White Heart, also listed as Whiteheart, was an American contemporary Christian music and pop-rock band which formed in 1982. White Heart's discography includes thirteen albums, the most recent of which was released in 1997. Original members Billy Smiley and Mark Gersmehl worked with a continually changing cast of bandmates. In 1985, former roadieRick Florian became the lead singer.
Smiley started his own label, Cul-de-Sac Records. Gersmehl continues to write music and has released solo efforts. Florian is a real estate agent in the Franklin, Tennessee, area and also continues to sing for various recording projects.
History
Formation
White Heart formed in 1982 with two of its members coming from Bill Gaither's group. The first two albums were produced by Smiley and Huff, the two friends who formed the group and were listening to groups like Toto, Boz Scaggs, Journey, and Steely Dan at the time.[citation needed] The original lineup consisted of Billy Smiley (guitar, keyboards, and occasional lead vocals), Mark Gersmehl (keyboards and occasional lead vocals), Steve Green (lead vocals), Gary Lunn (bass), and brothers Dann and David Huff (guitars/vocals & drums respectively).
Whiteheart was pursued by every major Christian label until Chris Christian heard their demo and signed them to Home Sweet Home Records and gave them their first record deal. By the time they released their third album, they were selling in excess of 250,000 albums.[citation needed] After their self-titled debut album was released in 1982, the band suffered its first lineup change. Green left the band, saying that rock was not his style. They went on to tour with David Meece and Farrell and Farrell for the next two years, building their fan base, with Scott Douglas as Green's replacement as lead vocalist. Green continued to sing background vocals on Vital Signs, and they had their first No. 1 single, We Are His Hands, with Douglas singing the lead, and Smiley and Green singing the harmonies.[citation needed]
The band released its second album, Vital Signs, in 1984. Douglas was with the band for two years before being charged with aggravated sexual battery on June 30, 1985. He was sentenced to prison in March 1986.[1][2]
Dann Huff left the band shortly after to pursue his dream of being a studio musician, and recommended his high school friend, Gordon Kennedy as his replacement for the WhiteHeart album, Hotline. Later, in 1985, David Huff left the band to pursue other interests as well, including touring with Michael W. Smith. Eventually, he would join his brother Dann to form the hard rock band Giant.
The Sparrow years
With Douglas gone, the remaining band members began to audition singers. In 1985, they were surprised when they saw and heard their stage manager and roadie, Rick Florian, dancing around on the stage and "karaoke" singing along to the song "Every Time You Go Away", which the sound company used to sonically tune the room each night during soundcheck.[2] A few weeks later, Florian came up to Smiley and asked if he could audition for the lead vocalist position, and he was later chosen as Douglas' replacement.[citation needed] He became a core member of the band and continued through the rest of White Heart's discography. Chris McHugh was also picked up to fill the drummer seat.
White Heart's 1986 release, Don't Wait for the Movie, was released with their first major headlining tour and had major support from Sparrow Records and Billy Ray Hearn, who had personally come out to meet and hopefully sign the band. He hired Smiley as the producer for the record.[citation needed] It continues to be one of the band's most successful selling albums with three No.1 songs, and breaking all previous album sales. The album was ranked at number 74 from CCM Magazine from their 2001 book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.[3] The band kept on touring and recording. Gary Lunn left the band to become a studio musician and was replaced with Tommy Sims.
After Emergency Broadcast was released in 1987, White Heart made an important change with Brown Bannister coming on as producer for their next album. Bannister was known for working with Amy Grant, recording out at the Bennett House in Franklin, TN. Because of the fractured approach to having each member producing songs for Emergency Broadcast, Smiley suggested getting an outside presence that every member would respect and respond to.
The band's album, 1989's Freedom, featured a more original approach, with the band going to a rehearsal hall and working out all the material for three weeks before even going into the studio, and having Bannister help find the best songs, and pull the most out of each member both musically and vocally.[citation needed] "Freedom" has been hailed as one of White Heart's best ever.[citation needed] Songs like "The River Will Flow", "Let The Kingdom Come", "Over Me", "Bye Bye Babylon", and "Sing Your Freedom" would become live fan favorites for years to come.[citation needed] But stability remained elusive. The band reached the end of its contract with Sparrow Records and Brown Bannister. Also, Chris McHugh, Gordon Kennedy, and Tommy Sims left the band to become studio musicians.
