Randall Goodgame

Last updated

Randall Goodgame
Origin Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
GenresSinger-songwriter, contemporary Christian music
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
LabelsIndependent
Website randallgoodgame.com

Randall Kilpatrick Goodgame (born February 15, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter of contemporary Christian music and the creative force behind the family music brand, Slugs & Bugs. Goodgame has recorded eight solo albums and contributed to numerous others. He has written songs for Caedmon's Call, Andrew Peterson, Jason Gray, Jill Phillips, and Eric Peters. [1] He is also a frequent collaborator of Andrew Peterson, including the 2006 music album, Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies . From this album, the song "You Can Always Come Home" was featured on the VeggieTales' The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's (2007).

Contents

Early life

Randall Goodgame is the son of surgeon John T. Goodgame, Jr. and his wife, Beth Goodgame, of Clearwater, Florida. [2] [3] When he was nine years old, he began taking piano lessons along with his older brother and younger sister. [3] At age 15, he began studying under blind Brazilian pianist Manfredo Fest. [3] He began performing for local charity events, including fundraisers for Clearwater's Morton Plant Hospital. [4] While in high school, he performed with the Clearwater High Jazz Band, was captain of the swim team, and participated in the Student Government Association. [3] [4] He graduated from Clearwater High School in 1992. [4]

As a freshman studying music and biology at Birmingham-Southern College, Goodgame won the Jazz Holiday scholarship, awarded by the Clearwater Jazz Holiday festival. [2] He later changed his major to English, reasoning that the exposure to various literary genres would improve his songwriting. [3] On weekends and vacations from college, Goodgame was the keyboardist for the Southern rock Black Creek Band, which released an album entitled Live from Gainesville during his tenure. [3] From February to August 1995, he toured the Southeastern United States with the band before returning to Birmingham-Southern to finish his degree. [3] [4] A paper about his experience on the road became part of his senior project. [3]

Early music career

"This Nashville-recorded troubadour's calling card is a superb self-made CD that's full of memorable melodies, stirring production, ear-catching lyrics and personable vocals. Think Paul Simon/Billy Joel in an acoustic setting. Highly recommended. 'Drop the needle' anyplace on the CD."

Robert K. Oermann, MusicRow . [5]

In December 1995, Goodgame released his eponymous first album, Randall Goodgame. [4] Except for one track – a cover of Bob Dylan's I'll Be Your Baby Tonight – Goodgame composed the music and lyrics to all ten songs on the album. [3] In addition to performing the lead vocals, Goodgame also played the piano, acoustic guitar, harmonica, accordion and mandolin on the album. [4] Other performers accompanied him on the bass guitar and percussion instruments. [4] Released on Goodgame's own label, Redfish Records, much of the recording was done at Cliff Downs' studio in Nashville, Tennessee, but portions were recorded at Panda Studios in Clearwater. [3] [4] Writing in MusicRow , Robert K. Oermann called Goodgame the "folkie find of the day" and called his debut album "a superb self-made CD that's full of memorable melodies, stirring production, ear-catching lyrics and personable vocal". [5]

After graduating from Birmingham-Southern in May 1996, Goodgame moved to Nashville. [6] Goodgame's cousin brought a copy of Randall Goodgame to a disc jockey at WCHZ-FM in Augusta, Georgia. [6] After receiving positive listener responses to the song "Momma Louise", the DJ invited Goodgame and his newly formed Randall Goodgame Band to play at a South by Southwest Music Festival in Augusta in October 1996. [6] Goodgame released his second album, Arkadelphia, in 2000, the same year he performed his first show in his hometown of Clearwater. [7]

Christian music career

Goodgame eventually began writing songs for contemporary Christian artists such as Caedmon's Call, Jason Gray, and The Midtown Project. [8] In 2001, he opened for Andrew Peterson, and in 2003, he joined Caedmon's Call and Jars of Clay on tour. [9] [10] [11] He wrote seven of the songs on Caedmon's Call's 2004 album Share the Well . [12] Also in 2004, Goodgame opened for Dove Award winner Ginny Owens' 15-state tour. [13]

