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God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music
Traces Contemporary Christian Music's role in creating a theological and political vision for public life in the U.S.
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April 3, 2024
Writing histories and analyses of contemporary Christian music (CCM) has become a cottage industry in the past couple of decades. Most of the books I’ve read in that genre come from authors reckoning with their own past and connections to CCM. As someone who also grew up immersed in CCM, I found my way to some of these books and enjoyed a feeling of “Ahh . . . someone else gets it.” Now, however, I’m looking for something deeper than another quick overview of the history and development of the music category.
I picked up Leah Payne’s uncreatively titled God Gave Rock & Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music with hope that it would take the conversation in a useful direction, now that so many general histories are available. Sadly, that was not to be. In fact, I found this new entry into the genre to be more annoying and unsatisfying than previous books. Here are some reasons why.
Payne has some personal connections to CCM, but she writes with a tone that seems (to me, at least) mildly scornful, quick to assume the worst motivations. In part that’s because she skims through history with frenetic rapidity, allowing no time to sit with an era or a subculture and consider it at a deeper-than-surface level. In about the first fifty pages, she covers eighty years of the history of music, religious life, and American culture. How can we take a breath with such a pace, let alone take a deeper look at any aspect of it as it flies by?
Another mismatch between me and this book is the main theme Payne has selected for the project: “The question that guides this book is: What can one learn about the development of evangelicalism by looking at CCM, one of the largest, most profitable forms of mass media produced in the twentieth century?” (4). This is not a question that enables Payne to sort out the useful details from the extraneous, and the book becomes a collection of interesting facts but little analysis. In answer to her central question, what one learns, over and over, is that CCM (and, by extension, American evangelicalism) is, and always has been, white. Payne loses no opportunity to remind the reader that CCM is inseparable from white American culture. But positing that American evangelicalism has been dominated by white middle-class culture seems hardly an argument for a 200-page book from Oxford University Press.
I find the racial lens problematic because it overlooks too much of what music is and how it works within a culture. Much better would be starting with a consideration of what popular music is supposed to do, what it shouldn’t do, and what it’s like when it’s working effectively and compassionately. Payne seems to ask, alternately, too much and too little of music in general. One example: Payne presumes a “Christian bubble” subculture, especially in the 1980s and 90s, in which Christian families listened only to CCM radio (then presuming that this was to the detriment of kids in those families). The Christian bubble (or “ark”) perspective is not new, and it annoys me because I was there during those years, and I’m skeptical about the bubble. In my experience, only a rare family would never have included other radio stations in the car (at least the classical station, possibly news radio or talk radio, and likely an oldies station). And the evangelical families I grew up around (and including my own) were watching all manner of movies and TV shows. (In my family, I grew up with a “no R-rated movies” rule, which of course left room for plenty of decidedly non-Christian content; we also watched a steady stream of sitcoms, courtroom dramas, game shows, and so on, much of which directly contradicted our evangelical Christian beliefs.) So anytime an author makes much of a kind of insulated bubble of subculture amongst Christians in the late twentieth century, I need a lot of convincing to agree that it’s a useful heuristic for culture analysis. With that frame, Payne then burdens CCM with demands and responsibilities that I don’t think we applied to it back then—and she suggests that the whiteness of CCM is clearly aligned with whiteness amongst its listeners, with its listeners almost held captive to the music’s teachings.
Another example: Payne presumes motivations for selecting certain musicians over others that seem to me inaccurate or at least incomplete. Because she doesn’t look at the artistry as an expressive genre with its own conventions and guidelines (here she would have benefited from reference to W. David O. Taylor, James K. A. Smith, and other theologians of worship with excessive initials), she can’t examine genre-related reasons for the popularity of certain musicians. When Payne talks about DC Talk (throughout the book, she seems to particularly dislike TobyMac), she connects their popularity to their “safe” whiteness: “In the end, it took a white rapper from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, to bring rap to the top of the CCM charts” (103). I’m not saying their popularity had nothing to do with the perceived low-risk nature of the group, but I also remember their early days. I saw them opening for DeGarmo & Key in 1989. Going into the concert, my friends and I were most eager to see the headliners; all we knew about DC Talk was their eponymous first album, which featured kind of dorky rapping mixed with pop songs. At that concert, the trio sat on the stage, with no props, set, special lighting, or other effects, and they were the most dynamic, extraordinary performers. By the end of that evening, we all knew that DC Talk was going to be huge—and not because they were “safe,” or white, or from an ultra-conservative Christian college, or spokesmen for the values of the evangelical subculture. It was entirely because they were amazing performers. It didn’t take “a white rapper” to put anything on the top of the Christian charts; it took an excellent performer who could win over concert crowds who had no reason to care about him. Payne misses a lot about music performance by focusing only on other sociocultural aspects of media.
A final problem I have with this book is the lack of quantitative research conclusions. Payne created a survey about CCM that generated more than 1,200 responses from people in more than twelve countries. But she doesn’t present those questions, nor does she explain any of the mechanics she used in designing, distributing, or coding the survey and its results. With all of those data, where are the numbers? Why is so little made of such a great data set? Instead, all we get in the book are anecdotal comments from the survey—comments from, for example, “one teen in early 2000s Annapolis, Maryland” (160). This is not great history writing. Given so much survey data, the book should be based on more than select anecdotal feedback. Payne frequently deploys unqualified “many”s and “most”s, even though she has the data to support those statements with greater precision.
Other criticisms are relatively minor—an inadequate index; embarrassing typos (referring to “Dallas Theological School” [139], for example); a final chapter that begins with the trajectories of the members of DC Talk but ends, strangely, with several pages about Donald Trump (who was not a member of DC Talk)—but it all adds up to an unsatisfying treatment of an interesting topic.
Better books on this and related topics:
--histories of CCM: Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock, by Andrew Beaujon, and Apostles of Rock: The Splintered World of Contemporary Christian Music, by Jay R. Howard and John M. Streck
--history of contemporary worship music: A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship: Understanding the Ideas That Reshaped the Protestant Church, by Lester Ruth and Lim Swee Hong
--ethnographic study of why Christian communities make the choices they do for worship music: Congregational Music, Conflict and Community, by Jonathan Dueck
--contemplation of the particular powers and possibilities of music (and other art forms) for Christian worship contexts: Glimpses of the New Creation: Worship and the Formative Power of the Arts, by W. David O. Taylor
I picked up Leah Payne’s uncreatively titled God Gave Rock & Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music with hope that it would take the conversation in a useful direction, now that so many general histories are available. Sadly, that was not to be. In fact, I found this new entry into the genre to be more annoying and unsatisfying than previous books. Here are some reasons why.
Payne has some personal connections to CCM, but she writes with a tone that seems (to me, at least) mildly scornful, quick to assume the worst motivations. In part that’s because she skims through history with frenetic rapidity, allowing no time to sit with an era or a subculture and consider it at a deeper-than-surface level. In about the first fifty pages, she covers eighty years of the history of music, religious life, and American culture. How can we take a breath with such a pace, let alone take a deeper look at any aspect of it as it flies by?
Another mismatch between me and this book is the main theme Payne has selected for the project: “The question that guides this book is: What can one learn about the development of evangelicalism by looking at CCM, one of the largest, most profitable forms of mass media produced in the twentieth century?” (4). This is not a question that enables Payne to sort out the useful details from the extraneous, and the book becomes a collection of interesting facts but little analysis. In answer to her central question, what one learns, over and over, is that CCM (and, by extension, American evangelicalism) is, and always has been, white. Payne loses no opportunity to remind the reader that CCM is inseparable from white American culture. But positing that American evangelicalism has been dominated by white middle-class culture seems hardly an argument for a 200-page book from Oxford University Press.
