Tag: 70s

One of the finest acts of the Jesus Music era, The Crimson Bridge formed in 1970. While the origins of the band were in the Gospel vocal group The Spurrlows, The Crimson Bridge’s sounds and influences were much more diverse. Sure they dabbled in the typical folk music sounds of the Jesus Movement, but they also added jazz-funk, prog rock, and psychedelic rock on their debut (and only) album, eponymously titled and released in 1972 on then-fledgling Myrrh Records. “Comin'” is the third track on the album and focuses on the return of Jesus.… Continued →

Not so much a new band, as a continuation of a previous one, Famous Names was essentially the same line-up as Writz. The core of the band is husband-wife duo Steve and Bev Fairnie. They had begun earlier in the 1970s as Fish Co. doing folk-pop not too dissimilar to a lot of Jesus Music of the day, before heading into a distinct punk/new wave direction in the late 70s as Writz. However, they had to change their name due to an American pop group of the same name.… Continued →

Tonio K. was one of those hard-to-classify artists. He employed elements of rock, alternative, new wave, singer-songwriter, and more. He was too alternative for the mainstream, but not quite weird enough for indie rock. Let’s just call it rock and roll, shall we? Born in Southern California, the son of Armenian immigrants (born Steven Krikorian), K began his career with garage rock band The Raik’s Progress (who opened for Buffalo Springfield), then played a stint with Buddy Holly’s band the Crickets, but he got his first real break with a publishing deal for Intersong.… Continued →

Okay, Mylon LeFevre is a stretch for inclusion on Indie Vision Music. But hear me out. He wrote a hit song for Elvis Presley in 1964, “Without Him” for the king’s Gospel album How Great Thou Art. He was only 17 when he wrong the song (in 20 minutes according to the songwriter), and was paid $90,000 for it. He walked out with a paper bag full of cash and bought his first car, a Corvette. His connection to Gospel music came earlier, as he performed with his southern gospel singing family The LeFevres.… Continued →

British-born poet/artist/performer Steve Scott has been involved in or connected with Christian alternative music since 1983, having emerged from Croydon (South London) via the Bowery (New York City) before winding up in Sacramento, CA with the Exit Records scene there (Seventy Sevens, Charlie Peacock, etc.) where his debut album Love in the Western World was produced by Steven Soles (of Alpha Band fame). His solo work was a gleefully artistic take on new wave and/or post-punk with literate lyrics that pointed to his art school upbringing.… Continued →

Independent Christian music lost another legend recently. Jimmy Hotz (inventor/producer/solo artist/band member/producer/engineer/electronic music pioneer/author/multi-instrumentalist–and we’re not even exaggerating) died in June. Hotz first recorded in CCM in the 1970s with the group Dove, and then a handful of other mostly CCM artists before recording his solo album–and many would say his magnum opus–Beyond the Crystal Sea, released in 1980 on Oklahoma City-based Vision Records. Fortunately for fans, Born Twice (a division of Retroactive/Boone’s Overstock) re-issued the album in 2010. Hotz wasn’t content to release one of the greatest Christian rock albums of all time (this claim is verifiable too, repeatedly making appearances in all-time lists from reputable sources like HM, CCM, and various others).… Continued →

We’re digging deep into the archives for this one. Azitis was a psychedelic rock band from Sacramento, originally formed as “Help” in 1966, but they had to change the name for legal reasons because of a British band by the same name. The band’s name was taken from the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done on earth ‘azitis’ in heaven.” Having come up through the late 60s garage rock scene, by the time they recorded their debut, there was a plethora of original material to choose from.… Continued →

For our Song of the Day this time, let’s dig deep. While I often get stuck in the 90s (admittedly a great era for faith-based musical excursions), let’s not forget that Christian rock goes back *at least* to the 1960s (or arguably earlier if we include Sister Rosetta Tharpe). Not a lot is known about Gidians Bible (sic.), but what is known is fairly significant. Take a closer look at the band photo, particularly the vocalist on the far right. That’s then-future Petra vocalist Greg Volz.… Continued →

Moral Support were an Irish new wave band that brought the genre to Christian rock in a more open manner around the world. This song is a bit quirky to me (imagine that when we’re listening to new wave!). Hope ya like it … Continued →

Depending on how you define the term, Resurrection Band was arguably the first Christian heavy metal band. While their debut album was released in 1978, their earliest demo recordings date back to as early as 1973. While many fans and critics will argue, “they’re not heavy metal, just hard rock,” this outlook unfortunately judges the past by current standards. Metal has moved on and splintered into a hundred different and more extreme subgenres. However, in the 1970s, their brand of bluesy hard rock would definitely have been considered heavy metal at the time–just as bands like Van Halen, Aerosmith, Kiss and others were.… Continued →

I don’t suspect many of our readers will be familiar with What of the Night, which is a shame. This Irish & English punk band released only one album in 1979 (yes, you read that right!) making them the earliest Christian punk band (if we don’t include Death, which is a discussion for another time). The LP features post-punk, mod, and garage rock sounds and would be at home next to the likes of The Undertones, The Jam, Buzzcocks and so many others. It’s super rare and hard to come by, but I managed to track down a copy for myself a couple of years ago.… Continued →

CPR Band (a Petra-related project) have released their album “Back to the Rock II” on their website. “Back to the Rock II” is a continuation of Classic Petra’s 2010 album “Back to the Rock”, featuring 9 re-recorded Petra songs and an Aerosmith cover. CPR Band (not to be confused with the Thumperpunk Records band CPR) is a comprised of Petra members Greg X Volz, John Lawry, Louie Weaver, and Ronny Cates, as well as Kirk Henderson of Pieces of Eight. It all started when a friend of Louie’s approached him one day and said, “Louie, I believe God wants you guys to do another CD.… Continued →