May 2025 – Real 80s CCM

Mark Heard – Second Hand – 1991

I am sure as I type this that I am going to regret placing this album “too low” and even more I will probably regret admitting that Second Hand is actually one of my personal least favorite Mark Heard albums. That being said I also understand what a tremendous record it is despite my personal likings. Perhaps its that the album is a bit more “folky” than others and less rock oriented that sways my opinion. But one thing I do know, that it is not about the songs. In fact, when these same songs are performed by others with different arrangements they become personal favorites. When Pierce Pettis (who I totally made a mistake not including) did “Nod Over Coffee” I was instantly in love with the song. Same with the cover of Lonely Moon. There are some songs though that no one can touch Heard’s version: The first is “Worry Too Much.” What an amazing performance by heard here and is a personal favorite from the album. “I Just Wanna Get Warm” is another highlight with great mandolin and violin work. But one must remember that even a “least favorite” Mark Heard album is still better and more enjoyable than 95% of the rest of the music I own!

Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com

Tracklist
1 – Nod Over Coffee – 4:38
2 – Lonely Moon – 4:54
3 – Worry Too Much – 4:13
4 – Look Over Your Shoulder – 3:29
5 – She Don’t Have A Clue – 3:47
6 – Talking In Circles – 4:05
7 – Love Is Not The Only Thing – 4:58
8 – I Just Wanna Get Warm – 3:53
9 – Another Good Lie – 5:39
10 – All Too Soon – 3:57
11 – It’s Not Your Fault – 3:23
12 – I’m Looking Through You – 3:40
13 – What Kind Of Friend – 2:42
14 – The Ways Of Men – 5:07

Credits
Acoustic Bass [Acoustic Bass Guitar], Electric Bass – Bill Batstone
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Organ [Hammond], Vocals, Accordion, Mandolin, Harmonica – Mark Heard
Artwork – Mark Heard
Backing Vocals – Pam Dwinell-Miner
Chapman Stick – Fergus Jemison Marsh
Double Bass [Stand-up], Electric Bass – Glen Holmen
Drums – David Raven, Steve Hindalong
Engineer [Second] – Buddy Miller, Joel Russell
Executive-Producer – Chuck Long
Fiddle – Doug Atwell
Mastered By – Eddy Schreyer
Pedal Steel Guitar, Dobro – Greg Liesz
Percussion – David Baker
Photography By – Joel Russell
Producer [Associate] – Dan Russell
Producer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Mark Heard
Written-By – Lennon-McCartney, Mark Heard, Steve Padgett

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Fingerprint Recorders
Mixed At – Fingerprint Recorders
Recorded At – Neverland
Mastered At – Future Disc

PowerSource – Shelter From The Storm – 1986

This album has an interesting history. The album was released by a “band” that was heavily associated with a music ministry known as Gospel Workshop for Children that essentially put out children’s music. This album is partly oriented to children as partly at an adult audience. Not really the best album idea which is probably why it was self released and not on a label. Okay now onto why this album is pretty famous. The track “Dear Mr. Jesus” is a child (Sharon Batts) singing a song all about child abuse. This song ended up getting played in 1987 around Christmas time on Tampa radio station WRBQ-FM. It took off from there and reached all the way to #61 on the Hot 100 in January 1988. This all occurred at the time of the story of Elizabeth “Lisa” Steinberg, a 6-year-old New York girl beaten to death by her adoptive father Joel Steinberg in November 1987, became national news. The original release of the album had very limited numbers but several re-releases have occurred so people could get their hands on a copy. The band was smart enough to keep control of the song through all this and I hope they did well from it’s fame. Now my critique of the album. The adult oriented tracks are pretty good and “Lil’ Rebel” went right into my regular rotation. Like I said the album doesn’t make a whole lotta sense to me but I’m overly critical of this sometimes. If for no other reason this album should be listened to for it’s historical value.