I find the racial lens problematic because it overlooks too much of what music is and how it works within a culture. Much better would be starting with a consideration of what popular music is supposed to do, what it shouldn’t do, and what it’s like when it’s working effectively and compassionately. Payne seems to ask, alternately, too much and too little of music in general. One example: Payne presumes a “Christian bubble” subculture, especially in the 1980s and 90s, in which Christian families listened only to CCM radio (then presuming that this was to the detriment of kids in those families). The Christian bubble (or “ark”) perspective is not new, and it annoys me because I was there during those years, and I’m skeptical about the bubble. In my experience, only a rare family would never have included other radio stations in the car (at least the classical station, possibly news radio or talk radio, and likely an oldies station). And the evangelical families I grew up around (and including my own) were watching all manner of movies and TV shows. (In my family, I grew up with a “no R-rated movies” rule, which of course left room for plenty of decidedly non-Christian content; we also watched a steady stream of sitcoms, courtroom dramas, game shows, and so on, much of which directly contradicted our evangelical Christian beliefs.) So anytime an author makes much of a kind of insulated bubble of subculture amongst Christians in the late twentieth century, I need a lot of convincing to agree that it’s a useful heuristic for culture analysis. With that frame, Payne then burdens CCM with demands and responsibilities that I don’t think we applied to it back then—and she suggests that the whiteness of CCM is clearly aligned with whiteness amongst its listeners, with its listeners almost held captive to the music’s teachings.
Another example: Payne presumes motivations for selecting certain musicians over others that seem to me inaccurate or at least incomplete. Because she doesn’t look at the artistry as an expressive genre with its own conventions and guidelines (here she would have benefited from reference to W. David O. Taylor, James K. A. Smith, and other theologians of worship with excessive initials), she can’t examine genre-related reasons for the popularity of certain musicians. When Payne talks about DC Talk (throughout the book, she seems to particularly dislike TobyMac), she connects their popularity to their “safe” whiteness: “In the end, it took a white rapper from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, to bring rap to the top of the CCM charts” (103). I’m not saying their popularity had nothing to do with the perceived low-risk nature of the group, but I also remember their early days. I saw them opening for DeGarmo & Key in 1989. Going into the concert, my friends and I were most eager to see the headliners; all we knew about DC Talk was their eponymous first album, which featured kind of dorky rapping mixed with pop songs. At that concert, the trio sat on the stage, with no props, set, special lighting, or other effects, and they were the most dynamic, extraordinary performers. By the end of that evening, we all knew that DC Talk was going to be huge—and not because they were “safe,” or white, or from an ultra-conservative Christian college, or spokesmen for the values of the evangelical subculture. It was entirely because they were amazing performers. It didn’t take “a white rapper” to put anything on the top of the Christian charts; it took an excellent performer who could win over concert crowds who had no reason to care about him. Payne misses a lot about music performance by focusing only on other sociocultural aspects of media.
A final problem I have with this book is the lack of quantitative research conclusions. Payne created a survey about CCM that generated more than 1,200 responses from people in more than twelve countries. But she doesn’t present those questions, nor does she explain any of the mechanics she used in designing, distributing, or coding the survey and its results. With all of those data, where are the numbers? Why is so little made of such a great data set? Instead, all we get in the book are anecdotal comments from the survey—comments from, for example, “one teen in early 2000s Annapolis, Maryland” (160). This is not great history writing. Given so much survey data, the book should be based on more than select anecdotal feedback. Payne frequently deploys unqualified “many”s and “most”s, even though she has the data to support those statements with greater precision.
Other criticisms are relatively minor—an inadequate index; embarrassing typos (referring to “Dallas Theological School” [139], for example); a final chapter that begins with the trajectories of the members of DC Talk but ends, strangely, with several pages about Donald Trump (who was not a member of DC Talk)—but it all adds up to an unsatisfying treatment of an interesting topic.
Better books on this and related topics:
--histories of CCM: Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock, by Andrew Beaujon, and Apostles of Rock: The Splintered World of Contemporary Christian Music, by Jay R. Howard and John M. Streck
--history of contemporary worship music: A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship: Understanding the Ideas That Reshaped the Protestant Church, by Lester Ruth and Lim Swee Hong
--ethnographic study of why Christian communities make the choices they do for worship music: Congregational Music, Conflict and Community, by Jonathan Dueck
--contemplation of the particular powers and possibilities of music (and other art forms) for Christian worship contexts: Glimpses of the New Creation: Worship and the Formative Power of the Arts, by W. David O. Taylor
March 30, 2025
Oh man, I’m gonna have to read this to get closure on all those years I was only allowed to listen to Christian music
February 26, 2024
An impeccable accounting of Christian Contemporary Music that is exhaustive and funny.
The book recounts the entire history of CCM in great detail starting with the early origins in revival meetings and concluding with the January 6th coup and the Asbury Revival. The book is incredibly researched and I can only imagine the work that went into writing this. It is detailed and covers all of the ups and downs of the industry. Yet, the most remarkable achievement is not the recounting but that the book is interesting. It does not read like a dry recounting of dates, events, and songs. It is sometimes funny, sometimes critical, and always engaging.
The book also makes a point at showing how intertwined with politics CCM was. Politics is not the primary focus of the book. But as the story continues it becomes clear that you cannot tell the story of music without the politics that went alongside it. You may be able to tell the author's own political leanings, but she is always fair and presents people in their best light.
If you grew up deeply influenced by CCM, this book is for you. It is not a popular level book but I would not be afraid of its more academic roots. It is accessible and easy to read. I grew up immersed in CCM but every page taught me something I had never heard before.
I don't think I could recommend this book enough. It is a gift and will probably become the gold standard for interacting with CCM. It reminded me a lot of "A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship" by Lester Ruth & Lim Swee Hong, although that book was focused on worship music instead of CCM.
Full Disclosure: My shortly-lived Christian heavy metal band is named in the introduction of the book. This has probably influenced my own feelings towards the book, but I would have loved this book anyway.
The book recounts the entire history of CCM in great detail starting with the early origins in revival meetings and concluding with the January 6th coup and the Asbury Revival. The book is incredibly researched and I can only imagine the work that went into writing this. It is detailed and covers all of the ups and downs of the industry. Yet, the most remarkable achievement is not the recounting but that the book is interesting. It does not read like a dry recounting of dates, events, and songs. It is sometimes funny, sometimes critical, and always engaging.
The book also makes a point at showing how intertwined with politics CCM was. Politics is not the primary focus of the book. But as the story continues it becomes clear that you cannot tell the story of music without the politics that went alongside it. You may be able to tell the author's own political leanings, but she is always fair and presents people in their best light.
If you grew up deeply influenced by CCM, this book is for you. It is not a popular level book but I would not be afraid of its more academic roots. It is accessible and easy to read. I grew up immersed in CCM but every page taught me something I had never heard before.
I don't think I could recommend this book enough. It is a gift and will probably become the gold standard for interacting with CCM. It reminded me a lot of "A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship" by Lester Ruth & Lim Swee Hong, although that book was focused on worship music instead of CCM.
Full Disclosure: My shortly-lived Christian heavy metal band is named in the introduction of the book. This has probably influenced my own feelings towards the book, but I would have loved this book anyway.
April 21, 2024
I enjoyed reminiscing about the music I grew up with, but I wish the author had been less obviously biased. I assumed an Oxford Press title would read less like a news jockey bestseller and more like an evenhanded scholary paper. I really don't know if I could take hearing the author say "white Evangelical agenda" one more time! Although I don't disagree with her assessment that conservative politics are tied to the CCM machine, I don't think she allowed much room for the presence of sincere Christian piety as a primary motivation for the decisions made by artists and industry execs.
