Amy Grant and Vince Gill are in concert with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at the Fox Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16.
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Augusta-born Amy Grant has won six Grammy Awards, 25 Dove Awards for gospel music and sold more than 30 million albums, making her the best-selling artist in contemporary Christian music.
But that unparalleled legacy didn’t protect the Queen of Christian pop from criticism when she embraced pop music with 1991’s Heart in Motion, divorced Christian musician Gary Chapman in 1999 and married country singer Vince Gill a year later.
The truth is they were just doing what Christian music and country music have always done, become cozy bedfellows.
Originally known as “old-time music,” country began with the immigrants of Southern Appalachia, who brought with their folk music traditions with them. The Irish fiddle, German dulcimer, Italian mandolin, Spanish guitar and West African banjo eventually joined the mix, played by both blacks and whites (sometimes together) in poor rural communities. By the early 1920s, many Appalachians had come to Atlanta to work in the cotton mills. Their music came along.
It was about this time that gospel music emerged as an alternative to stately hymns found in church. Gospel offered strong melodies, simple harmonies, catchy choruses, rhythmic syncopation and call-and-response vocals designed to encourage participation.
The earliest country singers had plenty of gospel blood in them. Mississippi-born Jimmie Rodgers, widely regarded as the Father of Country Music, blended gospel and hillbilly music with jazz, blues and pop. His “Blue Yodel” was one of the first singles to sell a million copies. The Carter Family’s signature sound gets credit for inspiring myriad bluegrass and gospel musicians, with hits such as “Can the Circle Be Unbroken” becoming standards.
By the mid-20th century, country and Christian music were intermingling at the core of popular culture. Country legend Red Foley closed his TV series “Ozark Jubilee” (1955-1960) with a gospel tune, as was the case on “The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show” (1957-1961). Even outlaw country rebel Johnny Cash crossed over, releasing 11 gospel albums in five years.
So, while the marriage of Grant and Gill may have surprised her devout fans, it musically was a union of genres that had come from the same soil. It’s a union that’s proven fruitful for both musicians in the past 13 years.
They had a daughter in 2001. In 2002, the Legacy… Hymns & Faith album returned Grant to her gospel roots with a healthy country influence. She joined the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2003and the Christian Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Gill returned to the deep bluegrass roots of his pre-Pure Prairie League days and was joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
They’ve each released a number of Christmas albums over the years: Home for Christmas and A Christmas to Remember (Grant) reached No. 2 and No. 36, respectively, on Billboard’s pop charts. Let There Be Peace on Earth and Breath of Heaven: A Christmas Collection (Gill) reached No. 14 and No. 39.
The couple’s Christmas concerts feature songs from all of their holiday albums, blending standards and more modern seasonal fare with some of their biggest hits. They’re truly a classic and contemporary, country and Christian celebration.