The Star Song era
White Heart signed on with Star Song Records, and hired Brian Wooten (guitars), Anthony Sallee (bass), and Mark Nemer (drums) to fill the spots.[citation needed] With these pieces in place, the band released one of its best-known albums, Powerhouse, in 1990. "Desert Rose", "Independence Day", and "Powerhouse" were No. 1 songs,[citation needed] and "Desert Rose" became one of their biggest anthems and career songs to date.[citation needed] Nemer left soon after and the band brought back former drummer Chris McHugh to do the drumming for Tales of Wonder, with the exception of one song on which they used Jon Knox.
The band released Tales of Wonder in 1992 produced by Smiley and Gersmehl. They also brought back Brown Bannister as a production adviser for the project and announced Jon Knox as their new drummer.
White Heart followed this success with Highlands in 1993, which also received critical and commercial praise.[citation needed] Touring non-stop from the Freedom through the Highlands release, this period was the most rewarding and captivating time of their touring career.[citation needed] Anthony Sallee left the band and John Thorn was hired to replace him for the Highlands Tour.[citation needed]
In 1994, the band released two compilation albums: Nothing But the Best: Rock Classics and Nothing But the Best: Radio Classics, which included two new songs each and marked the end of the band's contract with Star Song.
The Curb years
White Heart signed with a mainstream label, Curb Records, as the label's first foray into the Christian Music contemporary rock market. The band released Inside in 1995 and stylized their name as "Whiteheart". The album had mixed reviews from the Christian market, but was quite successful on the Christian radio charts and yielded several No. 1 singles in the Christian Radio Market: "Inside" and "Even the Hardest Heart" were both No. 1 songs.[citation needed] This album was notably produced and mixed by the legendary Ken Scott, whose production and engineering credits include The Beatles, David Bowie and Supertramp.This record marked an edgier sound and was also the band's launch through the newly created and now-defunct Warner Christian Distribution.[citation needed] The band's lineup continued to be a revolving door. Brian Wooten, John Thorn and Jon Knox all left to pursue other projects.
The remaining core members (Smiley, Gersmehl, Florian) regrouped to consider the band's future. They released their final Curb album, Redemption, in 1997 using studio musician friends. It received critical praise for its depth and musical maturity.[citation needed] After its release, Smiley, Gersmehl and Florian entered what they called "a dormant or eternal sabbatical stage". They have not officially broken Whiteheart up, but each of them is working on separate personal projects as well as Smiley producing full-time. Florian issued a statement in 1999 regarding the future of the band.[4]
On August 25, 2006, White Heart received a Soul2Soul Honor award in New Albany, Indiana. Billy Smiley, Rick Florian, Mark Gersmehl, Tommy Sims, Jon Knox and Gordon Kennedy reunited to perform "Over Me"[5] and "Sing Your Freedom".[6] According to Florian, it was the first time in 17 years that particular combination of musicians had performed together, although Knox had never actually been in the band at the same time as Sims or Kennedy.
In July 2013 the band announced their first full concert since 1998 would be at Easterfest in Toowoomba, Australia on April 19, 2014.[7] A limited reunion US tour was announced for late 2014.[8] The tour was postponed to early 2015. Several venues were selected and tickets were sold, however, on January 13, 2015, the band announced the tour would have to be canceled due to circumstances beyond their control, and all tickets were refunded.[citation needed]
Florian, Gershmehl, Kennedy, McHugh and Sims performed a benefit concert in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of Freedom on June 29, 2019, at the New Hope Community Church in Brentwood, Tennessee. Scott Bernard, who joined White Heart for the Australian Easterfest concert in 2014, handled Smiley's original album guitar parts. The album's producer, Brown Bannister, was also present, and vocalist Bart Millard of MercyMe acted as emcee for the evening.[9]
Honors
Although White Heart is considered one of the premier bands to ever play contemporary Christian music, and despite the many No. 1 hits and albums, they have never won a Grammy or Dove Award. White Heart was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame on November 6, 2010.[10]
Band members
Billy Smiley – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals (1982–1997)
Mark Gersmehl – keyboards, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals (1982–1997)
Rick Florian – lead vocals (1986–1997) (the band intentionally misspelled his name differently on each album)
Steve Green – lead vocals, backing vocals (1982-1983)
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Fall in a Hole is a live album by the Fall, recorded in Auckland in August 1982 and released in December 1983 on the Flying Nun label of New Zealand.
JAG was a Christian rock band that recorded during the early 1990s. The band's name is an acronym for the band's founder and lead singer, John Allen Garies.