For example, in her clear bent towards a more progressivistic form of Christianity, it seemed she could only imagine one reason for writing a song about sexual purity: the desire to maintain white, male, Evangelical control, especially for political and financial reasons. She would have been more credible if she had allowed for more nuance. It isn't outside the realm of possibility that many in the CCM industry actually believe what the Bible says about sexual ethics (and the Bible is extremely conservative on that front). It seems likely, from the tone of her writing, that the author does not hold this same view. That's her prerogative, of course, but to be a good scholar, one has to try as hard as possible to put biases aside and embrace motivational complexity.
For example, in her clear bent towards a more progressivistic form of Christianity, it seemed she could only imagine one reason for writing a song about sexual purity: the desire to maintain white, male, Evangelical control, especially for political and financial reasons. She would have been more credible if she had allowed for more nuance. It isn't outside the realm of possibility that many in the CCM industry actually believe what the Bible says about sexual ethics (and the Bible is extremely conservative on that front). It seems likely, from the tone of her writing, that the author does not hold this same view. That's her prerogative, of course, but to be a good scholar, one has to try as hard as possible to put biases aside and embrace motivational complexity.
May 31, 2024
As someone who grew up evangelical during the 1980s and ‘90s, I appreciate the effort to trace the history of CCM. However, I’d hoped – and expected – such a history would be written more from a perspective of faith than one of identity politics. By that, I mean that Payne focuses more on key figures’ race, gender, national origin, and political views than on their theological perspectives and denominational backgrounds. She criticizes the CCM industry not for straying from orthodox Christian beliefs and practices but for alienating or excluding people who have.
Payne introduces herself as someone who grew up in the church and once worked with Charlie Peacock, thus establishing herself as an “insider,” but the rest of the book reads as though it had been written by an outside observer studying the evangelical subculture but not entirely understanding it. Her tone is negative toward the “conservative white Protestants” who dominate the CCM industry, and she is dismissive of clean-cut Christians who hold biblical standards of morality in high regard. She speaks of the idea of keeping sex within marriage as though it were an onerous burden created by the CCM industry and not a millennia-old biblical command. Christian faith is treated as peripheral to the history of Christian music, rather than a central part of it.
While I concede that the CCM industry has wrongly adopted the image consciousness, political promotion, and money-driven ideals of mainstream music, often to the detriment of its message, its distinctive characteristic is still that it is Christian music. The genre’s primary audience is people who want an alternative to the dominant cultural beliefs promoted by the mainstream music industry. This book seems to miss that point.
Payne introduces herself as someone who grew up in the church and once worked with Charlie Peacock, thus establishing herself as an “insider,” but the rest of the book reads as though it had been written by an outside observer studying the evangelical subculture but not entirely understanding it. Her tone is negative toward the “conservative white Protestants” who dominate the CCM industry, and she is dismissive of clean-cut Christians who hold biblical standards of morality in high regard. She speaks of the idea of keeping sex within marriage as though it were an onerous burden created by the CCM industry and not a millennia-old biblical command. Christian faith is treated as peripheral to the history of Christian music, rather than a central part of it.
While I concede that the CCM industry has wrongly adopted the image consciousness, political promotion, and money-driven ideals of mainstream music, often to the detriment of its message, its distinctive characteristic is still that it is Christian music. The genre’s primary audience is people who want an alternative to the dominant cultural beliefs promoted by the mainstream music industry. This book seems to miss that point.
January 19, 2025
I have never seen the phrase “white, conservative, evangelical protestants “ written so many times in one book. This phrase is not used in a positive description at any point, and it is rarely used as a neutral descriptor. Rather, it is used as a pejorative to insult either the motives or intelligence of a group of people as a whole. If I flipped this around in a book and said this about a group of another race, I would be skewered for it.
The author also spends a lot of time bashing mothers for choosing the music they buy for their children, and for choosing which books, music, and movies are accepted into the home as children are growing. She discusses these mothers as if they are unreasonable, overbearing women who are hindering progress.
It is true that everybody has something to teach us, and this author does have some valid points about the double standards with sexuality in the Christian community. However, those double standards extend far beyond “white, conservative, evangelical protestants.”
The author also spends a lot of time bashing mothers for choosing the music they buy for their children, and for choosing which books, music, and movies are accepted into the home as children are growing. She discusses these mothers as if they are unreasonable, overbearing women who are hindering progress.
It is true that everybody has something to teach us, and this author does have some valid points about the double standards with sexuality in the Christian community. However, those double standards extend far beyond “white, conservative, evangelical protestants.”
June 4, 2024
If I were reviewing this book based upon the depth of its research, the excellence of its writing, or the thoroughness of its scope - the score would be a five out of five.
Unfortunately, this well-researched, excellently written, and broadly scoped work was tainted from the onset. It absolutely reeks of identity politics.
I was so incredibly hopeful for this book when I picked it up. CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) was the soundtrack of my youth. Born in 1973, my first in-person concert was David Meece and the Imperials. My youth choir sang bad arrangements of Petra. I saw DC Talk when they opened/were roadies for DeGarmo and Key. As a student pastor in the 90's, CCM permeated most of the ministry I performed. We took kids to concerts, had a library where they could check out CDs and had posters of artists and bands in our student space. While my affection for CCM is undeniable, I also spent a couple of years working in the industry. I saw the underbelly. The arrogance and greed were palpable. So I did not approach God Gave Rock and Roll to You hoping for a hagiography. I knew that CCM had/has many skeletons in the closet. I also find it to be a purveyor of a LOT of bad/shallow theology. So I approached this book hoping for an honest critique.
What I got instead was a liberal hit piece.
Throughout the book, Leah Payne injects her own liberal perspective on the formation and growth of CCM. This perspective permeates all of the book, but it becomes unbearable in the back half. It was all I could do to keep reading. There are many liberal nails she drives home, but let me highlight four that seem to come up most often.
CCM's appropriation of black music - Payne isn't even 11 pages in when she makes the case that the southern Gospel song, "Old Time Religion," is "appropriated" from African Americans. She claims that CCM pioneer Frank Boggs "repeated the white southern Gospel practice of appropriating Black Gospel spirituals" (21). This thread of "appropriating" music spins through the entire fabric of this book. Only a fool would deny the influence that African American spirituals had on CCM. Or Rock and Roll. Or Gospel. Or jazz. Or blues. The songs that emanated out of African American life were a culture-shaping force that impacted almost every music genre out there. But does that mean that those who are influenced by this beautiful, amazing tradition have "appropriated" this music? I wish she had written in such a way that celebrated the influence of black spirituals, crediting them as they should be, but without the insinuation (or one might argue, direct accusation) that their art form was stolen from them. If the influence has been "appropriated," does Ms. Payne think reparations should be made. I guess I just don't understand why she had to breathe the air of victimhood into this observation, unless it was just to paint the movers and shaker of CCM as rank racists.
Besmirching the "whiteness" of CCM Sticking with the racism threads, Payne wants the reader to understand that CCM is "the ambient sound of white evangelicalism" (3). Undeniably, CCM was driven by the consumer habits of the "Becky's" (130), mothers who shopped at Christian book stores and bought most of the CCM product, often for their children. They were, by and large, white. And in Payne's eyes, that fact is somehow simultaneously bad and the fault of the industry. Maybe it's because (in her opinion) white evangelicals have overly stringent moral standards for their artists. Writing about morality clauses for CCM artists, Payne states, "CCM figures were marketed as public testimonies to the power of the evangelical gospel, which meant that the artists were subjected to an additional level of scrutiny for their conformity to white evangelical ideals" (63-64). She goes on to clarify that these standards include faithfulness in marriage, modest clothing, and abstaining from drugs and drunkenness. Really?! Why not say they were subject to biblical ideals? "White evangelical ideals"? Is she insinuating that christian brothers and sisters who aren't white don't hold to biblical morality? I could go on and on. Payne wants the reader to see that CCM sales, leadership, and artistry were mostly white and that, in her opinion, is simply sinful. I do agree that diversity is beautiful and that having broader representation is good. But I don't necessarily think that the world of hip hop (whose leadership, sales, and artistry are NOT mostly white) is sinful because it is an art form that resonates primarily with minorities. I think different cultural backgrounds have different tastes. And I think that is beautiful and God-honoring. It is clear that Payne disagrees. She later ties in her disdain for the whiteness of CCM with her even deeper hatred for its political sensibilities: "The whiteness of the business was a problem for the long-term viability of CCM, but it was an asset for Republican activists of the 1990s" (132). More on this below.