In 2007, Goodgame collaborated with Peterson to release a children's album, Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies . [8] The album's popularity led to him being invited to compose songs for the Christian-themed cartoon series VeggieTales . [8] Goodgame continued the Slugs & Bugs brand with A Slugs & Bugs Christmas in 2010 and Slugs & Bugs Under Where? in 2011. [14] He has also released a Slugs & Bugs-themed curriculum for Vacation Bible School and does live performances as part of the Slugs and Bugs LIVE series. [14] An April 2015 Parents Life review of Goodgame's Sing the Bible with Slugs & Bugs – which features 18 tracks of direct Bible quotations set to music, said the album "possesses a high-quality artistic sensibility that few children's CDs maintain", adding that the songs would "have kids memorizing Scripture in no time". [15] The album was one of five nominees for Children's Music Album of the Year at the 47th Annual Dove Awards in 2015. [16]

Related Research Articles

Caedmon's Call was a contemporary Christian band which fused traditional folk with world music and alternative rock. They are composed of Cliff Young, Danielle Young (vocals), Garett Buell (percussion), Jeff Miller, Todd Bragg (drums), and Josh Moore.

Derek Webb Musician (born 1974)

Derek Walsh Webb is an American singer-songwriter who first entered the music industry as a member of the band Caedmon's Call, and later embarked on a successful solo career. As a member of the Houston, Texas-based Caedmon's Call, Webb has seen career sales approaching 1 million records, along with 10 GMA Dove Award nominations and three Dove Award wins and six No. 1 Christian radio hits.

Relient K American alternative rock band

Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after guitarist Hoopes' automobile, a Plymouth Reliant K car, with the spelling intentionally altered to avoid trademark infringement over the Reliant name.

Andrew Peterson (musician) American Christian musician and author (born 1974)

Andrew Peterson is an American Christian musician and author, who plays folk rock, roots rock, and country gospel music.

Bebo Norman

Jeffrey Stephen "Bebo" Norman is a former contemporary Christian musician from Columbus, Georgia, US. His most successful album to date is Myself When I Am Real, which included hit songs "Great Light of the World" and "Falling Down". Other popular songs by Norman include "Disappear", "Nothing Without You", "I Will Lift My Eyes", and "Borrow Mine". He initially gained popularity when touring with another Christian band, Caedmon's Call. Norman's fans call themselves Simpletons. Norman is married to Roshare Finecey.

<i>Share the Well</i> 2004 studio album by Caedmons Call

Share the Well is the sixth major release from Caedmon's Call. It was released on October 12, 2004 through Essential Records.

<i>Back Home</i> (Caedmons Call album) 2003 studio album by Caedmons Call

Back Home is the fifth major album release from Caedmon's Call.

Silly Songs with Larry is a regular feature segment in Big Idea's cartoon series VeggieTales. Often secular, they generally consist of Larry the Cucumber singing either alone or with some of the other Veggie characters. Occasionally, another character, like Mr. Lunt, Bob the Tomato, Junior Asparagus, Laura Carrot, Archibald Asparagus, Oscar the Polish Caterer, and the French Peas Jean-Claude and Philippe, or an ensemble is featured in Larry's place. The Silly Songs have proven to be a very popular part of the show and have also prompted the release of several "sing-along" and compilation videos of these segments, some wrapped with new material that threads them into a fresh context. Some of the silly songs have been nominated for a GMA Dove Award.

Acid Jazz Records

Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in East London formed by Gilles Peterson and Eddie Piller in 1987. It's the namesake of the acid-jazz subgenre of jazz music for which it is most famously known for producing.

Andrew Osenga

Andrew Osenga is an American singer-songwriter and progressive rock musician. He also writes, produces, engineers and plays guitar for other artists. Formerly the lead singer of The Normals, which broke up in 2003 for financial and family reasons, Osenga currently pursues a solo career in which he has released four albums. He is also a member of the band Caedmon's Call; he had taken over as vocalist/guitarist while Derek Webb was gone from the band. In 2006, Osenga co-founded the Square Peg Alliance along with 12 other independent Nashville artists. In 2014, Osenga took a job with Capitol Records in A&R for their Christian music division.

<i>In the Company of Angels II</i> 2006 studio album by Caedmons Call

In the Company of Angels II: The World Will Sing is the seventh major release from Caedmon's Call. It was released on March 7, 2006 through Essential Records.

Jeff Irwin is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist. He has performed with Griffin House, Cerys Matthews, Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken, Mat Kearney, Taylor Sorensen & the Trigger Code, and Counting Crows.

Bill Henderson (performer)

William Randall Henderson was an American jazz singer and actor in television and film.

Jason Gray (musician) American contemporary Christian singer-songwriter)

Jason Jeffrey Gay, better known by his stage name Jason Gray, is an American contemporary Christian singer-songwriter. He was born Jason Jeffrey Gay and released a number of albums independently under his given name. Gay legally changed his last name to Gray in 2006, citing issues associated with internet search engines and content filters when fans would search for “Jason Gay.” In 2007 he signed to Centricity Music releasing more albums with them under the name Jason Gray.

