The 2nd Chapter of Acts was a Jesus music and early contemporary Christian music group composed of sisters Annie Herring and Nelly Greisen and brother Matthew Ward. They began performing in 1972 and enjoyed their period of greatest success during the 1970s. The group disbanded in 1988.
Sparrow Records is a Christian music record label and a division of Universal Music Group.
Michael Omartian is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, keyboardist, and music producer of Armenian ancestry. He produced number-one records in three consecutive decades. He has earned 11 Grammy Awards nominations and won three. He spent five years on the A&R staff of ABC/Dunhill Records as a producer, artist, and arranger; then was hired by Warner Bros. Records as an in-house producer and A&R staff member. Omartian moved from Los Angeles to Nashville in 1993, where he served on the Board of Governors of the Recording Academy, and has helped to shape the curriculum for the first master's degree program in the field of Music Business at Belmont University.
Steve Green is an American Christian music singer.
"His Eye Is on the Sparrow" is a gospel hymn written in 1905 by lyricist Civilla D. Martin and composer Charles H. Gabriel. It is most associated with actress-singer Ethel Waters who used the title for her autobiography. Tanya Blount & Lauryn Hill recorded the song for the Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit soundtrack in 1993. Mahalia Jackson's recording of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2010. Whitney Houston's recording of the song, one of the singer's last to be recorded before her death in 2012, was released off the soundtrack of the film, Sparkle, and became a posthumous number one Billboard single off one of the gospel singles charts.
The Roar of Love is a 1980 concept album and fourth studio album by Christian band 2nd Chapter of Acts, that recounts the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published book in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series by C. S. Lewis. It was recorded in 1976, prior to their third studio album Mansion Builder, but its release was delayed by contractual and copyright issues. According to band member Matthew Ward, all the vocals were cut in a bedroom of the house the trio lived in at the time. They converted their garage into a mixing room, knocked a hole in the bedroom wall and ran a microphone cord into it. The songs have a heavy use of synthesizers. It was reissued on the Live Oak label.
Singer Sower is the studio album by 2nd Chapter of Acts, released in 1983. It was recorded at Easter Song Studio in Garden Valley, Texas. As with all 2nd Chapter of Acts recordings, it was engineered and produced by Buck Herring.
Mansion Builder, released in 1978, is the third studio album from contemporary Christian music group 2nd Chapter of Acts, their first for the recently created Sparrow Records. Members of 2nd Chapter of Acts' touring band, a band called David, also perform on this album.
In the Volume of the Book, released in 1975, was the second studio album from the contemporary Christian music group, 2nd Chapter of Acts. The album title is a reference to Psalm 40:7.
Rejoice is an album by contemporary Christian music band 2nd Chapter of Acts released in 1981.
Matthew Ward is one of the pioneers of the Jesus music genre, later to be called contemporary Christian music. He is best known as a member of the trio 2nd Chapter of Acts, in which he sang and performed with his sisters Annie Herring and Nellie (Ward) Greisen. During his musical career with the 2nd Chapter of Acts from 1973 to 1988, he also recorded solo albums.
A Band Called David was a group of musicians who provided the instrumental support from 1974 until 1988 for the 2nd Chapter of Acts, a contemporary Christian music group.
Hymns is the 1986 studio album by 2nd Chapter of Acts.
Night Light is the title of a 1985 studio album by 2nd Chapter of Acts.
Hymns II is the second collection of hymns and the final studio album from 2nd Chapter of Acts, released in 1988. 2nd Chapter of Acts provided the vocals in this release. Annie Herring wrote "Purify Me".
How the West Was One, released in 1977, is a three-LP live album featuring 2nd Chapter of Acts, Phil Keaggy and a band called David. The album was a collection of songs recorded in a series of 18 concerts held throughout the western United States in 1977. It was also 2nd Chapter of Acts' final release for Myrrh Records.
To the Bride, released in 1975, is a two-LP live album featuring Barry McGuire, 2nd Chapter of Acts, and a band called David. The album was culled from four concerts performed in the summer of 1975 and is the first of two live albums that 2nd Chapter of Acts recorded for Myrrh Records, although the majority of the concert is performed by McGuire. The album was re-released on two CDs in 2007 with one song excluded.
First Love: A Historic Gathering of Jesus Music Pioneers is a 2004 concert film and documentary that looks back into the Jesus Music of the 1970s. In 1997, a group of Jesus Music pioneers gathered in southern California for three days of music and fellowship. The event was both recorded and filmed, and was released in a 2-CD/2-DVD set simply titled First Love: A Historic Gathering of Jesus Music Pioneers. It was compiled and edited by the spouses of two of the artists who appear in the documentary: Dan Collins and Steve Greisen produced the project. The CD contains each of the 31 songs that were performed during the gathering, and the DVDs shows the live performances of the songs, interviews with the individual performers and groups, interviews with others who were involved in the roots of Jesus Music, and rare pictures and footage of the artists from the 1970s. Other artists who were interviewed for the documentary include pastor Chuck Smith, Pat Boone, Phil Keaggy, and Michael Omartian, among others.
"Easter Song" is a song written by Annie Herring of the Jesus music group the 2nd Chapter of Acts that tells of Jesus Christ's resurrection and the elation Christians feel about this resurrection on Easter. It was first recorded in 1974 and released on the band's debut album, With Footnotes. It continues to be performed, appearing in church hymnals and Easter songbooks as well as on Wow Gold CD. It has been covered by several other artists, including GLAD and Keith Green.
The 18th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on 1987 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 1986. The show was held in Nashville, Tennessee.