Mark "Gersh" Gersmehl is a contemporary Christian musician who is best known as one of the founding members of the Christian rock group White Heart. He and guitarist Billy Smiley were the only two original members of the band to stay with White Heart from its conception in 1982 through its disbandment in 1998. Gersmehl played keyboards in the band, as well as occasionally singing lead vocals. He also contributed his songwriting skills, penning 15 of White Heart's 16 No. 1 hits. When the group disbanded in 1998, he began a solo career, releasing his first solo album in 2002.
White Heart is the first album by the contemporary Christian music band White Heart and the band's only album with Steve Green on lead vocals, released in 1982 on Home Sweet Home Records. A year after its release, the album peaked at number 10 on the Top Inspirational Albums chart in Billboard magazine. White Heart was nominated for a Grammy for their debut album for Best Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group at the 26th Grammy Awards.
Vital Signs is the second album by the Christian rock band White Heart and the band's first with vocalist Scott Douglas, who replaced Steve Green, released in 1984 on Home Sweet Home Records. By this time, Green had already started his solo recording career with the release of his self-titled debut album released the same year as White Heart's Vital Signs. The album features their first Christian radio number-one hit "We Are His Hands" featuring Green singing background vocals and part of the choir at the end of the song. Vital Signs peaked at number nine on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.
Hotline is the third album by the Christian rock band White Heart and the band's first with Gordon Kennedy on guitars and the last with both lead vocalist Scott Douglas and on the Home Sweet Home label. The first radio single "Jerusalem" features lead vocals from both Douglas and lead guitarist Kennedy and became a top five hit on Christian radio and was co-written with the Christian rock duo DeGarmo and Key. Hotline peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.
Don't Wait for the Movie is the fourth album by the Christian rock band White Heart and the band's first album with vocalist Rick Florian and drummer Chris McHugh. It is also their first album on Sparrow Records. Bassist Gary Lunn would leave the group after the release of the album and was replaced on tour by bass guitar player and musician Tommy Sims. Sims would be a featured member and musician on their next album. Don't Wait for the Movie became a very successful album with radio singles "How Many Times " and "Fly Eagle Fly" both topping the Christian radio charts while "Beat of a Different Drum" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Christian" were hits on Christian Rock radio stations and programs. CCM Magazine named this album as one of the 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music at number 74. Don't Wait for the Movie peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart. White Heart was nominated for Group of the Year at the 18th GMA Dove Awards but lost to First Call. The album cover did win a Dove Award for Recorded Music Packaging given to Mark Tucker and Buddy Jackson for photography and art direction.
Emergency Broadcast is the fifth album by the Christian rock band White Heart and the band's first with bass guitarist Tommy Sims and is the second album on the Sparrow Records label released in late 1987. The album track "No Taboo" features the vocals of Rick Florian, Mark Gersmehl, Gordon Kennedy and Sims. The album was produced by White Heart, with the executive producer being Randy Moore. Emergency Broadcast peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.
Freedom is the sixth album by the Christian rock band White Heart and the last of the band's albums with Sparrow Records. Produced by Brown Bannister, it was also the last album for Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy and Chris McHugh, although McHugh returned as a session musician for Tales of Wonder (1992). With Bannister at the production helm and he is best known for producing Amy Grant's albums, he allowed the group to stretch musically and lyrically. It is considered one of White Heart's best albums in Christian rock with both Christian rock and Christian radio (AC/CHR) giving airplay on songs like "Over Me," "Invitation," "The River Will Flow," "Let the Kingdom Come" and "Eighth Wonder." Freedom peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.
Powerhouse is the seventh album by the Christian rock band White Heart and the first with Brian Wooten on guitars, Anthony Sallee on bass guitar and the first album on the Star Song label, and the band's only album with Mark Nemer on drums. It was released in late 1990. White Heart continues their arena rock sound from their previous album Freedom with the title song and "Independence Day" becoming hits on Christian Rock radio while their ballads like "Desert Rose" and "Lay It Down" were hits on Christian radio (AC/CHR) stations. Powerhouse peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.
Tales of Wonder is the eighth album by the Christian rock band White Heart and the band's first with Jon Knox as drummer. Chris McHugh played all drum tracks although Knox was the official drummer for the tour. It is their second album on Star Song Records released in 1992. The album is produced by White Heart founders Mark Gersmehl and Billy Smiley with Brown Bannister as a production consultant and who previously worked with them on their 1989 album Freedom. Every track on Tales of Wonder charted on both Christian Rock and Radio (AC/CHR) charts, except "Morningstar" and "Gabriella." A full-length track of "Morningstar" is heard on their 1994 compilation Nothing But the Best: Radio Classics. The album peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. White Heart earned their second Grammy nomination, their first since 1984, for Best Rock Gospel Album for Tales of Wonder at the 35th Grammy Awards.
