On Steven Curtis Chapman’s Grand Ole Opry Invitation
Contemporary Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman will be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry. On the Saturday night Opry presentation, (7-27), Chapman was invited by his long time friend Ricky Skaggs to officially become the 230th Grand Ole Opry member.
Chapman made his Opry debut 42 years ago at the age of 19 when he was a performer at the now closed Opryland Theme Park. Holding a framed picture of Chapman from around that time, Ricky Skaggs came out on stage after Chapman’s Saturday set and said, “[The archives] have found a picture of [you]. We need to have a picture of this. Get a good picture because this is going to go great beside that picture right there that he’s taking because you are going to be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry, if you want to? Only if you want to!”
“That is incredible, brother,” said Chapman. “I can not tell you all how surprised I am. This is a massive surprise. I had no idea, and I am so honored and just so grateful. What an amazing family to be a part of. I was thinking when I started singing tonight on this stage, I really did, this is my favorite place to sing these days. I feel at home, I feel like this is my family. Everyone here. I am so honored to be part of this family. Thank you guys. Thank you Jesus, and thank you all.”
Steven Curtis Chapman is the most awarded artist in Christian music history. This includes an incredible 59 Dove Awards including seven Artist of the Year trophies, five Grammy Awards, 50 #1 songs, and over 10 million albums sold. Originally from Paducah, Kentucky, Chapman has appeared on the Opry countless times, but was always though to be on the outside looking in as a potential members since his music is not of the country genre.
Unlike some Gospel members of the Grand Ole Opry such as 2019 inductees The Isaacs, Stephen Curtis Chapman fits firmly in the contemporary Christian realm. But since the epicenter of Christian music is also Nashville and Music Row specifically, the two genres and industries have commonly shared a cozy relationship, with certain songwriters, musicians, and executives working in both fields.
The Steven Curtis Chapman induction does raise the question if a country performer would have been a more appropriate pick. But with his long history as an Opry performer and his powerhouse name in the contemporary Christian genre, it’s not hard to understand the Opry’s consideration.
August 1, 2024 @ 12:35 pm
Isn’t it weird how “Christian Music” is like it’s own genre? Is there any other genre in SCM’s musical dewey-decimal system for a type of music based solely on the content of its lyrics? Like you can sing death metal but if you’re singing about Jesus it’s not Death Metal anymore it’s “Christian Music.” There’s no social critique here, I just think it’s odd that we cordon off that group of music like that. How much quantifiable God do you have to include before you transition from the Country to the Christian genre? Do other religions have their own genres too?
August 1, 2024 @ 12:50 pm
Gospel music, Southern Gospel music that often incorporates country sounds in it, or even bluegrass Gospel I think are specifically defined subgenres, and I did account for them in my Dewey Decimal system of country.
There’s #515 (Country Gospel), #520.9 (Christian/Religious bluegrass), and #535 (Contemporary Christian country)
The thing about Steven Curtis Chapman is that he truly is straight-down-the-middle “Christian” music. It’s basically pop radio Christian country. Sometimes when he plays on the Opry he does so acoustically so that makes it feel more rootsy. But I would never call him country Gosepl, or even Christian country.
August 1, 2024 @ 1:29 pm
Something I have long felt is that genre is only partly style, and that a lot of our genre lines should be viewed more in terms of scene and affiliation.
CCM is not just any Christian music, it is the industry and scene centered primarily in Nashville. These artists might be as divergent as TobyMac and Andrew Petersen, but they share influences and friend groups, and as a result they are impacted by the same trends.
I think one of the most interesting commentaries on CCM was when Trigger called Rascal Flatts a “secular CCM band” and that’s really accurate–not only did Jay DeMarcus come from a CCM group (called East to West, I loved them when I was a kid), but he actually got Gary LeVox to come to Nashville initially to back up Christian singer Michael English.
Christian artists who have not been regarded as “CCM” typically are bands or artists who exist outside of that Nashville-centered sphere. So POD, for example, has never really been regarded as a CCM band even though they sing about a lot of Christian themes.
Of course this is not universal. There are bands who had associations within that sphere who tried to escape that label, and bands or artists who are regarded as CCM who do not operate in that circle. But broadly CCM means not only Christian, but part of the Christian media industry centrered in Nashville.
August 1, 2024 @ 2:19 pm
Well said. I touched on this in the article, but you fleshed it out well. As much as on the outside looking in, this might seem like a strange pick, if you understand the intertwined nature of the two industries, it makes a lot of sense, especially when you consider that Chapman has played the Opry many times over many years.
August 1, 2024 @ 3:53 pm
POD received a bunch of secular radio plays in the early 00’s. Switchfoot did for there one big song. King’s X received radio plays on rock radio albeit they had a more cult following. Creed.
August 1, 2024 @ 3:55 pm
It’s weird how classic country artists who put out gospel and hymn albums didn’t receive play for them on Christian radio. George Jones and Alan Jackson had hymn albums. I think even Johnny Paycheck did too, but I may be misremembering that.
August 4, 2024 @ 10:05 am
I think that’s mostly because the labels don’t promote the legacy artists’ songs to Christian radio stations. Reba McEntire put out a gospel/hymns album in 2017 and its lead single “Back to God” went #1 on the gospel chart and #25 on the country chart. This was well past Reba’s hit-making days. But she was everywhere from The Today Show to The Dove Awards performing it.
