Christian music has come a long way from the church-sanctioned melancholy chants of centuries gone by. It has rich history going back several hundred years. In fact, the earliest music manuscripts were of church origin.

When the separation of church and state began, secular music emerged in full force. Some people mistakenly believe that so-called "Christian" music died with this new era. In truth, the church's loosened grip on music actually led to more diversified styles in Christian music.

Musician Larry Norman was considered a pioneer of Christian rock music. In fact, many still refer to him as "the father of Christian rock." (Later in his life, the aging musician was tagged with the new tongue-in-cheek title: "Grandfather of Christian rock.") Norman's music may have been the anti-Gregorian chant, a fact that made him a criticized figure among his fellow Christians.

Still, Norman managed to gain an astounding following that hasn't waned despite his recent death of heart failure. His musical talent is undeniable. Those stolid church leaders who would condemn his style needed only to listen to Norman's songs. His faith in God was unquestionable.

Norman's artistry flung open the door to Christian rock, as well as other popular music styles. Hip hop, dance, punk, metal, blues and pop-style music has been put to sacred words and ideas since.

Some on the outside of the Christian music scene criticize it all as un-original, carbon copies of secular music. However, a true study of Christian music and its history reveals that Christian musicians have been trend setters. Christian musician Phil Keaggy is regarded as possibly the world's best guitarist. Even the legendary Jimi Hendrix was known to acknowledge Keaggy as a more worthy musician than himself.

Other artists have managed to make successful from crossovers from Christian to secular music. This seems to demonstrate that their talent transcends religion. Artists like Amy Grant generated fans in both the religious and the secular music industry. Gospel singer Kirk Franklin is another artist who made an impression in both the Christian and the secular market. His first album in 1993 went platinum. It stayed on the gospel chart for an astounding two years. What is perhaps more astounding is the fact that it charted on the R&B charts.

Today Franklin is a respected artist in many genres and circles. The band DC Talk broke new ground in the Christian music world in the 1980s and 90s. It began as a hip hop group, later evolving into a more pop-style group with rap influences. DC Talk managed to win respect in both worlds.

Today's Christian music scene still burgeons with successful artists making names for themselves of their own rights. Michael W. Smith is a renowned singer, songwriter and three-time Grammy award winner. He has reinvented his career over the decades and is a noteworthy praise and worship leader and recording artist today. Bands like POD, Switchfoot, Relient K, Sixpence None the Richer and Lifehouse have proved that Christian artists can hold their own on the secular stage. Christian music and secular labels alike will undoubtedly continue to turn out high quality recordings from talented artists for many years.

Although our true love is Christian Music , we can't help but like this rendition of our National Anthem!  There is nothing like seeing/hearing it live, but this gives a pretty good idea of the intensity!! 

To All

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We are taking a Christmas Poll and need your input! What effect does
listening to Christmas Music have on your attitude toward Christmas and what
are some of your favorite songs? Please use the Comment section to chime in
and Merry Christmas to all!!

A friend of ours has written a new book.  She is the mother of 5 children and is a comedian!  Check it out...

Now that Christmas Season has officially begun, we thought we would offer some Christmas and Christian Music for you to purchase for others or just get some for yourself!

We hope everyone can find at least one thing to be really thankful for and has a great Thanksgiving!!

A user on www.ChristianChirp.com posted this great worship song that is always appropriate, but even more so around the Thanksgiving and Christmas season

We recently did an unscientific study regarding the effects music can have on your mood and reactions.  This effort was a follow up to a study we did on a group of seventh graders several years ago.  The results of that study concluded that music definitely affects the mood and reactions of young people.  We observed the difference between hard rock music and soft Christian Music had on the group.  In over 90% of cases, the softer music led to a better mood and a more positive reaction to problems, conflicts, and stress. 

We decided to do a similar study on a group of middle aged folks.  In this study, we used 80's upbeat music and contemporary Christian Music  that would be considered the softer side of the spectrum.  Our results were not as convincing as with the group of young people; however, a majority of those observed seemed to calm down faster and react more positively after listening to the Christian Music than the upbeat 80"s music (not that 80's upbeat music is bad, there were some real classics released during that era!). 

Our conclusion is that Christian Music can definitely affect your mood; however, maturity also plays a part in how we react to situations and how we control our emotions.  Overall, we still recommend Christian Music  as a great means to relax you and to help you focus on what's really important!