While I was doing research on the History of Christian Rock Music, it was hard to pinpoint a particular band or even a particular time period in which it all began. I was unable to find one band that was the first Christian Rock band, or a band considered the revolutionary founder of Christian Rock. I was however able to find a few early bands and artists that contributed greatly to the genre of Christian Rock.

First, and the earliest artist that I could find, is Phil Keaggy. Phil Keaggy was born on March 23^rd, 1951 in Youngstown, Ohio. He was given his first guitar at 12 years old, and formed the band "Glass Harp" at the age of 15 in 1966, which also consisted of John Sferra and Dan Pechio. "Glass Harp" opened for "Chicago", Janis Joplin, and what was then considered their biggest break, they opened for "Iron Butterfly." In 1970 Phil became a Christian, this occurred after a family member passed away, and his sister was able to witness to him during his pain and suffering. "Glass Harp" broke up soon after, in 1972. They broke up because Phil disagreed with the direction in which the other members wanted the band to go. Phil then joined a band called "Love Song," which was more of a gospel type band, they put out four CD’s, including "Love Song," which remained the best selling gospel album of the year in 1974. "Love Song" broke up in the late 70’s, and Phil went on to form the "Phil Keaggy Band," and he presently mostly a solo artist, however he does play with Al Dente and has debuts on many albums.

There is a rumor that a reported asked Jimmie Hendrix what it was like to be the best guitar player of all time, and Hendrix responded with, "I don’t know, why don’t you go ask Phil Keaggy?" I also found lists where Keaggy is ranked as the 3^rd greatest guitarist of all time, under Hendrix and Eric Clapton. All of this, and he is missing a finger on his left hand, which he uses for chords and picking, since he is a right handed guitar player. Keaggy’s main influence was the Beatles, and the genre of music he now plays is sort of a folk/pop rock.

Next, I thought about the Christian Rock band Petra. Petra formed in 1974, and they are still together, this year was their 25^th year anniversary. The band members have changed, but the original members were Kevin Brandin, Pete Orta, Lorine Chapin, John Schlitt, and Louie Weaver. Petra is Christian Rock Music’s most successful band, with over 6 million albums sold, which is the most of all Christian bands of all time. They have produced 19 albums in 2 decades, and they are still going strong.

Another Christian band that I knew would be worth researching was Stryper. Stryper began as Roxx Regime in 1970. After a few years later they became Christians and in order to siginify a new start, re-named their band Stryper. The controversial band consisted of brothers Micheal and Robert Sweet, who formed the band. Robert was the drummer, and Micheal was the lead vocals, songwriter, and played guitar. The band also included C.C. Divine on guitar, Oz Foxx as lead guitarist and vocals, and Tim Gaines on the bass and keyboards. An interesting irony is that Oz Foxx’s real name was not Oz, he changed his name because of his infatuation with Ozzy Osborne, who you all know is not exactly a Christian, in fact, he is a Satanist. Another controversy surrounding the band was the fact that they toured with a Satanic band called W.A.S.P, which stands for "We Are Sex Perverts, and which many people thought stood for "We Are Satans People." They put together the tour, and titled it the Heaven and Hell tour. It was a way to pit the battle of the bands on a religious context, with Heaven verses Hell. Stryper broke up in the mid 80’s. Micheal Sweet has gone on to produce two solo Albums and is currently working on a 3^rd. Robert Sweet is in a band called "Blank," which I could not find any information on. Tim Gaines and Oz Foxx formed a band titled "Sin Dizzy," which I could also find no information about. Stryper did produce several successful CD’s, including "To Hell with the Devil," and "In God We Trust."

Another early Christian folk/rock band I discovered was Daniel Amos. They formed in 1974 in a church in 1974, in Costa Mesa, California. The band members include Terry Taylor, Terry Chamberlain, Martin Dieckmeyer, and Steve Baxter. They still have the original band members, and they have produced such albums as "Bible Land," "DoppleGanger," "Walls of Doubt," and a compilation CD titled "Our Personal Favorite World Famous Hits." I could not find very much information about Daniel Amos, but I do know that they are still together, and their music is more of a Christian folk/country/southern rock, than it is a hard rock.

Right now, Christian Music is the fastest growing segment in the music industry. I could find exact numbers, but I did find where is said Christian Music’s growth among the music industry is in double figures percentage wise. Christian music bands and artist have been successful even in the secular scene, artists like Amy Grant, Micheal W. Smith, Kirk Franklin, Jars of Clay, dc Talk, and many others have come on the secular music successfully, while upholding the Christian message in their music. Even on the rap scene, Christian rap is breaking into secular rap, the Christian rap group GRITS (Grammatical Revolution In The Spirit) had a top ten video on BET, and co-hosted MTV’s "Rap City." GRITS also just joined the William Morris Agency, which is home to such artists as Busta Rhymes, Hanson, Spice Girls, and Boyz II Men.

For every genre of secular music, there is a genre within the Christian music scene. There are Christian rock, reggae, r&b, rap, country, alternative, contemporary, industrial, metal, rap-core, and ska groups. But how does one define Christian music? Is it by the lyrics? Is it by the belief of the members? Or is it the music itself? Christian music has been surrounded with controversy, especially due to criticism by traditional church members. I found an article in regard to Christian music titled "Too Holy for the World, and Too Worldly for the Church," which reflected on the controversy’s, and how Christian music trying to find its place in the music industry. I feel that Christian music provides an alternative for believer’s who may not want to listen to secular music, and it provides good music for music lovers of all races, sexes and religions.