Fighting the Patriarchy Here are some things that Payne wants the reader to know: Amy Grant finally took off when she got out from under the thumb of Brown Bannister. Bookstores are mostly owned by white men. Biblical ideals of order in the home are outdated, but CCM espoused them because they added to sales (98). Even when young women got an audience with CCM consumers, "[f]ull-grown women like Natalie Grant, Sara groves, or Ashley Cleveland rarely outsold abstinence icons like St. James or BarlowGirl" (144). This, apparently, was the fault of the CCM industry. The reader is left with little doubt that Payne eschews any biblical sense of order in the home that even remotely affirms male headship. She is no complimentarian!
Over-emphasis on the Religious Right Of all the agendas that drive Payne, this is by far the most significant. Reading the epilogue, one would think that CCM came to an end specifically on January 6, 2021. Of course CCM was behind the capitol riots.... a Michael W. Smith anthem was playing in the background. She writes about the Capitol riots, "It sounded like something that Carman himself might have scripted" (195). Seriously, if there is a time to use the language of "appropriation," this might be it. A group of lawless rioters playing CCM doesn't position CCM as a perpetrator of an unlawful riot. But frankly, that doesn't fit Payne's narrative that CCM was wed to the political right for capitalistic reasons. She doesn't seem capable of believing that people within CCM spoke against abortion because they actually think it means the ending of an unborn life, not just because a few more Becky's will but the artist's CD. Her view can be summed up in her own words: "Wherever the evangelical fight for public policy went, CCM was likely to follow" (132).
It is nearly impossible to get away from the political worldview that Leah Payne brings to the table in God Gave Rock and Roll to You. She simply won't let you. She imposes her liberal worldview throughout. Indeed, she doesn't even try to hide that agenda. "The question that guides this book is, what can one learn about the development of evangelicalism by looking at CCM, one of the largest, most profitable forms of mass media produced in the twentieth century? I treat CCM charts as representative of a conversation among (predominantly, but not exclusively white) evangelicals about what kind of people they want to be, what sort of world they wanted to create, what kind of actions they thought would honor God" (4). She answers that question resoundingly. And I guess I just don't like her answer. Her political ideologies overshadow her efforts as a historian.
Despite my criticisms, God Gave Rock and Roll to You has some redeeming qualities. Here are four (of its many) strengths, in no particular order
Description of Carmen No artist was more campy and well-known to people in my generation than Carman. I saw him in concert more times than I can count. I wish I had nickel for every dramatization of one of his songs I have sat through. He was an enigmatic figure that Payne describes to a "T": "He would later combine the sounds of Crouch's Black Pentecostal music, the spectacle of musical theater, a persona as an ultramasculiine 'Italian Stallion,' and the inevitable happy endings of Disneyland into a unique brand of Pentecostal showmanship" (77). I told you Ms. Payne was a good writer!
The Post-CCM Fog This is my term, not hers. But having survived the CCM of my youth, I think Payne is fair in describing how many have wrestled with the reality of their CCM-drenched adolescence. There are definitely some strange things that went along with 80's through 00's student ministry. She writes, "CCM and its cultural accouterments - the youth-group all-nighters, the See You at the Pole gatherings, and the abstinence pledges - served as evocative shorthand for growing up evangelical. Acting out Carman songs and Acquire the Fire battle anthems lived in their memories as oddities - experiences that were not necessarily negative, but silly and strange. 'What was that?' asked one fan rhetorically; 'sometimes I'm just embarrassed by it all'" (176).
Commercialism in CCM Payne lays out the facts for the reader - CCM is a business. Perhaps more interestingly, she takes us back in time when concerts had an evangelistic bent to them. "CCM concerts often included a moment where the music paused and the singer spoke about the things of God, then called for prayer, reflection, and public response at a small area near the stage" (85). There was a time, before the commercial aspect of CCM overwhelmed the industry, when artists saw themselves as being on mission. "Petra founder Bob Hartman viewed the group's status as rock stars as incidental to the band's primary calling as Christian ministers to America's youth" (72). I personally experienced altar calls at Petra concerts. I can distinctly remember when it seemed like CCM artists seemed to be embarrassed by the thought of an altar call. They just wanted to perform their art. And the record labels didn't mind; they just wanted to make money.
DC Talk trajectories Payne closes out the book by examining the state of the three members of DC Talk. She postulates that their unique landing spots are emblematic of how CCM has impacted society. K Max has completely deconstructed, leaving the faith. Toby Mac continues to make music and to walk a middle path. Tait has been much more comfortable taking political positions, aligning with and speaking out concerning traditional Republican positions. Whether her theory is completely accurate or not, I cannot say; I do think it is a clever way to think through the issue. I commend her for that.
Unfortunately, this well-researched, excellently written, and broadly scoped work was tainted from the onset. It absolutely reeks of identity politics.
I was so incredibly hopeful for this book when I picked it up. CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) was the soundtrack of my youth. Born in 1973, my first in-person concert was David Meece and the Imperials. My youth choir sang bad arrangements of Petra. I saw DC Talk when they opened/were roadies for DeGarmo and Key. As a student pastor in the 90's, CCM permeated most of the ministry I performed. We took kids to concerts, had a library where they could check out CDs and had posters of artists and bands in our student space. While my affection for CCM is undeniable, I also spent a couple of years working in the industry. I saw the underbelly. The arrogance and greed were palpable. So I did not approach God Gave Rock and Roll to You hoping for a hagiography. I knew that CCM had/has many skeletons in the closet. I also find it to be a purveyor of a LOT of bad/shallow theology. So I approached this book hoping for an honest critique.
What I got instead was a liberal hit piece.
Throughout the book, Leah Payne injects her own liberal perspective on the formation and growth of CCM. This perspective permeates all of the book, but it becomes unbearable in the back half. It was all I could do to keep reading. There are many liberal nails she drives home, but let me highlight four that seem to come up most often.
CCM's appropriation of black music - Payne isn't even 11 pages in when she makes the case that the southern Gospel song, "Old Time Religion," is "appropriated" from African Americans. She claims that CCM pioneer Frank Boggs "repeated the white southern Gospel practice of appropriating Black Gospel spirituals" (21). This thread of "appropriating" music spins through the entire fabric of this book. Only a fool would deny the influence that African American spirituals had on CCM. Or Rock and Roll. Or Gospel. Or jazz. Or blues. The songs that emanated out of African American life were a culture-shaping force that impacted almost every music genre out there. But does that mean that those who are influenced by this beautiful, amazing tradition have "appropriated" this music? I wish she had written in such a way that celebrated the influence of black spirituals, crediting them as they should be, but without the insinuation (or one might argue, direct accusation) that their art form was stolen from them. If the influence has been "appropriated," does Ms. Payne think reparations should be made. I guess I just don't understand why she had to breathe the air of victimhood into this observation, unless it was just to paint the movers and shaker of CCM as rank racists.
