What Is CCM?
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A Brief History Of CCM
The following is a brief look at the history of Christian music. It is designed to provide a background for the current issues in Christian music that are discussed on this website. It shows how Christian music has evolved from the church's Jewish birth, through the era of Catholicism and the Great Reformation, to our present day.
BIBLE TIMES
From the very beginning of recorded history music has served as vehicle for worshiping God. The book of Genesis credits the invention of the first musical instruments to Jubal, a descendent of Adam and Eve's wicked son, Cain. However, ancient Israel used these musical instruments, along with dance, in their worship of Jehovah. Miriam, the sister of Moses, picked up a tambourine and led the women of Israel in a dance of victory immediately following their Exodus from Egypt. Later King David "danced mightily," along with his accompanying band, as he celebrated the holy Ark Of the Covenant entering Jerusalem. King David and his son, Solomon, wrote numerous songs which are preserved in the Old Testament of today's Christian Bible. "Sing a new song to the Lord," wrote King David, and "play skillfully with a loud noise."
The New Testament of the Bible advocates the worship of God through music. No mention is made of the use of musical instruments. However, it is interesting to note that in the entire Bible, which spans a history of approximately 4000 years, nowhere is a single music style or musical instrument discouraged. This is important to be aware of as we journey into the era of the Christian church.
MIDDLE AGES
A somewhat negative view of the use of musical instruments and even a rather disinterested attitude toward music in general can be seen among some the early Christian church fathers. "We need one instrument," wrote St. Clement of Alexandria around 200 A.D., " the peaceful word of adoration, not harps or drums or pipes or trumpets." St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.) viewed tambourines and harps merely as instruments of crucifixion for the poor animals whose skin and gut were used to produce them. St. Basil (330-379) and St. John Chrysostom (398-404) both held that music was kind of a necessary evil that God allowed so that His followers could better stomach His truth. St. Basil compared God's allowing of music to "wise physicians" who "smear the rim of the cup [of nasty medicine] with honey" so that their patients will drink the medicine. The Catholic Church's Council of Laodicea in 367 A.D. prohibited the participation of the congregation and the use of instruments in the church service. It further provided that only the Scriptures (in Latin, of course) could be used for singing.
Pope Gregory (590-604 A.D.) was largely responsible for promoting "monophonic plainsong" as the official church music, known later as the Gregorian chant. These chants had to be church approved and were sung by the liturgy only. No accompanying instruments were used and the songs followed no regular rhythmic pattern. As these chants were passed on through the years variations of the songs evolved, one of these being the additions of two or more melodies sung simultaneously. This was the beginning of polyphony, or singing in parts, a new development that was becoming popular in the secular culture. Opposition by the church leadership to this polyphony raged strong during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The music was opposed on the grounds of "impurity" and because it seemed to open a wide path by which secularization could creep into the church. In 1324 A.D. Pope John issued an edict banning all forms of polyphony within the church. But because of the popularity of this music form the strict edict probably did more to advance polyphony than the pope had intended. Enforcement of the edict was weak and the popularity of polyphony within church worship services continued to grow.
The use of the organ faced incredible resistance to use from the church during the thirteenth century. The organ was introduced to the churches of England and Scotland. It was dubbed "the devil's bagpipe" and by the fifteenth century nearly all were destroyed.
MARTIN LUTHER
Along came a man named Martin Luther, founder of the Lutheran Church, who used music to shake the world. Martin Luther was a well educated Catholic monk and a very competent musician. He believed that music 1) ought to be sung by everyone in the churches, not just the clergy and 2) should be in the common language of the people, not in Latin. So Martin Luther got to work. He translated Latin songs into German. He modified old tunes. He rewrote popular secular songs of his day to make them Christian. He penned new songs. Martin Luther's music style was considered "powerful" and "rousing" in his day. Luther's songs were sung in the home, schools, city streets, and at work and play.
WILLIAM BOOTH
William Booth founded the Salvation Army Church. "Why should the devil have all the best tunes," said William Booth after hearing the words of "Bless His Name, He Sets Me Free" sung to the tune of "Champaign Charlie Is My Name." He also borrowed the tune from "I traced Her Little Footsteps in the Snow" and changed the words to "O, the Blood of Jesus Cleanses White as Snow."
Contemporary Christian music (aka CCM) is form of religious music where the focus remains largely on the message expressed in the lyrics, which is from a decidedly Christian (often Protestant) perspective. Although there are many Christian music acts in the mainstream music industry, the term CCM usually refers specifically to artists within the Christian music industry that are played on Christian radio. The term is sometimes used synonymously with Christian Rock, but this a subset of CCM, as much of the music that is regarded as CCM is not within the rock music genre.
The term "Contemporary Christian Music" originated in 1976, when artist and album reviewer Ron Moore used it to describe an album by Richie Furay. The industry itself began to emerge as early as 1975, when Myrrh Records began to sign Christian rock acts.
In the late 1970s publisher John Styll began a magazine which focused on the genre, appropriately called Contemporary Christian Music Magazine. At the time, the magazine covered everything from gospel artists to "Jesus Music" artists such as Larry Norman, Love Song and Randy Stonehill, to mainstream artists with spiritual messages like Bob Dylan, Al Green and T-Bone Burnett. By the 1980s, the range of what was considered "Contemporary Christian Music" narrowed to artists primarily within the ever growing Christian music industry, like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Sandi Patti, DC Talk and Carman although mainstream artists like U2 and Bruce Cockburn still appeared from time to time. By the 1990s however, mainstream artists were rarely mentioned within the pages of CCM.
In the 1980s and 1990s, a handful of record labels, like Frontline Records, Exit Records and Refuge Records, focused on Christian Alternative music artists like Vector and Undercover. For the most part, these alternative artists were largely ignored by the mainstream CCM industry, with only a few exceptions. One of these was Steve Taylor, who not only developed a large following within the industry, but also generated a lot of controversy with songs like "I Blew Up The Clinic Real Good", which spoke out against pro-life activists who blow up abortion clinics to further their cause. Many people within the Christian music industry did not understand the meaning of the song and Taylor's album was pulled from the shelves of many Christian music stores. Taylor achieved a small amount of mainstream success as well. In 1984, Taylor was the first CCM artist to have a video ("Meltdown") played on MTV.
In the mid 1980s a number of CCM and Christian Rock artists began to achieve success in the mainstream, including Amy Grant and Stryper. Grant had a hit single in 1985 ("Find A Way"), appeared on all of the major television variety and talk shows and even had her very own primetime special on NBC. By the early 1990s, Grant would have two more mainstream hits with her singles "Baby, Baby" and "I Will Remember You".
By the 1990s and 2000s, sales of CCM music continued to soar. Artists like Grant and Michael W. Smith continue to pop up on the mainstream Billboard charts and top the CCM charts. Smith's 2002 live DVD Worship Again topped the Billboard video charts, beating out newly released videos of Elvis Presley and U2.
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