Highlands is the ninth album by the Christian rock band White Heart and the band's last album with Star Song Records. The album was released and just coming off the singles that were from their Grammy nominated album Tales of Wonder (1992) as well as touring. Highlands was produced by White Heart founders Mark Gersmehl and Billy Smiley with Darrell A. Harris as executive producer. The first radio single "Once and for All" topped the Christian CHR/Pop chart and features members of the 1990's female Christian rock group Rachel Rachel near towards the end of the song. A music video was made for the album's third radio single "Heaven of My Heart". The album peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.
Inside is the tenth album by the Christian rock band White Heart and the band's only album with John Thorn on bass guitar and also the final album for both lead guitarist Brian Wooten and drummer Jon Knox. The band stylized its name as Whiteheart for this album. It is the first of two albums released on Curb Records. The album was produced by Ken Scott, whose producing and engineering credits include the Beatles, Elton John, Supertramp and David Bowie. Whiteheart's sound was scaled back from the arena rock from their previous releases to a more modern rock sound. Music videos were made for "Even the Hardest Heart" and "Inside".
Redemption is the eleventh and, to date, final studio album by the Christian rock band White Heart. It is their second and final album on Curb Records. Following the departures of lead guitarist Brian Wooten, bass guitarist John Thorn and drummer/percussionist Jon Knox and following up their 1995 album Inside, the group is now reduced to the trio of lead singer Rick Florian and White Heart founders Billy Smiley and Mark Gersmehl and has once again stylized as Whiteheart for this album. The trio has brought in studio musician friends to fill in the rhythm section and have made what critics are calling a redefining album. Redemption is produced by Smiley and Gersmehl with production assistance by Richie Biggs. The album debuted and peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.
Rachel Rachel was a contemporary Christian rock musical group that was active in the early 1990s. The group is best known as the first American female Christian rock group in CCM performed in an album-oriented rock style. Members included Cheryl Jewell, Heli Sterner, Brynn Beltran (keyboards), Jennifer York (bass), and Jennifer "Sparky" Sparks (drums). Robin Spurs replaced Jennifer York on bass when York left the group after their first album, but Spurs never recorded for the band.
Brynn Gersmehl is an American Christian musician from southern California who writes in the Contemporary Christian genre. She is best known for her involvement in the AOR group Rachel Rachel, the first all-female Christian rock band, with whom she wrote and performed two No. 1 songs. She currently lives with her husband Mark Gersmehl, a member of the rock band White Heart, and their son in Nashville, Tennessee.
The White Heart discography, an American contemporary Christian music pop-rock band, consists of 11 studio albums. The band released its eponymous debut album in January 1982, after which followed 10 additional studio recordings and numerous official and unofficial compilations. Despite their standing as one of the premier CCM bands, White Heart never won a Dove Award. The band was inducted in the Christian Music Hall of Fame on November 6, 2010.
Nothing But the Best: Radio Classics is an official 1994 compilation album by the Christian rock band White Heart. This is the second of two albums by White Heart with the other being Nothing But the Best: Rock Classics, as they were released separately. This collection features songs from both the Sparrow and Star Song years 1986-1994 focusing on their Christian radio hits in AC and CHR/pop, many of them went to number one, where as Rock Classics focuses on their rock cuts from the same period. Radio Classics features a new song, "My Eyes Have Seen", and a full-length version of "Morningstar." A shorter version was heard on their 1992 album Tales of Wonder. Both tracks were released as Christian radio singles from this collection. Session musician Mark Hill was brought in and played bass guitar on both new songs and replaced Anthony Sallee who had left the group after the release of 1993's Highlands. The album debuted and peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.
Cry for the Desert is the eighth studio album by Christian singer-songwriter Twila Paris, released in 1990 by Star Song Records. The album is Paris' first time working with producer Brown Bannister, who is best known for producing Christian pop superstar Amy Grant's albums and recently produced the Christian rock group White Heart's 1989 album Freedom and features the band's rhythm section of guitarist Gordon Kennedy, bassist Tommy Sims and drummer Chris McHugh. Producer Bannister updated Paris' sound on Cry for the Desert to sound more contemporary pop while still incorporating her praise and worship music. Paris' song "How Beautiful" is now considered a modern day hymn and is used during Easter services during communion. The song is ranked in the Top 20 from CCM Magazine's 2006 book The 100 Greatest Songs in Christian Music. Paris was nominated in two categories at the 22nd GMA Dove Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. Cry for the Desert climbed up to number two on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.
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