Tag: 1966

The Joy Strings – Well Seasoned – 1966

Continuing on my quest for the “first” here is another very early Christian rock album. I knew nothing of this album until a few months ago when it came across my desk and I’ll admit the cover didn’t make me rush to listen to it. You think I would know at this point that album covers mean nothing. This is without a doubt one of the best Christian rock albums I have ever heard. The band were led by keyboard player Joy Webb and got their start when they were featured on the BBC Tonight television show. The band mainly consisted of Salvation Army singers from the William Booth Memorial Training College, Denmark Hill in London. After appearing on TV they got a record deal and released a couple singles with great success. “It’s An Open Secret” made it to #32 and “A Starry Night” made it to #34 on the British charts. This is their first of 2 full length album and it’s a rather oddly structured album with Side A being all original tunes and Side B being Christmas carols. The album has 16 tracks which was great value for money at the time, something that would disappear until CD’s many years later. The album was picked up by Epic Records for U.S. release in 1967 but alas the album didn’t do as well in the U.S. If for no other reason you listen to this album you HAVE to listen to their rendition of “O Little Town Of Bethlehem” set to the music of The House of the Rising Sun. It is without a doubt one of the greatest moments of Christian music that no one ever heard.

Tracklist
1 – Keep Me In Your Love – 2:36
2 – He Is Near – 2:46
3 – No Time To Lose – 2:43
4 – Where Will It End – 2:24
5 – Long Lost Cause – 3:01
6 – Friend For You – 2:32
7 – There Will Be God – 3:00
8 – Love That’s All Around – 2:31
9 – We Three Kings Of Orient Are – 2:28
10 – Silent Night, Holy Night – 2:31
11 – The Little King Jesus – 2:42
12 – O Little Town Of Bethlehem – 3:31
13 – Away In A Manger – 2:27
14 – Mary’s Boy Child – 2:37
15 – Do You Hear What I Hear? – 3:23
16 – The Holly And The Ivy – 1:31

Credits
Joy Webb – guitar, keyboards, vocals
Peter Dalziel – guitar, bass, vocals
Bill Davidson – guitar
Wycliffe Noble – drums
Sylvia Gair – tambourine, vocals

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Epic Records
Manufactured By – CBS Inc.
Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman

The Crusaders – Make A Joyful Noise With Drums And Guitars – 1966

I’m not gonna say this is the first Christian rock album because I keep finding one older every time I say that. That said this is definitely one of the first ones. The Crusaders were a 60’s garage rock band from LA. They emerged out of the surfing scene and actually had several different names over the years. The band signed with Tower records and used the name The Crusaders for this album. The record company said “five sincere young men … who have chosen the Big Beat as the means of expressing the religious faith”. Two of the members were Catholic and two were Jewish and we have no idea what the 5th member was. I think we can deduct from this that this album was a record company idea. The band did go on to record another album but it was secular and they used a different name. We generally don’t ever count on anyone’s “level” of Christianity but I think it’s safe to assume this was a record company idea not a expression of religious faith. Anyway all that aside this is a fun album. I generally love the sounds of the 50’s and 60’s so it’s a natural for me to like this one. The album features 5 traditional and 5 original tracks and is truly a Rock & Roll album. This albums holds an important part of Christian rock history so be sure to give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Little Drummer Boy – 2:42
2 – Battle Hymn Of The Republic – 2:10
3 – God Lives – 2:07
4 – You’ll Never Walk Alone – 1:56
5 – With The Lord On Our Side – 2:38
6 – Praise We The Lord – 2:54
7 – What Is Man – 2:00
8 – He’s Got The Whole World In His Hand – 2:25
9 – Onward Christian Soldiers – 1:44
10 – Make A Joyful Noise – 2:13

Credits
Danny Altcholer – Guitar
Walt Flannery – Organ
Mike Joyce – Bass
Jeff Barnett – Drums
Fred Barnett – Guitar
Mark Taylor – Engineer
Hank Levine – Producer
Larry Goldberg – Producer

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Big L Music
Produced For – #1 Prod.
Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Scranton

The Pilgrims – Telling Youth… The Truth – 2004

I have decided I’m going to quit crediting people with being the first recorded Christian artist. Every time I think I’ve found an old album I find an older one. This release is interesting in that besides a couple of singles these guys didn’t have an album in the 60’s. Their album didn’t come out until 2004. That said they were out there playing Christian music to the youth as early as 1961 and this album is a compilation of recording form 1962 to 1967. They formed the band as teens and hit the road playing anywhere that would have them They were declared the loudest Christian band of the time. I can only assume they were one of a very very few doing this style and genre of music. They of course were ostracized by organized religion but when asked about this said they didn’t care, they were there for the youth. I can not imagine how a teenage Christian in 1964 would have reacted upon hearing their music but I can only imagine it was the same relief I hear when I listened to my first Resurrection band album. Luckily the tapes were saved over the years and now we can appreciate what these pioneers did, and yes I’ll dare say it, before anyone else.

Tracklist
1 – Hey You! – 2:54
2 – Thank You Lord – 3:24
3 – Heaven’s The Place For Me (Version 2) – 3:19
4 – There’s Someone In Your Life – 3:07
5 – I Didn’t Care – 2:34
6 – Think It Over (Version 2) – 2:16
7 – Wait And See – 2:35
8 – Do You Believe In God? – 2:24
9 – Heard It All Before – 4:41
10 – Any Time Of The Day – 2:09
11 – Who’s Your Lord? – 1:56
12 – I Know I’m Going To Heaven – 2:36
13 – He Wants You – 2:31
14 – I Don’t Need You – 2:03
15 – What Are You Doing With Your Life? – 2:34
16 – Think Of God’s Love – 2:30
17 – I Praise The Lord – 2:59
18 – Don’t You Think It’s Time – 3:42
19 – Heaven’s The Place For Me (Version 1) – 2:39
20 – I Found A Special Friend – 2:40
21 – Think It Over (Version 1) – 2:24

Credits
Bass, Vocals – John Hubbard
Coordinator [CD Coordinator] – Ed Nadorozny
Drums, Vocals – Ian Wilkie
Layout [Graphic Layout] – Bon Henderson
Lead Guitar, Bass – Don Sanders
Restoration [Sound Restoration] – Alec Palao, John Dahlin
Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Derrick Phillips
Vocals – Chris King
Vocals, Lead Guitar, Harmonica – Tony Goodman