Amy Grant was born on November 25, 1960 in Augusta, Georgia. Her first album was released in 1977 on Christian label, Word Music and Grant left college to pursue her career. Her second album won a Grammy for its blend of gospel and pop. Her crossover was complete with the 1991 album Heart in Motion which reached number one on the Billboard pop chart. Grant is married to country star Vince Gill.
Upcoming concerts
Purchase Ticket via Songclick.com
Sunday 10 February 2019
Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati, OH, US
Friday 22 February 2019
Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, AZ, US
Saturday 23 February 2019
Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino, Mescalero, NM, US
Thursday 28 February 2019
Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD, US
Friday 01 March 2019
Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park Hard Rock Live, Northfield, OH, US
Tuesday 30 April 2019
Amy Grant with Jordin Sparks, MercyMe, and 27 others
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN, US
Thursday 02 May 2019
Victory Theatre, Evansville, IN, US
Wednesday 19 June 2019
Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD, US
Thursday 20 June 2019
Birchmere, Alexandria, VA, US
Background information |
|
|---|---|
| Birth name | Amy Lee Grant |
| Born | November 25, 1960 Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Contemporary Christian, pop rock, soft rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, musician, author, media personality |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | Myrrh, A&M, Word, Sparrow |
| Associated acts | Vince Gill, Gary Chapman, Michael W. Smith |
| Website | amygrant |
Early Life
Singer, songwriter. Born on November 25, 1960, in Augusta, Georgia. Grant helped revolutionize contemporary Christian music. She grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, in a close-knit, religious family. It was in church that Grant was exposed to the hymns and Christian stories that would influence her work.
As a teenager, Grant taught herself how to play guitar and worked part-time at a recording studio. She made a tape of her music for her parents, which had been discovered by a producer with Word Records, a Christian music label. This led to a recording contract, and her first album was released in 1977. The self-titled album was a big success in the world of Christian music. With her unique style, Grant charted new territory. She fused elements of existing genres of gospel, hymns, and Jesus music—which used rock music to convey Christian teachings—to create a fresh, new sound, not heard before. Her songs are often deeply personal as well as reflecting her spiritual faith.
Crossover Stardom
With the 1985 album Unguarded, Grant’s sound began changing. Much of her music had a soft rock element to it, but this release sounded even more like a mainstream pop record. In fact, Grant had her first crossover success on the pop charts with the track “Find a Way.” She even had a music video for the song playing on MTV. But not everyone appreciated her new success. The lyrics on the album had few directly religious references, which upset some in the Christian music community.
Discography
- Amy Grant (1977)
- My Father’s Eyes (1979)
- Never Alone (1980)
- Age to Age (1982)
- A Christmas Album (1983)
- Straight Ahead (1984)
- Unguarded (1985)
- The Animals’ Christmas with Art Garfunkel (1986)
- Lead Me On (1988)
- Heart in Motion (1991)
- Home for Christmas (1992)
- House of Love (1994)
- Behind the Eyes (1997)
- A Christmas to Remember (1999)
- Christmas Moments with Amy Grant & Friends (1999)
- Legacy… Hymns and Faith (2002)
- Simple Things (2003)
- Rock of Ages… Hymns and Faith (2005)
- Somewhere Down the Road (2010)
- How Mercy Looks from Here (2013)
- Tennessee Christmas (2016)
Personal life
On June 19, 1982, Grant married fellow Christian musician Gary Chapman. Their marriage produced three children. In March 1999, she filed for divorce from Chapman, citing “irreconcilable differences”, and the divorce was finalized three months later.
On March 10, 2000, Grant married country singer-songwriter Vince Gill, who had been previously married to country singer Janis Oliver of Sweethearts of the Rodeo. Grant and Gill have one daughter together, Corrina Grant Gill, born March 12, 2001.
In the November 1999 CCM Magazine, Grant explained why she left Chapman and married Gill:
I didn’t get a divorce because ‘I had a great marriage and then along came Vince Gill.’ Gary and I had a rocky road from day one. I think what was so hard—and this is (what) one of our counselors said—sometimes an innocent party can come into a situation, and they’re like a big spotlight. What they do is reveal, by comparison, the painful dynamics that are already in existence.
