.
Previous entries in this series:
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
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #9
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #8
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #7
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #6
There Is No Box.
Zach
Carman is a CCM artist.
Now that that's out of the way . . .
When Freddie Mercury wrote "Bohemian Rhapsody", he had a vision for the song to be heard by millions. People would understand his vision, he believed, and the radio stations would play it, regardless of the giant song length of over six minutes. And he was right. Not only did the song peak at number 9 on the Billboard charts when it was released, it hit #2 with its re-release in 1992 after it was featured in the movie Wayne's World, and eventually became the most-streamed song of all time, as of December 2018.
So how does Carman figure into that? Well, picture yourself as a record producer or record executive, and one of your bright, talented artists brings you the idea of a song that eclipses "Bohemian Rhapsody" both in scope and in length, creating a cosmic story about the ultimate battle between good and evil, played out like a boxing match.
Sound crazy? Yeah, it does. Crazy enough to get recorded and released as the primary single from the album of the same name, crazy enough to get played on radio, and crazy enough to be Carman's very first number one single.
Come on, do I even need to say what song it is?
"The Champion" was the song that absolutely cemented Carman's place in Christian music history. Yes, in some ways, he kind of has the vibe of a sanctified version of a lounge singer, but if you listen to the album The Champion as a whole, you'll be surprised to find a massively high level of professionalism throughout the record. To be sure, it's kind of a disjointed mess, as he never sticks to one genre, save for the ballads. However, he executes with precision every single song on the album. Keith Thomas, who helmed the project, brings his expertise and depth of knowledge, and many well-known session musicians are all over this album, exemplifying the best that the CCM world had to offer at the time.
Then comes track 9. Combining the message of the Gospel with a School House Rocks! approach, "The Champion" grabs you from the very beginning and doesn't let go throughout the narrative. To be sure, it was an inspired choice, using the boxing motif as a parallel to the crucifixion and resurrection, with Jesus rising due to a ten-count in reverse, coming from God the Father.
Carman gets a lot of flak these days for the novelty songs that marked his career. It's true that during the early part of the 1990s, he didn't really have his finger on the pulse of popular culture the way he thought he did (encouraging people like Stephen Curtis Chapman to do a rap song, for instance), and future albums like Addicted to Jesus began to show the cracks in his armor. The people who had grown up on his music had, well, grown up, but it had become apparent that Carman hadn't really grown much past what had gotten his audience's attention in the first place.
However, "The Champion" is a moment of triumph not only for Carman, but for the Christian music world, as well. The power and emotion of the music is undeniable, and when I listen to it, I still get chills. This was the Gospel spelled out in what sounded like a cool way, and as a 9 or 10 year old kid, I wouldn't think twice about having a friend who didn't know Jesus listen to it. Not only was it entertaining, it was an interesting way to present the Gospel using a method that nobody else was doing at the time.
Carman may be a lounge singer, but he knew one thing that all other successful lounge singers knew—how to be entertaining. That was his draw; he would entertain people so that he could draw them in and share the love of Jesus with them. And to his credit, he created one of the biggest songs to ever be released on Christian radio.
While the song may not hold up as well so many years later the way it did back in 1985, it was a powerhouse record at the time that defied every expectation of what Christian music could do. And so it is without any irony whatsoever that I place "The Champion" in the #5 slot of the top CCM songs of the 1980s.
Previous entries in this series:
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
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #9
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #8
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #7
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #6
There Is No Box.
Zach
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