Tracklist
1 – Only Child – 2:48
2 – Lil’ Rebel – 4:38
3 – Dear Mr. Jesus – 3:59
4 – Little Lambs – 2:50
5 – Jesus On My Side – 3:23
6 – Champion – 3:35
7 – Jesus I Heard You Had A Big House – 2:59
8 – Jesus Hears – 3:11
9 – God’s Little People – 3:34
10 – I’ll Never Stop – 4:20

Credits
Drums – Gene Glover, Gregg Bissonette
Bass – Bruce Lett
Piano – Bert Ligan
Guitar – Richard Klender, Larry Rolando, B. James Lowery
Banjo & Steel Guitar -Brian Thomas
Percussion – Gene Glover, Richard Klender, Bruce Lett
Disc Mastering – Wally Teaugott
String Arrangements – Dana Charles, Kevin B. Cleary

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Gospel Workshop For Children, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Gospel Workshop For Children, Inc.
Produced At – Richard Klender

Walter Hawkins And The Love Center Choir – Love Alive – 1975

Walter started his music career as a member of a family band fronted by his brother Edwin. The family band was the house band for the Northern California State Youth Choir of the Church of God in Christ. They actually had a major hit with their cover of “Oh Happy Day” in 1969. Walter Hawkins left the Edwin Hawkins Singers in the early 1970s to establish the Love Center Church and choir in Oakland, California. He also had great success with this arrangement releasing several albums. This is the first of that series of albums though it is actually his second solo album as he had a previous release without the choir. Also appearing on the album is his wife Tramaine Hawkins who was very successful Gospel singer on her own. One of the stranger things about this album is that Walter continued calling most of his albums “Love Alive” just adding a release number. I guess his thinking was don’t mess with a successful thing. This particular album was re-released several times over the years which is a testament to its popularity. I was not a follower of this genre in the 80’s but I wish I had been as the soul side of CCM had some great music and fantastic artists such as Walter Hawkins. Unfortunately Walter passed away in 2010 at the young age of 61 from cancer.

Tracklist
1 – Follow Me – 3:56
2 – Dear Jesus, I Love You – 4:03
3 – I Love The Lord – 6:17
4 – Changed – 8:01
5 – Changed (Reprise) – 2:23
6 – I Won’t Be Satisfied – 4:45
7 – God Is – 7:06
8 – I’m Not The Same – 4:11
9 – Goin’ Up Yonder – 9:40

Credits
Arranged By – Walter Hawkins
Cover [Design] – Thel A. Eichmann
Drums – Joel Smith
Engineer – Phil Edwards
Liner Notes – Andraé Crouch
Organ – Danny Hawkins
Photography By [Cover] – Tina Farley
Piano – Edwin Hawkins
Producer – Walter Hawkins

Companies, etc.
Published By – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Copyright © – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Record Company – Light Records
Recorded At – Ephesian Church, Berkeley, CA
Recorded By – Wally Heider Recording
Pressed By – Abbey Record Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Lost Dogs – Little Red Riding Hood – 1993

It was very difficult to decide exactly which of the first two Lost Dogs projects would be ranked higher on this list as both are incredible projects. Ultimately it came down to the fact that the debut had “Breathe Deep,” which amongst the Top 10 greatest CCM songs ever. But this album should not be missed by anyone that…well…just anyone! No Ship Coming In opens up the album and should have earned the band a charting single. But it was 1993 and CCM radio was too busy with Point of Grace and Carman. The acoustic melody and tight harmonies are just fantastic. Inspired by the best of the Beach Boys vocally the songs is a sing-a-long fest. It would literally expand beyond the normal limitations of these reviews to discuss every great song the album. But Imagine That, You Satisfy, Dunce Cap and Jimmy are just stand outs. The latter featuring a subdued and touching vocal by Gene Eugene. “Jesus Loves You, Brian Wilson” is just a true treasure. The follow up to “Breathe Deep” is the wonderful “Pray Where You Are,” though one does get the sense that it is really “Breathe Deep: Part Two.” But when a song is that great you can’t blame them for trying. The song itself is great and stands as one of the best the group has ever recorded.

Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com

Tracklist
1 – No Ship Coming In – 3:56
2 – Imagine That – 4:04
3 – You Satisfy – 4:06
4 – Bad Indigestion – 3:25
5 – Dunce Cap – 3:47
6 – Jesus Loves You, Brian Wilson – 3:16
7 – Precious Memories – 3:10
8 – Rocky Mountain Mines – 4:12
9 – Jimmy – 2:50
10 – Eleanor, It’s Raining Now – 6:17
11 – Free At Last – 4:59
12 – Red, White And Blue – 2:45
13 – I’m A Loser – 2:51
14 – No Room For Us – 4:11
15 – Pray Where You Are – 3:46
16 – (no audio) – 0:11
17 – (no audio) – 0:11
18 – (no audio) – 0:11
19 – (no audio) – 0:11
20 – (no audio) – 0:11
21 – (no audio) – 0:11
22 – On The Good Ship Lollipop – 1:07

Credits
Art Direction, Design, Photography By – Anna Cardenas
Backing Vocals – Jerry Chamberlain
Dobro, Pedal Steel Guitar, Banjo – Greg Kellogg
Drums, Percussion – Burleigh Drummond
Guitar, Vocals – Terry Taylor
Guitar, Vocals, Bass – Derri Daugherty
Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Harmonica – Mike Roe
Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Piano – Gene Eugene
Bass – Tim Chandler
Executive-Producer – Gene Eugene, Ojo Taylor
Layout [Additional], Producer [Additional Production] – Ed McTaggart
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Producer [Produced By] – Derri Daugherty, Gene Eugene, Mike Roe, Terry Taylor
Recorded By – Gene Eugene
Recorded By [With] – David Hackbarth, The Dogs, Mark Rodriguez

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – U.S. Optical Disc
Produced For – The WAL By Brainstorm Productions
Recorded At – The Green Room
Mixed At – The Mixing Lab
Mastered At – Future Disc
Published By – B-1 Music, Chenka Chenka Music, Word Music, MacLen Music

Roby Duke – Blue Eyed Soul – 1986

Here’s the third album from Roby and he still couldn’t get a good album cover. If viewed strictly by his album covers you would have no idea Roby did Rock/Pop. Anyway this is album is a little more pop than his previous two but I still quite like it. The only single from the album was “Can’t Let You Go” which only made it to #20 on the CCM charts. I truly feel that Roby was horribly underrated and I really wish I had heard him back in the 80’s but those album covers definitely prevented me from buying his albums.

Tracklist
1 – I Know You, Mister – 3:28
2 – I’ve Come Too Far – 4:08
3 – This Is Not A Game – 4:27
4 – Runaway (Say So) – 4:44
5 – Another Night – 3:51
6 – I’ll Survive – 4:01
7 – Talk To Me – 4:10
8 – Can’t Let You Go – 4:05
9 – It’s Up To You – 4:24
10 – Here For You – 4:25

Credits
Bass – John Patitucci
Guitar – Dann Huff
Guitar – Michael Thompson
Guitar – Steve Farris
Keyboards – Roby Duke
Keyboards – Eric Persing
Programming – Eric Persing
Sax – Bob Sheppard
Cymbal – Bob Wilson
Tom Tom – Bob Wilson
Background Vocals – Carmen Twillie, Julia Tillman Waters, Maxine Willard Waters
Vocals – Roby Duke

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Good News Records
Copyright © – Good News Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Published By – Dunamis Music
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s, Music Grinder Studios, Asaph Recording, Front Page Recording, Music Merchants Studio, Costa Mesa, CA
Mixed At – Mama Jo’s
Lacquer Cut At – The Mastering Lab
Pressed By – Electrosound Los Angeles – △12979

Andrus And Blackwood – Soldiers Of The Light – 1981

Another successful album for Andrus And Blackwood who dropped the “& Co.” for this album. Of course the big hit was “Soldier Of The Light” which made it to #1. This was followed up by “The Captain & Me” which made it to #4. Strangely I entirely missed this one back in the day. I don’t know how I could have missed it, the album cover alone should have peaked my interest. Speaking of the cover how did the record company not see the WKRP look alike situation going on when the T.V. show was at it’s peak. Unless they wanted the look alike feature. Still a very strange album cover to me because of that. Anyway this is a great album though not really my style.

