| Phillips, Craig & Dean | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Occupation: | Singers, songwriters, pastors |
| Genre: | Contemporary Christian, contemporary worship |
| Years Active: | 1991–present |
| Label: | INO/Columbia |
Phillips, Craig and Dean (rendered as Phillips, Craig & Dean on albums) is a contemporary Christian music trio composed of pastors Randy Phillips, Shawn Craig, and Dan Dean. Since forming in 1991, the group has sold over two million units. They have also received ten GMA Dove Award nominations, winning four, including Praise and Worship Album of the Year in 2007 for Top of My Lungs, and Inspirational Album of the Year in 2010 for Fearless.
In 1991, Randy Phillips went to several record companies with a solo album he had. StarSong, a Nashville-based company, urged him to form a male vocal group. He then called two friends who also happened to be pastors—and had also recently made solo albums.[1]
In 1992 they released their eponymously titled debut album, which peaked at No. 13 on the Christian albums chart. The band followed it with Lifeline in 1994 and Trust in 1995, which charted at No. 12 and No. 11, respectively. The song "Crucified with Christ" from Trust was particularly popular, reaching No. 1 on the INSPO chart and being nominated for 'Inspirational Song of the Year' and ' Song of the Year' at the 1997 Dove Awards. It was also awarded the 'Inspirational Song of the Decade Award' by CCM Magazine.[2]
In 1996 they released a Christmas album titled Repeat the Sounding Joy featuring the Christ Church Choir and the Nashville String Machine.
In 1997 they released Where Strength Begins. The following year, they released a compilation titled Favorite Songs of All which included two new songs. In 1999 they returned with Restoration, and followed it with Let My Words Be Few in 2001 and Let Your Glory Fall in 2003.
In recent years, they've shed their contemporary Christian roots and focused on more worship oriented music. On that line, they've released their latest albums. It was through Phillips' weekly TV program that Phillips, Craig & Dean discovered what would be the title track for their 2004 CD Let The Worshipers Arise. The praise & worship-themed show sought to discover the best song from an unknown songwriter with Michael Ferrin of Texarkana, Texas taking home the top prize. Once the judging was over, the top five winners came to Austin and the winning song debuted on an Awakening broadcast. "When I heard him sing it live it was one of those moments," Phillips recalls. "I think when people hear it, it’s going to cause them to reach out to Christ with a renewed passion like they’ve never had before."
In 2006, Phillips, Craig and Dean released their 11th studio album, Top of My Lungs. Three singles from the album, Your Name, Saved the Day, and Top of My Lungs, landed Top 5 spots on the INSPO chart.[3] The band gained national attention when Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton approached the plate at home games during the 2008 season to "Saved the Day", a song from the album.[4]
They've also contributed to several Contemporary Christian music compilations, most notably My Utmost For His Highest in 1995. Their second greatest hits album, the 2-CD set The Ultimate Collection, was released by Sparrow Records in 2006.
Since all three singers are full-time pastors and make it a priority to be at their respective churches for Sunday services, they have declared a virtual moratorium on Saturday night concerts.
They have performed at the conventions of the National Religious Broadcasters and Christian Booksellers Association, appeared at Moody Church, played at Promise Keepers rallies, and recorded music for the National Day of Prayer. In 2001, the National Day of Prayer 50th Anniversary theme song was "Shine on Us", featuring the trio.
Their album Fearless was released on August 4, 2009.[5] It sold over 10,000 copies during its first week and reached No. 46 on the Billboard 200, becoming the trio's highest-debuting album to date.[6] The album's first single was "Revelation Song". It reached No. 1 on Billboards Hot Christian Songs chart in August 2009, and stayed at the top for 11 weeks. It also grabbed the top spot on the INSPO chart for 18 weeks.[7] In addition, "Revelation Song" earned a Dove Award at the 2010 GMA Dove Awards for Worship Song of the Year, while Fearless earned the Inspirational Album of the Year award.[8] [9] During the 2010 GMA Dove Awards, Phillips, Craig and Dean performed Revelation Song live with fellow CCM artist Kari Jobe.
In 2010, the second single from Fearless, "Great Are You Lord" reached No. 1 on the INSPO chart. It has also peaked at No. 23 on the Hot Christian Songs chart and 19 on the Christian AC chart.
The group's first EP, a Christmas project titled Hope for All the World, was released later in 2010.