Besmirching the "whiteness" of CCM Sticking with the racism threads, Payne wants the reader to understand that CCM is "the ambient sound of white evangelicalism" (3). Undeniably, CCM was driven by the consumer habits of the "Becky's" (130), mothers who shopped at Christian book stores and bought most of the CCM product, often for their children. They were, by and large, white. And in Payne's eyes, that fact is somehow simultaneously bad and the fault of the industry. Maybe it's because (in her opinion) white evangelicals have overly stringent moral standards for their artists. Writing about morality clauses for CCM artists, Payne states, "CCM figures were marketed as public testimonies to the power of the evangelical gospel, which meant that the artists were subjected to an additional level of scrutiny for their conformity to white evangelical ideals" (63-64). She goes on to clarify that these standards include faithfulness in marriage, modest clothing, and abstaining from drugs and drunkenness. Really?! Why not say they were subject to biblical ideals? "White evangelical ideals"? Is she insinuating that christian brothers and sisters who aren't white don't hold to biblical morality? I could go on and on. Payne wants the reader to see that CCM sales, leadership, and artistry were mostly white and that, in her opinion, is simply sinful. I do agree that diversity is beautiful and that having broader representation is good. But I don't necessarily think that the world of hip hop (whose leadership, sales, and artistry are NOT mostly white) is sinful because it is an art form that resonates primarily with minorities. I think different cultural backgrounds have different tastes. And I think that is beautiful and God-honoring. It is clear that Payne disagrees. She later ties in her disdain for the whiteness of CCM with her even deeper hatred for its political sensibilities: "The whiteness of the business was a problem for the long-term viability of CCM, but it was an asset for Republican activists of the 1990s" (132). More on this below.
Fighting the Patriarchy Here are some things that Payne wants the reader to know: Amy Grant finally took off when she got out from under the thumb of Brown Bannister. Bookstores are mostly owned by white men. Biblical ideals of order in the home are outdated, but CCM espoused them because they added to sales (98). Even when young women got an audience with CCM consumers, "[f]ull-grown women like Natalie Grant, Sara groves, or Ashley Cleveland rarely outsold abstinence icons like St. James or BarlowGirl" (144). This, apparently, was the fault of the CCM industry. The reader is left with little doubt that Payne eschews any biblical sense of order in the home that even remotely affirms male headship. She is no complimentarian!
Over-emphasis on the Religious Right Of all the agendas that drive Payne, this is by far the most significant. Reading the epilogue, one would think that CCM came to an end specifically on January 6, 2021. Of course CCM was behind the capitol riots.... a Michael W. Smith anthem was playing in the background. She writes about the Capitol riots, "It sounded like something that Carman himself might have scripted" (195). Seriously, if there is a time to use the language of "appropriation," this might be it. A group of lawless rioters playing CCM doesn't position CCM as a perpetrator of an unlawful riot. But frankly, that doesn't fit Payne's narrative that CCM was wed to the political right for capitalistic reasons. She doesn't seem capable of believing that people within CCM spoke against abortion because they actually think it means the ending of an unborn life, not just because a few more Becky's will but the artist's CD. Her view can be summed up in her own words: "Wherever the evangelical fight for public policy went, CCM was likely to follow" (132).
It is nearly impossible to get away from the political worldview that Leah Payne brings to the table in God Gave Rock and Roll to You. She simply won't let you. She imposes her liberal worldview throughout. Indeed, she doesn't even try to hide that agenda. "The question that guides this book is, what can one learn about the development of evangelicalism by looking at CCM, one of the largest, most profitable forms of mass media produced in the twentieth century? I treat CCM charts as representative of a conversation among (predominantly, but not exclusively white) evangelicals about what kind of people they want to be, what sort of world they wanted to create, what kind of actions they thought would honor God" (4). She answers that question resoundingly. And I guess I just don't like her answer. Her political ideologies overshadow her efforts as a historian.
Despite my criticisms, God Gave Rock and Roll to You has some redeeming qualities. Here are four (of its many) strengths, in no particular order
Description of Carmen No artist was more campy and well-known to people in my generation than Carman. I saw him in concert more times than I can count. I wish I had nickel for every dramatization of one of his songs I have sat through. He was an enigmatic figure that Payne describes to a "T": "He would later combine the sounds of Crouch's Black Pentecostal music, the spectacle of musical theater, a persona as an ultramasculiine 'Italian Stallion,' and the inevitable happy endings of Disneyland into a unique brand of Pentecostal showmanship" (77). I told you Ms. Payne was a good writer!
The Post-CCM Fog This is my term, not hers. But having survived the CCM of my youth, I think Payne is fair in describing how many have wrestled with the reality of their CCM-drenched adolescence. There are definitely some strange things that went along with 80's through 00's student ministry. She writes, "CCM and its cultural accouterments - the youth-group all-nighters, the See You at the Pole gatherings, and the abstinence pledges - served as evocative shorthand for growing up evangelical. Acting out Carman songs and Acquire the Fire battle anthems lived in their memories as oddities - experiences that were not necessarily negative, but silly and strange. 'What was that?' asked one fan rhetorically; 'sometimes I'm just embarrassed by it all'" (176).
Commercialism in CCM Payne lays out the facts for the reader - CCM is a business. Perhaps more interestingly, she takes us back in time when concerts had an evangelistic bent to them. "CCM concerts often included a moment where the music paused and the singer spoke about the things of God, then called for prayer, reflection, and public response at a small area near the stage" (85). There was a time, before the commercial aspect of CCM overwhelmed the industry, when artists saw themselves as being on mission. "Petra founder Bob Hartman viewed the group's status as rock stars as incidental to the band's primary calling as Christian ministers to America's youth" (72). I personally experienced altar calls at Petra concerts. I can distinctly remember when it seemed like CCM artists seemed to be embarrassed by the thought of an altar call. They just wanted to perform their art. And the record labels didn't mind; they just wanted to make money.
DC Talk trajectories Payne closes out the book by examining the state of the three members of DC Talk. She postulates that their unique landing spots are emblematic of how CCM has impacted society. K Max has completely deconstructed, leaving the faith. Toby Mac continues to make music and to walk a middle path. Tait has been much more comfortable taking political positions, aligning with and speaking out concerning traditional Republican positions. Whether her theory is completely accurate or not, I cannot say; I do think it is a clever way to think through the issue. I commend her for that.
October 15, 2024
I suffered through most of this liberal trash..I’d like my time back please. I thought it would go through the history of Christian rock music but it’s more about bashing of Christianity. And has a side of racism to it which seems oddly placed, like the author was wanting brownie points for throwing that in every other page or so.
Read
April 3, 2024I'm not the target audience for this book because I didn't grow up on CCM (unless you count VeggieTales Silly Songs!), and I don't typically enjoy reading political stuff, but I wanted to read this book because it sounded interesting. I ended up listening to the audiobook, which I breezed through. Payne presents information in an accessible and engaging way. Her tone of voice is pleasant to listen to. God Gave Rock and Roll to You chronicles the history of Contemporary Christian Music, or CCM, in predominantly white, American, evangelical spaces. The book covers everything from the creation of CCM to the Jesus Revolution, to DC Talk and youth group bands, to purity culture and the rise of megachurches, all the way up to the recent Asbury revival. I learned a lot about the power of Christian music from this book. It definitely isn't as innocent as people make it seem. Although some of it went over my head, I found this to be an insightful listen that offered a different perspective on CCM than I usually see. It may be a biased book, but it is still very informative.
January 29, 2024
Meandering sequence of anecdotes that reads like a Wikipedia article in search of a thesis. Lots of interesting behind the scenes stories but mostly boiled down to “CCM produced bad politics.” Hard to take the author seriously when she consistently uses the widely panned white progressive term “Latinx.” Fun to revisit some of the names from childhood but that’s about it.
May 25, 2024
I loved this read, not just for the nostalgic references to the CCM of my upbringing but also for the fascinating context around it. As a child of the late 90s, much of the theological and political context of the early decades of CCM, as explored here, was revelatory to me, even though the song lyrics (and sometimes hand motions 😎) are familiar. This book made me consider the origins and implications of Christian music/culture/celebrity in new ways.