Later Career
Grant went through a time of personal upheaval in the late 1990s. Her pain was apparent on 1997’s Behind the Eyes. The usually upbeat Grant seemed more maudlin this time around on such tracks as “Cry a River,” “Missing You,” and “The Feeling I Had.” Not long after this album, news of Grant’s impending divorce from her husband of 16 years broke.
Grant ended the 1990s by branching out professionally, acting in the 1999 television, A Song from the Heart, in which she played a blind music teacher. She also made other changes in her life around this time. She married Vince Gill in 2000, and a year later, the couple had a daughter together named Corrina Grant Gill. Corrina is Grant’s fourth child; she has three children from her first marriage: Matthew Garrison, Gloria Mills “Millie,” and Sarah Cannon. Since marrying, Grant and Gill have continued to work together on a number of projects. Gill acted as a producer on her 2002 Legacy . . . Hymns & Faith album and the couple sang a duet entitled “Beautiful” on 2003’s Simple Things.
During her long career, Grant has won numerous awards, including 6 Grammy Awards and more than 20 Dove Awards. Her most recent Grammy win was for Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album for Rock of Ages . . . Hymns & Faith (2005). This same recording won the Dove Award for Inspirational Album of the Year in 2006.
In a February 2007 web chat on her web site, Grant discussed a book she was working on titled Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far, saying, “It’s not an autobiography, but more a collection of memories, song lyrics, poetry and a few pictures.” The book was released on October 16, 2007. In November, it debuted at No. 35 on the New York Times Best Seller list.[20] In the same web chat, Grant noted that she is “anxious to get back in the studio after the book is finished, and reinvent myself as an almost-50 performing woman”.
2007 was Grant’s 30th year in music. She left Word/Warner, and contracted with EMI CMG who re-released her regular studio albums as remastered versions on August 14, 2007. Marking the start of Grant’s new contract is a career-spanning greatest hits album, with all the songs digitally remastered. The album was released as both a single-disc CD edition, and a two-disc CD/DVD Special Edition, the DVD featuring music videos and interviews.
Grant appeared with Gill on The Oprah Winfrey Show for a holiday special in December 2007. Grant has plans to appear on CMT, a Food Network special, the Gospel Music Channel, and The Hour of Power.
In February 2008, Grant joined the writing team from Compassionart as a guest vocalist at the Abbey Road studios, London, to record a song called “Highly Favoured”, which was included on the album CompassionArt.
On June 24, 2008, Grant re-released her 1988 album, Lead Me On, in honor of its 20th anniversary. The two-disc release includes the original album and a second disc with new acoustic recordings, live performances from 1989, and interviews with Amy. Grant recreated the Lead Me On tour in the fall of 2008.
On June 27, 2008, at Creation Festival Northeast she performed “Lead Me On” and a few other songs backed by Hawk Nelson. At the end of the concert, Grant returned to the stage and sang “Thy Word”. She appeared on the 2008 album Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends singing “Could I Have This Dance”.