In 2012, the trio released their twelfth studio album, Breathe In. It peaked at No. 6 on Billboard's U.S. Christian Albums chart.
In 2013, the songs from their Christmas EP were added in a full-length studio album of the same name along with four new songs.
On November 10, 2014, their fourteenth studio album, Above It All, was released. It takes on a new, modern, and electronic style while retaining PCD's trademark elements. The first single is a reverent cover of "Jesus, Only Jesus".
In 2017 the trio released their fifteenth studio album Hymns & Psalms, a collection of hymns.
Their sixteenth studio album, You're Still God, was released on July 10, 2020.
Randy Phillips, Shawn Craig, and Dan Dean each is the senior pastor of a local church.
| Year | Title | Label | Record producer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Christian | Heatseekers | Billboard 200 | |||||
| 1992 | Phillips, Craig & Dean | 13 | – | – | Star Song | Paul Mills | |
| 1994 | Lifeline | 12 | – | – | Paul Mills / Brian Green | ||
| 1995 | Trust | 11 | 40 | – | Paul Mills | ||
| 1996 | Repeat the Sounding Joy (Christmas album) | 12 | 11 | – | Paul Mills / Carl Marsh | ||
| 1997 | Where Strength Begins | 6 | 16 | – | Mills / Dennis Matkosky / Phil Naish | ||
| 1999 | Restoration | 33 | – | – | Sparrow | Phil Naish | |
| 2001 | Let My Words Be Few | 15 | – | – | Nathan Nockels | ||
| 2003 | Let Your Glory Fall | 8 | 2 | 142 | |||
| 2004 | Let The Worshipers Arise | 5 | 7 | 179 | INO/Columbia | ||
| 2006 | Top of My Lungs | 12 | 4 | 181 | |||
| 2009 | Fearless | 1 | – | 46 | Bernie Herms | ||
| 2010 | Hope for All the World (Christmas EP) | – | – | – | Independent | Nathan Nockels | |
| 2012 | Breathe In | 6 | – | 88 | Fair Trade | Nathan Nockels / Bernie Herms | |
| 2013 | Hope for All the World (Christmas album) | – | – | – | Nathan Nockels | ||
| 2014 | Above It All | 13 | – | 198 | Seth Mosley, Nathan Nockels | ||
| 2017 | Hymns & Psalms | – | – | – | Chris Bevins | ||
| 2020 | You're Still God | – | – | – | Gaither Music Group | Nathan Nockels | |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Christ [14] | US Heat [15] | |||||
| 2003 | "My Praise" | 9 | – | Let Your Glory Fall | ||
| "Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)" | 20 | – | ||||
| "Here I Am to Worship" | 5 | – | ||||
| 2004 | "You Are God Alone" 3 | 10 | – | Let the Worshipers Arise | ||
| 2005 | "Friend of God" 2 | 9 | – | |||
| 2007 | "Your Name" 3 | 15 | – | Top of My Lungs | ||
| "Saved the Day" 3 | 29 | – | ||||
| 2008 | "Top of My Lungs" 3 | 25 | – | |||
| 2009 | "Revelation Song" 2 | 1 | 28 | Fearless | ||
| 2010 | "Great Are You Lord" 2 | 19 | – | |||
| "For All the World" | 17 | – | Hope for All the World (EP) | |||
| "Do You Hear What I Hear?" | 31 | – | ||||
| 2011 | "From the Inside Out" 3 | 39 | – | Fearless | ||
| 2012 | "When the Stars Burn Down (Blessing and Honor)"2 | 3 | – | Breathe In | ||
| "Great I Am" | 14 | — | ||||
| 2014 | "Jesus Only Jesus"2 | 33 | — | Above It All | ||
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | New Artist of the Year | — | |
| 1994 | Contemporary Song | "Favorite Song of All" | |
| 1995 | Inspirational Song of the Year | "I Want To Be Just Like You" | |
| Inspirational Album of the Year | Lifeline | ||
| Special Event Album of the Year | My Utmost For His Highest[17] | ||
| 1997 | Inspirational Song of the Year | "Crucified With Christ" (Shawn Craig, songwriter) | |
| Song of the Year | |||
| 2002 | Praise and Worship Album | Let My Words Be Few | |
| 2005 | Let the Worshipers Arise | ||
| 2007 | Top of My Lungs | ||
| 2010 | Worship Song | "Revelation Song" | |
| Inspirational Album of the Year | Fearless | ||
| 2015 | Above It All |