A New Calling..Artists Who Found Religion

John Schlitt, lead singer of Head East from 1974 to 80. Kicked out of band because of drug habit, became a christian and later joined the group Petra and played with them for about 20 years.

I never listened to Petra, but I saw Head East in concert once. They put on a great show and had a few big hits.

 

I know Jon Cain is. He's married to a Paula White. Not sure about any others though.

Ed

 

"He's the One" on his Inside Job album, is a sly gospel-blues-rock take on "Seventh Son."

 

Joe made several great Christian rock albums in the '80s; rocking, melodic, and edifying. I was very disappointed to hear him say many years later that he was not a Christian during this period; that he did it for the money (He said he heard some other contemporary Christian artists and said, "I can write that stuff") and that he was still heavily drug addicted at the time. He has now renounced rock music completely and is a member of a cultish hard core fundamentalist church in North Carolina (unless he has left it). His testimony is on YouTube.

 

Neal's lyrics in Spock's always had a spiritual slant to them, but Snow is where they got overtly religious and then he departed right after that album was made. He laid it on pretty thick on his first few albums post-Spock's, but has toned it down a little in the 10's on the official releases (not counting the worship CDs he releases to fans online) to where they now remind me of the lyrics he wrote for much of his Spock's run. Even though there have been times where I think, "'Man, I wish he would have toned it down a little," his music is so good that I don't care. He could sing the phone book and it would sound good.

 

Yep, Snow was what I was alluding to when I said he had dialed in his religious lyrics at the end of the Spock's Beard run. I agree, Neal Morse is an absolute prog craftsman and regardless of how one feels about his faith, or religion in general, writing off his artistry is missing out on some truly amazing music.

 

Leon Patillo -
Santana "Borboletta" LP ... after receiving the Lord he left and went 100%
in to Gospel music and the ministry.

 

Yes, they own a condo in my building and I see them on occasion. Cain is a born again Christian and his wife is the leader of one of those mega-churches in Florida. She's also our President's designated "spiritual advisor".

 

John Crawford, the founder and the lead songwriter and bass guitarist of the '80s band Berlin. He wrote most of the material on their popular albums in the 80s (with the exception of "Take My Breath Away"). He is now a Christian and released a solo album titled After Berlin a few years ago that includes spiritual references and themes.

A long ways from "Sex (I'm A)..."

 

I've come to this thread a bit late, but Van the Man had a religious epiphany a few years before Avalon Sunset etc. There are several songs on Wavelength that specifically quote the Jehovah's Witness faith. Kindom Hall comes to mind.
Apologies if I'm duplicating any previous post.

 

You're right and also Bobby Bare should be on this list! His latest two albums were excellent and I've caught his shows a few times in recent years. It's usually Bobby with a pickup band or a roadshow band who can competently get through each song, even saw him once with his son's band in support of "The Moon Was Blue." Nowadays, Bobby usually does these fairly frequent, but limited package tours in the U.S. and Canada with Leroy Van Dyke or Bill Anderson, both of whom I've seen with Bobby.

 

'Jesus Is The Only One That Loves Us'

 

More than once, Van has claimed to be a Christian mystic. When asked about his faith, he said, "I'm a Christian. I've always been a Christian." When asked "Do you go to church?", he said, "Now and again."

 

George Harrison-Hare Krishna
John Lennon-Yoko Ono

 

His mother was one of Jehovah's Witnesses but he never was.

Ed

 

I saw Petra several times back in the 90's and they were a great band. Schlitt was a real full-on arena rock personality. They're not my favorite kind of rock but in concert they were really special.

 

Whole lot of jazz musicians - Ahmad Jamal, Abdullah Ibrahim, Idris Muhammad, Yusef Lateef...

 

I recall reading somewhere that he was standing outside one of his shows handing out JW literature.

 

Bushwick Bill

 

Adam Yauch - Buddhism

 

Most good hearted people don't like racists or fascists............

 

John French (Drumbo)
Jeff Cotton (Antennae Jimmy Semens)

Both are/were Captain Beefheart/Magic Band members. Jeff Cotton quit music and joined the Christian ministry in the mid 70s. John French (Drumbo) is still a part of the current Magic Band and is Christian as well.

 

Larry Carlton
Jim Sonefeld of Hootie and the Blowfish
John Patitucci

 

I read somewhere that Demis Roussos practiced Greek Orthodox. He was the bass player and main vocalist for the Greek band Aphrodite's Child of Vangelis fame. He later went on to be an international superstar pop vocalist.

 

Carlos always gives some sort of spiritual mumbo jumbo in his concerts. Presumably he understands what he's talking about, but the rest of us clap politely and finish our beers.