That said, I think Chapman is a good choice for the Grand Ole Opry. Bluegrass and gospel have hiatpeically been represented on the Opry, and I would prefer to see more artists from those genres represented than the latest Music Row flavor.
August 4, 2024 @ 10:41 am
*historically represented…
August 1, 2024 @ 4:00 pm
@Chris
Going to try to keep this as short as I can, though the result will lose a lot of nuance and will probably be misleading. Originally, it was all gospel music. (Not actually; this is where the “missing nuance makes it misleading” is big. Just consider it true for this purpose.) The music industry created the “Christian music” category for gospel music aimed at the white mainstream. This left “gospel music” for everyone NOT in the white mainstream: black audiences as well as country/bluegrass/southern audiences.
This had an unusual side effect: where traditional Christian became diminished in favor of Christian contemporary and Christian rock, traditional black, southern/country and bluegrass gospel remained vibrant.
August 1, 2024 @ 12:46 pm
Good for him. Better to celebrate the fact he got a invite than to dwell on who didnt get on.
August 1, 2024 @ 1:17 pm
He’s definitely someone with a deep love of country and bluegrass music, even if his own music has spanned a lot of genres and run more towards pop.
August 1, 2024 @ 1:22 pm
His music, while not really up my alley, seems pretty fitting for the grand ole Opry in this year of our Lord (I’m not being smarmy, he really does seem to me to be a solid choice). So congrats to him.
Was Dottie Rambo ever a fixture at the Opry? She was better than just about anybody in any genre.
August 1, 2024 @ 2:49 pm
Congrats! So richly deserving for a wonderful career of great music. Saw him at the Opry a couple years back.
Wondering if longtime Opry guest Charles Esten will ever make it…..
August 1, 2024 @ 4:21 pm
I was a fan in the 2000s. He is/was a pop christian artist. I had several of his albums and they are not Grand Ole Opry friendly. Having said that, good for him because he fits in with the Grand Ole Opry and I don’t know how to defend that or explain that. He fits in – his music really doesn’t.
August 1, 2024 @ 5:29 pm
There are, indeed, many sub-genres of Christian music as Trigger stated. They probably overlap more than most other genres. For example, Zach Williams “There Was Jesus” with guest Dolly Parton was a huge song for him, could easily be played on a country station. And he is in the Contemporary genre. Marty Stuart has played with David Crowder, another popular Contemporary artist.
Sothern gospel more closely aligns with country. That is the genre that produced The Statler Brothers, The Oak Ridge Boys, and many others. This particular area of music was dying on the vine many years ago until Bill Gaither stepped in and started having his Homering concerts. Bill Gaither is well known and a frequent collaborator with various country artist.
The history and influence of Christian music on country is too long a subject to post about.
I was at the Ryman some years ago for the Skaggs Family Christmas concert. Superb! And Mr. Chapman was one of the guests.
Just returned from a concert of CeCe Winans. The best live vocal performance from an artist I have ever heard. And that means ALL genres.
Etc. Etc. Kudos to Steven Curtis Chapman and the Opry.
August 1, 2024 @ 6:35 pm
Trigger, have you considered reviewing Rope the Wind by Amanda Kate Ferris?
August 1, 2024 @ 6:53 pm
I’m not sure if I was aware she had a new album. I am now and will consider it for review. Thanks for the heads up.
August 1, 2024 @ 7:35 pm
Her song “Pedal Steel” is amazing.
August 2, 2024 @ 8:08 am
Welcome and thank you!!! It is fantastic. All Killer, No Filler?
August 2, 2024 @ 8:10 am
Yes, Sir! Could not agree with you more, Wayne. The whole EP is top notch and the album builds off it!!
August 2, 2024 @ 10:11 am
I think this is a good way of thinking outside the box for the Opry. Gary Mule Deer and Henry Cho were recently the first comedians to be inducted in 50 years as well as the he aforementioned Isaacs. Maybe what the Opry is looking for are performers who keep their yearly number of Opry commitments (which Trig has written about before), as well as a fuller representation of the Nashville entertainment industry on the most popular stage in Music City, USA.
August 2, 2024 @ 8:02 pm
If you’ve never heard Steven Curtis Chapman’s nod to his bluegrass roots in his record “Deeper Roots: Where The Bluegrass Grows” it’s at least worth a listen (it features Ricky Scaggs, of course). If this album alone were the basis for his Opry induction, I’m for it. I grew up listening to his pop Christian music and I must confess I don’t enjoy that super polished pop production anymore so it was refreshing to hear him do some bluegrassy remakes of some of his classic tunes as well as some gospel hymns.
“Outlaw Gospel” seems to be popping up out of nowhere. I’m hearing traces of it in the Red Clay Strays new record with songs like “On My Knees” and with up and coming artist Gabriella Rose with her song “Enough is Enough”. As someone who loves authentic music and people living their faith authentically, I’m here for it and whatever else it brings.
August 18, 2024 @ 8:31 pm
Thanks for covering this. Great news for a great guy. His music has really moved me deeply, particularly his bluegrass album.