Our Hymns Explained
Our Hymns is a compilation album released in 1989 on Word Records.[1] It features well-known church hymns each done by CCM artists' interpretation and styles of music from pop ("Holy, Holy, Holy" by Michael W. Smith) to rock ("Onward, Christian Soldiers" by Petra) to country ("More Love To Thee" by Bruce Carroll). It is also a trilogy of albums from Word Records using the word "Our" in the series starting with this album, along with Our Christmas (1990) and Our Family (1992). The R&B vocal group Take 6 won the Grammy for Best Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group for their interpretation of "The Savior Is Waiting" at the 32nd Grammy Awards. In 1990, the album won Praise and Worship Album of the Year and Amy Grant won Country Recorded Song of the Year for "'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus" at the 21st GMA Dove Awards.[2] [3] Our Hymns debuted and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.[4]
Track listing
Note: The medley by Russ Taff features the following hymns and its writers: "Near the Cross" by Fanny Crosby and William Howard Doane; "My Jesus I Love Thee" by William Ralph Featherston and Adoniram Judson Gordon; "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" by Helen Howarth Lemmel. The medley is arranged by James Hollihan, Jr. and Loren Balman.
Personnel
Lead Vocalists
Musicians
- Michael W. Smith – keyboards (1, 7), drum programming (7)
- Brown Bannister – accordion (2)
- Evie McPherson – accordion (2)
- Chris Christian – keyboards (3), percussion overdubs (3)
- Bobby Ogdin – keyboards (3)
- John Andrew Schreiner – keyboards (4), bass (4)
- Phil Madeira – keyboards (5)
- George "Smitty" Price – keyboards (6)
- Paul Mills – keyboards (8), programming (8)
- Wayne Watson – additional keyboards (8), guitars (8)
- John Lawry – keyboards (10)
- Jerry McPherson – guitars (1), dulcimer (2), ukulele (2)
- Steve Gibson – guitars (3)
- Michael Hodge – guitars (4)
- James Hollihan – guitars (5)
- Phil Keaggy – guitars (6)
- Bob Hartman – guitars (10)
- Gary Lunn – bass (1), drum programming (1)
- Gary Chapman – bass (2)
- Sonny Garrish – bass (3)
- Jackie Street – bass (5)
- Dave Coy – bass (6)
- Tommy Sims – bass (7), drum programming (7)
- Ronny Cates – bass (10)
- Bryan Lenox – drum programming (1, 7), percussion (1, 7)
- Paul Leim – drums (3)
- Brian Tankersley – drums (4), percussion (4)
- Lynn Williams – drums (5)
- Doug Matthews – drums (6)
- Dennis Holt – percussion (6)
- Louie Weaver – drums (10)
- Kirk Whalum – saxophone (4)
- Chris Harris – backing vocals (1)
- Mark Heimmerman – backing vocals (1)
- Wayne Kirkpatrick – backing vocals (1)
- Donna McElroy – guest vocals (1)
- Christ Church Choir – choir (1)
- Jean McRath – backing vocals (4)
- Alfie Silas – backing vocals (4)
- Ashley Cleveland – backing vocals (5)
- Jonell Mosser – backing vocals (5)
- Julie Miller – guest vocals (5)
- Alvin Chea – backing vocals (9)
- Cedric Dent – backing vocals (9)
- Mark Kibble – backing vocals (9)
- Christian V. McKnight III – backing vocals (9)
- Mervyn Warren – backing vocals (9)
- Dave Amado – backing vocals (10)
- John Elefante – backing vocals (10)
Production
Album Artwork
- Elizabeth Jones – production assistant (1, 7)
- Mary Gross – album coordinator
- Buddy Jackson – art direction, design
- Mark Tucker – photography
Technical
- Billy Whittington – engineer (1, 7), mixing (1, 7)
- Jeff Balding – engineer (2)
- John Cary – engineer (3)
- Chris Christian – engineer (3)
- Brian Tankersley – engineer (4)
- Lynn Fuston – engineer (5)
- Eddie Keaggy – engineer (6)
- James "JB" Baird – engineer (7)
- Gene Eichelberger – engineer (7)
- Paul Mills – engineer (8), mixing (8)
- Wayne Watson – engineer (8)
- Don Cobb – engineer (9), mixing (9)
- Mark Kibble – mixing (9)
- Mervyn Warren – mixing (9)
- Gary Hedden – engineer (10)
- Mike Mireau – mixing (10)
- Steve Bishir – assistant engineer (2)
Charts
Radio singles
Accolades
Grammy Awards
GMA Dove Awards
Year | Winner | Category |
---|
1990 | Our Hymns by Various Artists | Praise and Worship Album of the Year |
1990 | "'Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus" by Amy Grant | Country Record Song of the Year | |
Notes and References
- Book: Various Artists: Our Hymns. 1989. Word Records.
- News: 32 Annual Grammy Awards winners and nominees. 1990.
- News: Dove Awards past winners.
- News: Inspirational LPs. Billboard. October 21, 1989. 32.
- News: Inspirational LPs. Billboard. October 21, 1989. 32.
- Book: CCM Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 - 2001 . . 2003 . 1-4107-3294-0 . Brothers . Jeffrey Lee. 105.
- Book: CCM Hot Hits: Christian Hit Radio - 20 Years of Charts, Artist Bios and More . . 1999 . 0-8230-7718-7 . Brothers . Jeffrey Lee. 137.
- Book: CCM Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 - 2001 . . 2003 . 1-4107-3294-0 . Brothers . Jeffrey Lee. 198.
- Book: CCM Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 - 2001 . . 2003 . 1-4107-3294-0 . Brothers . Jeffrey Lee. 226.
- Book: CCM Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 - 2001 . . 2003 . 1-4107-3294-0 . Brothers . Jeffrey Lee. 53.