Dr. Payne gives a broad overview of the historical, social, and cultural influences that brought us here while stirring curiosity with plentiful examples that made me open dozens of Google tabs to deep dive into the names and titles referenced. 🕵🏻
Thoroughly researched but still very approachable, this was equally super interesting and super fun to read. As a student of Dr. Payne's, I especially loved listening to the audiobook, which she reads herself. It felt like a fun multi-session lecture with a favorite professor!
Dr. Payne gives a broad overview of the historical, social, and cultural influences that brought us here while stirring curiosity with plentiful examples that made me open dozens of Google tabs to deep dive into the names and titles referenced. 🕵🏻
Thoroughly researched but still very approachable, this was equally super interesting and super fun to read. As a student of Dr. Payne's, I especially loved listening to the audiobook, which she reads herself. It felt like a fun multi-session lecture with a favorite professor!
January 1, 2025
As one who grew up on CCM, a follower of Christ and a teacher of US History I thought, based on the book’s title, that I’d be taken down Memory Lane. I grew up listening to Larry Norman, Daniel Amos, Any Grant, etc. and while not a seasoned music critic, found their sounds and lyrics something that encouraged me and my faith. Even as a teen, I perceived the artists I listened to as wholesome alternatives to what the world had to offer.
Payne does provide some nice context and history to that period of time and to the musicians which I appreciated in this book.
But the book progressively revealed what seemed to be the undercurrent of thought in Payne’s motive: Charismatic white evangelicals are/were a cultural parasite using CCM as a means by which to indoctrinate (white) (Conservative/GOP) Americans of an out-of-date orthodoxy.
Payne argues that fears of abortion and sex before marriage propelled white evangelical women (mainly, or “Beckys” as she called them) to head to their local Christian bookstore or tune the dial to Christian radio to shelter their kids from the world, the flesh and the devil. The CCM machine was happy to oblige to this demographic and reaped in high profits while inflicting the US with cultural decay.
As the book unfolds, Payne increasingly weilds the terminology of the Left (Latinx and ascent to preferred pronouns as two examples) and the book slips quietly into more cultural criticism than history. The climax of the book is its last chapter and a half - plus the epilogue - that focused on the Trump presidency, the January 6 insurrection, and the white evangelicals that supported him and the conspiracy theories of the far Right. What this had to do with the history of CCM was hard to understand, and other than mentioning how "blowing the Shofar" a time or two, had nothing to do with music, much less, CCM. Side-note: As a teacher of High School students, if my students had taken such a bird walk in an essay I would have returned it as “off topic.”
In the end, Payne is entitled to writing any book she wants to; that she could get Oxford University Press to approve of the tangential move at the end of the book is a win for her, I suppose.
Just beware, the book’s true intent I think is to add itself to a growing genre of books criticizing white evangelicals in the age of Trump. A more nuanced argument on CCM’s history was what I went looking for and sadly didn’t find
Payne does provide some nice context and history to that period of time and to the musicians which I appreciated in this book.
But the book progressively revealed what seemed to be the undercurrent of thought in Payne’s motive: Charismatic white evangelicals are/were a cultural parasite using CCM as a means by which to indoctrinate (white) (Conservative/GOP) Americans of an out-of-date orthodoxy.
Payne argues that fears of abortion and sex before marriage propelled white evangelical women (mainly, or “Beckys” as she called them) to head to their local Christian bookstore or tune the dial to Christian radio to shelter their kids from the world, the flesh and the devil. The CCM machine was happy to oblige to this demographic and reaped in high profits while inflicting the US with cultural decay.
As the book unfolds, Payne increasingly weilds the terminology of the Left (Latinx and ascent to preferred pronouns as two examples) and the book slips quietly into more cultural criticism than history. The climax of the book is its last chapter and a half - plus the epilogue - that focused on the Trump presidency, the January 6 insurrection, and the white evangelicals that supported him and the conspiracy theories of the far Right. What this had to do with the history of CCM was hard to understand, and other than mentioning how "blowing the Shofar" a time or two, had nothing to do with music, much less, CCM. Side-note: As a teacher of High School students, if my students had taken such a bird walk in an essay I would have returned it as “off topic.”
In the end, Payne is entitled to writing any book she wants to; that she could get Oxford University Press to approve of the tangential move at the end of the book is a win for her, I suppose.
Just beware, the book’s true intent I think is to add itself to a growing genre of books criticizing white evangelicals in the age of Trump. A more nuanced argument on CCM’s history was what I went looking for and sadly didn’t find
February 3, 2025
As a millennial, I came of age when CCM reached its peak, so it was nostalgic reading the names of bands and songs that were playing on the radio and in my local Christian bookstore growing up. But if you're looking for a nostalgia trip through the history of CCM, this is not the book for you. Granted, CCM is not perfect; its theology is often shallow, it's very consumeristic, and some CCM artists have had some closet skeletons and major faith struggles. But when you have a book that mentions "white male majority" far more than it mentions "Jesus", red flags should immediately go up about the purpose of the book and the objectivity of its content.
So what did I conclude was the purpose of "God Gave Rock and Roll to You"? As does seem to be the case these days with everything millennials like me grew up with, it's to make you feel guilty for listening to CCM and your parents feel guilty for letting you get away with such filth. According to Payne, CCM is rooted in white, male-dominated, Republican, pentecostal and fundamentalist capitalism with ties to Donald Trump, so it's responsible for all the harm that Christianity has caused. And yet, Payne doesn't end with any kind of actionable conclusion. Should we all go back to public domain hymns in our churches? Should our kids instead be listening to songs with explicit lyrics, but by artists who at least care about dismantling the patriarchy? I'm not sure what Payne wants.
One of my Spotify playlists is a collection of a couple hundred CCM songs from my high school years that I listen to a few times a month when I'm feeling nostalgic. Thanks to Payne, I can better appreciate the history of some of the songs and the stories behind Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Carmen. But instead of feeling guilty for listening to art produced by...*gasp* sinners, I now feel gratitude for their role in my journey as a Christian and thankfulness to God that CCM is one of the many imperfect things that God gave me to deepen my faith.
So what did I conclude was the purpose of "God Gave Rock and Roll to You"? As does seem to be the case these days with everything millennials like me grew up with, it's to make you feel guilty for listening to CCM and your parents feel guilty for letting you get away with such filth. According to Payne, CCM is rooted in white, male-dominated, Republican, pentecostal and fundamentalist capitalism with ties to Donald Trump, so it's responsible for all the harm that Christianity has caused. And yet, Payne doesn't end with any kind of actionable conclusion. Should we all go back to public domain hymns in our churches? Should our kids instead be listening to songs with explicit lyrics, but by artists who at least care about dismantling the patriarchy? I'm not sure what Payne wants.
One of my Spotify playlists is a collection of a couple hundred CCM songs from my high school years that I listen to a few times a month when I'm feeling nostalgic. Thanks to Payne, I can better appreciate the history of some of the songs and the stories behind Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Carmen. But instead of feeling guilty for listening to art produced by...*gasp* sinners, I now feel gratitude for their role in my journey as a Christian and thankfulness to God that CCM is one of the many imperfect things that God gave me to deepen my faith.
February 24, 2025
This read more like a political tracing of modern "white evangelicals" through contemporary Christian music than a history of CCM in itself.
As other reviewers have noted, there seems to be very little room left for legitimate piety on the part of industry members or performers themselves — everything is about upholding white evangelical power structures. But I was never convinced that the proverbial chicken (reinforcing a particular culture) was primary in the minds of the historical actors themselves. Following pious quotes with abrasively cynical critiques of purity culture, Republicanism, etc. felt out of place, as did the disproportionate length of sections on Covid and Trumpism. (Valuable topics, but felt a bit overwrought in their importance to the industry's modern development.) By the end of the book, music becomes little more than a political pawn for right-wing politicians and church leaders. For a book which is theoretically about music, relegating its importance and value so much felt out of place.