<i>Overdressed</i> 2007 studio album by Caedmons Call

Overdressed is the eighth major studio release from Caedmon's Call, released in August 2007. It features collaboration with former member and successful solo artist Derek Webb. If the album is ordered through Caedmon's Call's website, you can order the Limited Edition, which has two additional tracks.

<i>Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies</i> 2008 studio album by Andrew Peterson, Randall Goodgame

Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies is a joint album by the American singer-songwriter Andrew Peterson and his friend and collaborator Randall Goodgame, released in 2007. It is the eighth album by Petersen and contains 18 original songs. "You Can Always Come Home" was used on the Veggie Tales' The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's (2007). The CD contains a hidden track before track 1 which can be found by seeking to track one and rewinding.

VeggieTales is an American Christian computer generated musical children's animation and media franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retelling Christian stories from the Bible, with episodes presenting life lessons according to a biblical worldview.

<i>Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue</i> 2009 studio album by Jason Gray

Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue is a music album by Jason Gray released September 1, 2009. It is his seventh solo record and his second major label national release with Centricity Music. It was produced by Jason Ingram and Rusty Varencamp.

Slugs & Bugs is a family music brand by American singer-songwriter Randall Goodgame, inspired by and beginning with Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies (2007), a joint album by Goodgame and friend and collaborator Andrew Peterson. Other Slugs and Bugs projects include the Slugs & Bugs LIVE! concert series (2009–present), the albums A Slugs & Bugs Christmas (2010), Slugs & Bugs Under Where? (2011), and Sing the Bible with Slugs & Bugs (2013). In 2019, Slugs & Bugs released, four picture books in partnership with Lifeway and the all-new Slugs & Bugs Show – Good times, good music, and Good News share the stage in a 13-episode TV series. Modern Kids, the first silly song project in ten years, was released in May 2020.

Glenn Rosenstein is an American record producer, engineer, sound mixer and guitarist based in Muscle Shoals, AL, who engineered and produced many albums including the Grammy winning One Bright Day by Ziggy Marley. Rosenstein worked at New York City's Sigma Sound Studios in the 1980s. He owns and runs Skylight Studio.

References

  1. http://www.storywarren.com/about/regular-contributors/randall-goodgame-2/
  2. 1 2 Lamm, Sharon Kirby (October 15, 1992). "Don't be downbeat, take a Holiday with a jazz rhythm". St. Petersburg Times.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ryan, Shawn (January 15, 1996). "STARRY-EYED NOVICE OR SEASONED VETERAN? BSC STUDENT IN MUSIC GAME". Birmingham News. p. 01-D.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Henderson, Bob (December 6, 1995). "Clearwater's own has a CD in release". St. Petersburg Times.
  5. 1 2 Henderson, Bob (April 18, 1997). "Local "kids' making waves all over world". St. Petersburg Times.
  6. 1 2 3 Henderson, Bob (October 2, 1996). "Clearwater musician's new band to debut". St. Petersburg Times.
  7. Schulte, Eileen (December 8, 2000). "Home on the Stage". St. Petersburg Times.
  8. 1 2 3 Hannon, Blake (September 30, 2010). "The styles that bond". St. Joseph News Press.
  9. Harrow, Tim (March 31, 2001). "Otherworldly unplugged – Songwriter's stories fill an album – or two". Star Tribune Newspaper of the Twin Cities.
  10. Hoover, Carl (April 27, 2002). "Christian contemporary band Caedmon's Call, which performs Thursday at Waco Hall, is urging "church hoppers" to become involved at local churches". Waco Tribune-Herald.
  11. Deboer, Terry (February 13, 2003). "Calvin crowd loves double bill's double date". The Grand Rapids Press. p. 21.
  12. Anderson, Phil (October 15, 2005). "Rise of Religious Right chronicled in book". The Topeka Capital-Journal. p. B1.
  13. Frost, Cheryl (September 18, 2004). "Calendar". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. p. 7D.
  14. 1 2 Greer, Andrew (October 31, 2014). "INTERVIEW: Randall Goodgame + Go Fish – Full Circle: Conversations with Andrew Greer". Gospel Music Association. Retrieved January 21, 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  15. Williams, Lindsay (April 2015). "Family Media". Parent Life. LifeWay Christian Resources. p. 22.
  16. "Dove Award Nominees". Gospel Music Association. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)