Tracklist
1 – Soldier Of The Light – 4:06
2 – The Well Will Never Run Dry – 4:58
3 – God Made Man – 4:58
4 – Close To You – 3:50
5 – I Still Do – 3:15
6 – The Other Side – 4:57
7 – Walk On Water – 4:27
8 – Give It All – 3:36
9 – The Captain & Me – 3:53
10 – You Are – 3:25

Credits
Sherman Andrus – Vocals
David Baroni – Songwriter
Terry Blackwood – Vocals
Russ Bracher – 2nd Engineer
Kenny Buttrey – Drums
Bob Clark – Engineer
Bobby Cotton – Engineer
Dave Coy – Bass
Steve Gibson – Guitar
Jon Goin – Guitar
Randy Goodrum – Keyboards
Joe Hayden – Recorded (Assisted)
Jerry Hey – Horn Arrangements
Bruce Hibbard – Songwriter
Hadley Hockensmith – Guitar
David Huff – Songwriter
Phil Johnson – Producer, Songwriter
Alice Keister – Songwriter
Shane Keister – Songwriter, Keyboards, Synthesizer Bass
Brent King – Engineer
Abraham Laboriel – Bass
Larrie Londin – Drums
Ronnie Meek – Songwriter
Farrell Morris – Percussion
Joe Osborn – Bass
Warren Peterson – Engineer
Smitty Price – Engineer, Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Synthesizer
John Raines – Drums
Steve Schaffer – Bass
Seawind – Horns
Tim Sheppard – Songwriter
Denis Solee – Saxophone
Ken Suesov – Engineer, Mixed
Randy Thompson – Songwriter
Hank Williams – Mastered
Jack Williams – Bass

Barry McGuire – Seeds – 1973

After a chance meeting with traveling evangelist Arthur Blessit in 1971 led to a conversion to Christianity for folk/rock singer Barry McGuire, the young Christian signed with heavyweight label Myrrh to record a series of popular albums. The first two made this list and the debut is discussed here. As a member of the New Christy Minstrels McGuire scored several hits, but soon left to start a solo career. He recorded several solo albums before his conversion, but it was the one with the most ominous and spiritual theme that resonated with audiences. “Eve of Destruction” was hit both as an album and as a single, reaching the coveted number spot on Billboard. But the fame was short lived and following albums never met the same level of response. Seeds was his debut in the Christian market and was greeted warmly was very positive responses outside of the normal “devil’s music” complaints from the same tired circles. One song in particular became a mini anthem for the Jesus Movement. “Enter In” tells the story of three different people on judgment day and the Lord’s response to them. The memorable chorus and rollicking melody made it an instant favorite of youth groups at the time. Oddly enough McGuire’s music became less and less current after his first two projects. His first two were right in line with the folk and early 70’s rock for the time. Michael Omartian, 2nd Chapter of Acts and a young Howard McCreary all lend support on the project. Buck Herring produced and they created a true gem. The common themes of the rapture, evangelism and retelling of popular Bible stories fill the albums content. But it’s a much more joyful McGuire the expresses these themes than the one who recorded “Eve of Destruction.” The previous brooding singer-songwriter would reappear in “Lighten Up” but here on Seeds it’s all about the joy of the Lord in a new believer.

Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – To Know Love – 3:17
2 – Last Daze Waltz – 3:15
3 – Peace – 4:05
4 – Enter In – 5:35
5 – David And Goliath – 3:00
6 – Lear Jets / Father’s Son – 6:05
7 – Love Is – 3:54
8 – Railroad Man – 4:40
9 – Use The Crosswalk – 2:30
10 – Shauna’s Song – 4:05

Credits
Arranged By [Horn, String], Keyboards – Mike Omartin
Bass – Joe Osborn
Drums – David Kemper, Jim Gordon
Engineer – Buck Herring, Wally Duguid
Guitar [Solos] – Mike Deasy
Harp – Ben Benay
Keyboards – Howard McCrary, Larry Knechtel
Producer – Buck Herring
Saxophone – Don Menza
Saxophone, Saxophone [Solos] – Jim Horn
Trombone – Dick Hyde
Trumpet – Chuck Findley, Ollie Mitchell
Vocals – The 2nd Chapter Of Acts