I'm no stranger to critiquing CCM — too often, it can feel vapid, overcommercialized, and unoriginal. But it feels odd to read a book on a genre by someone who seemingly doesn't like it at all.
Generally an interesting history, but the undue focus on partisan politics (above, say, theology, praxology, ecclesiology, music style, etc.) made the book feel much preachier than I'm sure was intended. More critically, I didn't learn much of anything useful about what made the music "work" — on a theological, sociological, or musical level. And while the context is helpful for the curious Christian music consumer, this isn't a volume I'd be likely to recommend to many outside of academia. 2.5 stars.
As other reviewers have noted, there seems to be very little room left for legitimate piety on the part of industry members or performers themselves — everything is about upholding white evangelical power structures. But I was never convinced that the proverbial chicken (reinforcing a particular culture) was primary in the minds of the historical actors themselves. Following pious quotes with abrasively cynical critiques of purity culture, Republicanism, etc. felt out of place, as did the disproportionate length of sections on Covid and Trumpism. (Valuable topics, but felt a bit overwrought in their importance to the industry's modern development.) By the end of the book, music becomes little more than a political pawn for right-wing politicians and church leaders. For a book which is theoretically about music, relegating its importance and value so much felt out of place.
I'm no stranger to critiquing CCM — too often, it can feel vapid, overcommercialized, and unoriginal. But it feels odd to read a book on a genre by someone who seemingly doesn't like it at all.
Generally an interesting history, but the undue focus on partisan politics (above, say, theology, praxology, ecclesiology, music style, etc.) made the book feel much preachier than I'm sure was intended. More critically, I didn't learn much of anything useful about what made the music "work" — on a theological, sociological, or musical level. And while the context is helpful for the curious Christian music consumer, this isn't a volume I'd be likely to recommend to many outside of academia. 2.5 stars.
April 1, 2024
I have had this book on my radar for awhile, and so maybe my expectations were too high, but I was left feeling a bit disappointed. This is a history with which I am rather familiar, having been very much a part of that audience in the late nineties and early aughts (maybe even still, depending on what CCM is nowadays). And sure, it was interesting to see some of the larger context of my own experience through a wider lens.
But in the end I was left wanting. I would've liked more background about the industry forces that shaped the scene, about the business machinations, about the economical forces that made the music and the artists what they were. It would have been nice to see more theological interpretation, how different theologies and denominations have influenced and been influenced. The author did do some of this, and also had some helpful tie-ins to US politics, but at times that analysis still felt superficial.
Good book, just not as insightful or illuminating as I would have hoped.
But in the end I was left wanting. I would've liked more background about the industry forces that shaped the scene, about the business machinations, about the economical forces that made the music and the artists what they were. It would have been nice to see more theological interpretation, how different theologies and denominations have influenced and been influenced. The author did do some of this, and also had some helpful tie-ins to US politics, but at times that analysis still felt superficial.
Good book, just not as insightful or illuminating as I would have hoped.
May 5, 2024
Ambivalent read. I grew up listening to CCM, so it was interesting and nostalgic to read through the wealth of historical data. But the angle was much too far to the left for my liking. Weirdly obsessed with race and identity. Unironic use of "Latinx". Capitalisation of "Black", but not "white". Never reached the level where I had to stop reading, but it certainly made the book less enjoyable than it could have been.
April 13, 2024
I was looking for a history of CCM, not a political rant. This book seems overly scornful and on the verge of racism. The word "white" was used over 300 times in a 257 page book when referring to believers, even though Christianity is Global and made of our many races throughout the world
April 5, 2024
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review. No other compensation was offered or received.
For a generation, the dominant form of religious music in the North American market was “Contemporary Christian Music.” It was sold in Christian bookstores, sung in Christian churches (or at least at their youth groups) and played on Christian radio. This history looks at the subgenre’s roots, rise to prominence and eventually ebbing as “worship music” took over.
In the late Nineteenth century, revival meetings needed music to sing, and the new music recording industry needed songs to sell their reels and discs. Both the “Christian” music and country music industries started concentrating around Nashville, Tennessee. (There was, and is, a considerable overlap.) They drew heavily from black Gospel music and blues, though usually through white covers.
Starting in the 1950s, there was an increasing worry among what would become known as the white evangelical community about the youth being corrupted by the “jungle rhythms” (read “Black people’s music”) of rock music. Even as the rock and roll genre became heavily dominated by white musicians, the anti-establishment, open love, anti-segregation, pro-party ethos of then-mainstream rock freaked out the buttoned-down squares in charge of churches.
But you didn’t have to be square to be a Christian. A fraction of those turning on and dropping out found Jesus was transcendent and able to be found even when you weren’t necessarily looking. These “Jesus Freaks” started making “Jesus music” that drew on rock and its musical trends of the time.
Reluctantly at first, the Christian music industry started working with Jesus music–it was, after all, a moral substitute for the devil’s rock and roll. Especially helpful for keeping the youth entertained and not going somewhere other than the church basement.
Over the course of time, being the “moral substitute” for the music popular with the rest of the culture became CCM’s big thing. It helped that conservative white evangelicalism had become its own subculture, with Christian bookstore chains, Christian radio stations, Christian TV channels and a Moral Majority mindset all feeding into each other. It became a multimillion-dollar business.
But the insular nature of the subgenre came with problems. The industry and the fandom wanted performers who were the moral paragons that embodied the values proclaimed in their songs. A failure to live up to that, especially when it came to the right kind of sex, crashed several careers. Nonwhite artists were excluded unless they conformed to white cultural standards. And a growing adherence to right-wing politics tainted the message for many.
Plus, CCM artists that were able to “cross over” to popularity on the regular charts were viewed with suspicion at best, and often had to abandon one market or the other. Contemporary Christian Music was often derided for low quality.
The devotion to the “Becky” market eventually made the CCM industry vulnerable to changes in the market. The internet allowed Christian musicians to reach listeners without the strict gatekeepers, the evangelical left came out of its shell, and American tastes changed to a wider variety of styles, skin complexions and national origins for religious music. “Worship music” became the next big thing.
And of course, conservative white evangelicalism’s adherence to the less savory parts of Republican policy led them to support a certain candidate for president, and his insurrection, turning off more segments of the potential audience.
This book seems well-researched, though the author notes many people she talked to would not go on the record. No illustrations, but copious footnotes with citations, and an index.
Having been adjacent to the target audience of CCM over the years (I’ve owned some of the albums mentioned) I found this an interesting subject and a fun read. Some readers may be turned off by the frank discussion of racism within the music industry and other political entanglements, but those are subjects that are integral to a fair retelling of events.
I’d recommend this book to music fans, people curious about the Contemporary Christian Music subgenre, and American church history buffs.
For a generation, the dominant form of religious music in the North American market was “Contemporary Christian Music.” It was sold in Christian bookstores, sung in Christian churches (or at least at their youth groups) and played on Christian radio. This history looks at the subgenre’s roots, rise to prominence and eventually ebbing as “worship music” took over.
In the late Nineteenth century, revival meetings needed music to sing, and the new music recording industry needed songs to sell their reels and discs. Both the “Christian” music and country music industries started concentrating around Nashville, Tennessee. (There was, and is, a considerable overlap.) They drew heavily from black Gospel music and blues, though usually through white covers.
Starting in the 1950s, there was an increasing worry among what would become known as the white evangelical community about the youth being corrupted by the “jungle rhythms” (read “Black people’s music”) of rock music. Even as the rock and roll genre became heavily dominated by white musicians, the anti-establishment, open love, anti-segregation, pro-party ethos of then-mainstream rock freaked out the buttoned-down squares in charge of churches.