Awards and achievement
Grammy Award
- 1982: Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational – Age to Age
- 1983: Best Gospel Performance, Female – “Ageless Medley”
- 1984: Best Gospel Performance, Female – “Angels”
- 1985: Best Gospel Performance, Female – Unguarded
- 1988: Best Gospel Performance, Female – Lead Me On
- 2005: Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album – Rock of Ages…Hymns & Faith
Grammy Nominations
- 1979: Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational – My Father’s Eyes
- 1980: Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational – Never Alone
- 1981: Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational – Amy Grant in Concert
- 1990: Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Female – “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”
- 1992: Album of the Year – Heart in Motion
- 1992: Song of the Year – “Baby Baby”
- 1992: Record of the Year – “Baby Baby”
- 1992: Pop Performance Female – “Baby Baby”
- 1994: Children Spoken Word – Lion & the Lamb
- 2008: Album of the Year (as featured artist) – These Days
- 2011: Best Gospel Song – “Better Than a Hallelujah”
- 2012: Best Country Song – “Threaten Me with Heaven”
GMA Dove Awards
- 1983: Artist of the Year
- 1983: Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year – Age to Age
- 1983: Recorded Music Packaging – Age to Age
- 1984: Recorded Music Packaging – A Christmas Album
- 1985: Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year – Straight Ahead
- 1986: Artist of the Year
- 1986: Recorded Music Packaging – Unguarded
- 1988: Short Form Music Video of the Year – “Stay For a While”
- 1989: Artist of the Year
- 1989: Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year – Lead Me On
- 1989: Short Form Music Video of the Year – “Lead Me On”
- 1990: Country Song of the Year – “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”
- 1992: Song of the Year – “Place in This World”
- 1992: Artist of the Year
- 1994: Praise and Worship Album of the Year – Songs from the Loft
- 1996: Special Event Album of the Year – My Utmost for His Highest
- 1998: Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year – Behind the Eyes
- 2000: Special Event Album of the Year – Streams
- 2003: Inspirational Album of the Year – Legacy…Hymns & Faith
- 2003: Song of the Year – “The River’s Gonna Keep on Rolling”
- 2006: Inspirational Album of the Year – Rock of Ages…Hymns & Faith
- 2007: Long Form Music Video of the Year – Time Again… Amy Grant Live
Special awards and recognitions
- 1992: Junior Chamber of Commerce Young Tennessean of the Year
- 1994: St. John University Pax Christi Award
- 1994: Nashville Symphony Harmony Award
- 1996: Sarah Cannon Humanitarian Award – TNN Awards
- 1996: Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award – Columbia Hospital
- 1996: Voice of America Award – ASCAP
- 1996: Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award
- 1999: “An Evening with the Arts” Honor – The Nashville Chamber of Commerce, Nashville Symphony, and Tennessee Performing Arts Center
- 1999: The Amy Grant Room for Music and Entertainment – The Target House at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
- 2001: Easter Seals Nashvillian of the Year Award
- 2003: Inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame
- 2003: Summit Award – Seminar in the Rockies
- 2006: Amy Grant Performance Platform – Nashville Schermerhorn Symphony Center
- 2006: Hollywood Walk of Fame star unveiled
- 2007: Charter member of Tiffany Circle – Red Cross
- 2007: Inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame
- 2008: Class of 1966 Friend of West Point award with Vince Gill
- 2012: Honorary Doctorate Degree of Music and Performance – Grand Canyon University
- 2015: No. 52 in The Top 100 Female Artists of the Rock Era (1955–2015
Bibliography
- Amy Grant’s Heart to Heart Bible Stories; Worthy Pub (1985), ISBN 978-0-8344-0130-3
- Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song); W Publishing Group (2001), ISBN 0-8499-1732-8
- “The Creation” (narrator), in Rabbit Ears Beloved Bible Stories: the Creation, Noah and the Ark (audio book); Listening Library (Audio) (2006), ISBN 978-0-7393-3709-7
- Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far; Flying Dolphin Press (2007), ISBN 0-385-52289-4
References
- Official website
- Amy Grant on IMDb
- Amy Grant at AllMusic
- Amy Grant Biography – Songwriter, Singer (1960–)
- Brounstein, Laura (November 2006). “In Perfect Harmony: Vince Gill & Amy Grant”. Ladies’ Home Journal. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013.
- Ruhlmann, William. “Amy Grant – Music Biography, Credits and Discography”. AllMusic. March 7,2013
- Jump up to: “Amy Grant Receives a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame”. Getty Images. September 19, 2006.
- Michael Goldberg (June 6, 1985). “Amy Grant wants to put God on the charts”(PDF). Rolling Stone. Archived from the original(PDF) on November 20, 2008.
- Stephen Thomas Erlewine. “Rock of Ages…Hymns & Faith – Amy Grant – Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards – AllMusic”. AllMusic.
- “30 Songs / 30 Days for Half the Sky”. Half the Sky Movement. August 30, 2012. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012.
- “Amy Grant”. February 12, 2016.
- “Amy Grant Chart History”. November 29,2017.
- “Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith Announce 2017 Christmas Tour Featuring Jordan Smith, Winner Of ‘The Voice,’ Full Symphony Orchestra”. August 8, 2017.
- “Past Winners Search”. grammy.com. The Recording Academy. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