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word
Recorded At – Sunwest Recording Studios
Mixed At – Sunwest Recording Studios

B.W. Stevenson – Lifeline – 1980

B.W., or Buckwheat, Stevenson was a pretty big country star in the 70’s. Stevenson actually had a pretty big hit with “My Maria” which many of us know as it was covered by Brooks & Dunn. He had 6 pretty successful country albums but his last record deal with Warner Bros. Records dried up in 1977. Like many country stars he decided to put out a Christian album which was likely influenced in part by producer Chris Christian who was actually his neighbour at the time. The album is actually pretty good and while it had some success on Christian radio with the hit “Headin’ Home” I think it should have done better. It has a great sound and Chris was able to bring it well into the 80’s and in places it’s actually pretty progressive. Honestly there weren’t that many good country albums in the genre but this one is one of those good ones.

Tracklist
1 – Headin’ Home – 3:26
2 – Take Me To Your Heart – 2:58
3 – Holding A Special Place For You – 2:49
4 – Fiddle And The Bow – 2:47
5 – Save A Little Time – 2:48
6 – Lifeline – 3:18
7 – Show Me The Way To The City – 3:10
8 – You Were There – 3:16
9 – Paradise – 2:46
10 – There Is Someone Who Loves You – 3:26
11 – One True Way – 2:26

Credits
B.W. Stevenson – Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Primary Artist, Vocals
Bergen White – Arranger, Strings, Vocals
Bobby Ogdin – Keyboards
Brown Bannister – Engineer
Chris Christian – Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic)
Diane Tidwell – Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Jon Goin – Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Lisa Silver Reynolds – Vocals
Roger Clark – Drums
Shane Keister – Keyboards, Piano
Sheri Cramer – Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Steve Gibson – Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Steve Schaffer – Bass
Terry McMillan – Harmonica, Percussion

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – MCA Songbird
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Songbird Records
Produced For – Home Sweet Home Productions

Dallas Holm And Praise – Live – 1977

The live project was originally titled Hey, I’m a Believer and was released in very limited numbers on cassette by Dallas himself in 1976. He says it did not sell well but then radio found his signature track “Rise Again” and Greentree Records jumped in and released it the next year with the title simply “Live”. This was also the first album where Dallas used the name Praise for his band. That band was Tim Johnson on keyboards, Tim’s wife LaDonna on vocals, and Randy Adams on bass. Dallas has told the story of this album a few times and he always points out that they had no idea what they were doing. They recorded the whole thing in one take with an 8 track in the Lindale High School auditorium with a crowd of 300 people. Apparently the whole session lasted 45 minutes and that was it. Given that this is the origin album for Rise Again it is in many collections but honestly Dallas was right when he said they had no idea what they were doing. This album is horribly recorded and quite frankly most the arrangements are a disaster and sound unrehearsed. That said it was 1976 and in the CCM genre Dallas still nailed it with one great quality song. This album has been re-released at least 4 times and there are some variations between those release. Our version here is actually a combination of those versions which we think best represents the album. We have moved the spoken track so their respective songs as a 30 second track on a YouTube playlist is just annoying.

Tracklist
1 – Hey! I’m A Believer! – 3:22
2 – Front Seat, Back Seat – 2:51
3 – He Means All To Me – 4:10
4 – Jesus, I’m An Open Book – 4:59
5 – Thank You Jesus – 3:39
6 – If I Had It To Do All Over Again – 2:56
7 – Let My Light Shine – 4:02
8 – Rise Again – 5:35
9 – He Knew Me Then – 3:54
10 – Come Unto Jesus – 4:28

Credits
Art Direction – Bob McConnell
Bass, Vocals – Randy Adams
Engineer [Remix] – Bob Clark
Guitar, Vocals – Dallas Holm
Keyboards, Vocals – Ladonna Johnson, Tim Johnson
Photography By – Bill Deaty
Producer – Phil Johnson
Recorded By – Bob Clark

Companies, etc.
Record Company – John T. Benson Pub. Co.
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Greentree Records
Copyright © – Greentree Records
Published By – Dimension (3)
Published By – Dunamis Music, Inc.