Christian rock

In 1952, Archibald Davison, a Harvard professor, summed up the sound of traditional Christian music and why its supporters might not like rock music when he wrote of "... a rhythm that avoids strong pulses; a melody whose physiognomy is neither so characteristic nor so engaging as to make an appeal in its own behalf; counterpoint, which cultivates long-breathed eloquence rather than instant and dramatic effect; a chromaticism which is at all times restricted in amount and lacking in emotionalism; and modality which creates an atmosphere unmistakably ecclesiastical".

Christians in the United States did not want their children exposed to music with unruly, impassioned vocals, loud guitar-riffs and jarring, hypnotic rhythms.

[2] Often the music was overtly sexual in nature, as in the case of Elvis Presley, who became controversial and massively popular partly for his suggestive stage antics and dancing.

The song "He Touched Me" was written in 1963 by Bill Gaither, an American singer and songwriter of southern gospel and Contemporary Christian music.

In the 1960s, rock music developed artistically, attained worldwide popularity and became associated with the radical counterculture, firmly alienating many[quantify] Christians.

[4][5] The romantic, melodic rock songs of the band's early career had formerly been viewed as relatively inoffensive by Christians, but after the remark, churches nationwide organized Beatles-record burnings and Lennon was forced to apologize.

[6] Subsequently, the Beatles and most rock musicians experimented with a more complex, psychedelic style of music that frequently used anti-establishment, drug-related, or sexual lyrics, while The Rolling Stones sang "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968), a song openly written from the point of view of Satan.

[8] Brian Collins characterises Mind Garage as "arguably the first band of its kind":[9][10] they recorded the 1967 Electric Liturgy at RCA's "Nashville Sound" studio in 1969.

[11] Both of these recordings were preceded by the rockabilly praise LP I Like God's Style, written and performed by one 16-year-old Isabel Baker and released on the private Wichita, Kansas Romco label in 1965, which no one published on until the 2000s.

This period would yield the Grammy winning single "Gotta Serve Somebody" and three successful concert tours that would later see release as The Bootleg Series Vol.

Dylan's influence was also felt in other members of the folk revival; Arlo Guthrie, for example, converted in 1979 (in part over his concerns over whether he faced a Huntington's disease diagnosis like others in his family) and released his own Christian folk-rock album Outlasting the Blues; Outlasting the Blues received the biggest record label promotion of Guthrie's career.

The latter had videos played on MTV, such as "Calling on You" and "To Hell with the Devil", and even saw some airtime on mainstream radio stations with their hit song "Honestly".

By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the success of Christian-inspired acts like Skillet, Thousand Foot Krutch, Decyfer Down, Underoath, Kutless, Disciple, P.O.D., Switchfoot, and Relient K saw a shift toward mainstream exposure in the Christian rock scene.

The musical genre that was once rejected by mainstream Christian churches is now considered by some as one of the most-important evangelism tool of their successor congregations.

According to Terri McLean, author of New Harmonies, old-guard churches (United Methodist is given as an example) of the late 1990s were experiencing a rapid decline in membership and were under threat of disbandment within the next decade, a trend that has been going on since the 1980s.

[citation needed] This element, the worship of God, is what was originally removed from or hidden within the lyrics of early, secular rock n' roll.

[33] Howard & Streck go on to describe how the conflict between music and religion, spearheaded by southern fundamentalists, was originally racially based, but how in the sixties this moved on to a clash over the perceived lifestyle of rock musicians.

Some bands reject the label because they do not wish to exclusively attract Christian fans, or because they have been identified with another particular music genre, such as heavy metal or indie rock.

Accompanying such music, street outreach, local festivities, church functions, and many alternative forms of internal or (soulful) expression may occur.

One of the first in the US was the six-day Explo '72 held in Dallas, Texas in June 1972 that was attended by around 80,000 people with around 100,000 – 150,000 at the final concert and which featured acts such as Larry Norman, The Archers, Love Song, Randy Matthews, Children of the Day, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson.

There are also many in the UK, including Greenbelt Festival, Soul Survivor, BigChurchDayOut, 'Ultimate Events' at Alton Towers, Frenzy in Edinburgh and Creation Fest, Woolacombe, Devon, which is not related to Creationfest in the United States.

[citation needed] Skjærgårdsfestivalen is an annual music festival held in Norway, which headlines Christian rock bands.

[citation needed] Many events are held in Australia called, Easterfest (in Toowoomba) Encounterfest, Jam United, Black Stump and Big Exo Day.