But you didn’t have to be square to be a Christian. A fraction of those turning on and dropping out found Jesus was transcendent and able to be found even when you weren’t necessarily looking. These “Jesus Freaks” started making “Jesus music” that drew on rock and its musical trends of the time.
Reluctantly at first, the Christian music industry started working with Jesus music–it was, after all, a moral substitute for the devil’s rock and roll. Especially helpful for keeping the youth entertained and not going somewhere other than the church basement.
Over the course of time, being the “moral substitute” for the music popular with the rest of the culture became CCM’s big thing. It helped that conservative white evangelicalism had become its own subculture, with Christian bookstore chains, Christian radio stations, Christian TV channels and a Moral Majority mindset all feeding into each other. It became a multimillion-dollar business.
But the insular nature of the subgenre came with problems. The industry and the fandom wanted performers who were the moral paragons that embodied the values proclaimed in their songs. A failure to live up to that, especially when it came to the right kind of sex, crashed several careers. Nonwhite artists were excluded unless they conformed to white cultural standards. And a growing adherence to right-wing politics tainted the message for many.
Plus, CCM artists that were able to “cross over” to popularity on the regular charts were viewed with suspicion at best, and often had to abandon one market or the other. Contemporary Christian Music was often derided for low quality.
The devotion to the “Becky” market eventually made the CCM industry vulnerable to changes in the market. The internet allowed Christian musicians to reach listeners without the strict gatekeepers, the evangelical left came out of its shell, and American tastes changed to a wider variety of styles, skin complexions and national origins for religious music. “Worship music” became the next big thing.
And of course, conservative white evangelicalism’s adherence to the less savory parts of Republican policy led them to support a certain candidate for president, and his insurrection, turning off more segments of the potential audience.
This book seems well-researched, though the author notes many people she talked to would not go on the record. No illustrations, but copious footnotes with citations, and an index.
Having been adjacent to the target audience of CCM over the years (I’ve owned some of the albums mentioned) I found this an interesting subject and a fun read. Some readers may be turned off by the frank discussion of racism within the music industry and other political entanglements, but those are subjects that are integral to a fair retelling of events.
I’d recommend this book to music fans, people curious about the Contemporary Christian Music subgenre, and American church history buffs.
February 17, 2024
A longer review follows. TL;dr: It’s solid, informative and enjoyable.
As a teen growing up in Evangelical youth group culture in the late 70s and 80s, I couldn’t help but be impacted by CCM. While I appreciated the grit and authenticity of Larry Norman, and later Rich Mullins, Steve Taylor and Jars of Clay, I largely rejected what was offered in 80s and 90s CCM as a saccharine and insincere alternative to secular music. CCM just didn’t resonate for me. It is with this background that I read Dr. Leah Payne’s excellent God Gave Rock & Roll To You.
Impeccably well researched and sourced, Payne first takes one back to the 19th C. origins of Evangelicalism in the American South and follows that world through its music, the advent of radio, the ministries of Billy Graham, Youth For Christ and others to the Jesus People movement in the late 1960’s and 1970’s— always linking the music’s gospel message with love of nation and home. America, the nation, plays a central role in Payne’s story of CCM. The bulk of the text is spent in the peak CCM years of the late 1970s through 2000. Payne provides a thorough review of the artists and impacts of this period— the key roles of Christian bookstores and radio, the chasing of secular culture with “us too” artists, as well as ties with the growing “Religious Right.” We are then walked through the formation and popularity of worship culture (Vineyard Worship, Hillsong, Passion and Bethel Music) right up to the present. It is no surprise given her background, that Payne’s writing shines when highlighting the arc of Christian music influenced by the charismatic church over the course of the last century. She also does solid work analyzing the relative fall of the CCM genre over the last decade and a half. I appreciated her highlighting the “Christianish” music of the last twenty years including a shoutout to my personal favs Chris Carrabba and Dashboard Confessional.
For me, the book’s greatest value lies its closing quarter when its author looks more deeply at what CCM represents both in its rise and fall. Payne ties CCM securely into the marketing of conservative Christian religion to white American suburban teens. She also asserts that “bestselling CCM stars and their audiences also performed and enforced strict evangelical ideals about gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity,” and therefore draws a clear thread connecting the politics before and during the peak CCM era with the ongoing culture wars we see within and outside of faith in 2024. I appreciated Payne’s balanced approach, never hesitating to point out hypocrisies and problem areas while also highlighting the value CCM has brought to persons of faith as well as larger culture and society. There wasn’t a place for people of color in the industry for far too long and it remains a white dominated space. Its attachment to right wing politics, purity culture, the prosperity gospel and patriarchal thinking have left so many damaged in its wake. All too often, Evangelical Christianity and its associated music are known far more for what they stand against than stand for. Given her academic background, this is a largely neutral and historical text, but there is generous and healthy analysis of the music’s tie to many of the political themes of the last 50 years. This becomes especially pointed in a review of Trump’s ascension to power with the support of the majority of Evangelicals, the rise of Christian Nationalism, as well as the struggle of CCM and the Evangelical church to keep up with a culture in motion.
This is a very well written book, easy to read, meticulously detailed while remaining engaging. While it is not a book based in comedy, it is often humorous. Payne’s summary of the movie “God’s Not Dead,” left me laughing. “By the final credits, Wheaton and his friends discovered the key to living a proud, public Christian life was attending a Newsboys concert.” God Gave Rock & Roll To You will be of great interest to anyone who loves CCM or grew up CCM adjacent. American cultural historians take note— it is also unique as an accurate recording and analysis of an important part of Evangelical culture, therefore larger American culture as well.
As a teen growing up in Evangelical youth group culture in the late 70s and 80s, I couldn’t help but be impacted by CCM. While I appreciated the grit and authenticity of Larry Norman, and later Rich Mullins, Steve Taylor and Jars of Clay, I largely rejected what was offered in 80s and 90s CCM as a saccharine and insincere alternative to secular music. CCM just didn’t resonate for me. It is with this background that I read Dr. Leah Payne’s excellent God Gave Rock & Roll To You.
Impeccably well researched and sourced, Payne first takes one back to the 19th C. origins of Evangelicalism in the American South and follows that world through its music, the advent of radio, the ministries of Billy Graham, Youth For Christ and others to the Jesus People movement in the late 1960’s and 1970’s— always linking the music’s gospel message with love of nation and home. America, the nation, plays a central role in Payne’s story of CCM. The bulk of the text is spent in the peak CCM years of the late 1970s through 2000. Payne provides a thorough review of the artists and impacts of this period— the key roles of Christian bookstores and radio, the chasing of secular culture with “us too” artists, as well as ties with the growing “Religious Right.” We are then walked through the formation and popularity of worship culture (Vineyard Worship, Hillsong, Passion and Bethel Music) right up to the present. It is no surprise given her background, that Payne’s writing shines when highlighting the arc of Christian music influenced by the charismatic church over the course of the last century. She also does solid work analyzing the relative fall of the CCM genre over the last decade and a half. I appreciated her highlighting the “Christianish” music of the last twenty years including a shoutout to my personal favs Chris Carrabba and Dashboard Confessional.
For me, the book’s greatest value lies its closing quarter when its author looks more deeply at what CCM represents both in its rise and fall. Payne ties CCM securely into the marketing of conservative Christian religion to white American suburban teens. She also asserts that “bestselling CCM stars and their audiences also performed and enforced strict evangelical ideals about gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity,” and therefore draws a clear thread connecting the politics before and during the peak CCM era with the ongoing culture wars we see within and outside of faith in 2024. I appreciated Payne’s balanced approach, never hesitating to point out hypocrisies and problem areas while also highlighting the value CCM has brought to persons of faith as well as larger culture and society. There wasn’t a place for people of color in the industry for far too long and it remains a white dominated space. Its attachment to right wing politics, purity culture, the prosperity gospel and patriarchal thinking have left so many damaged in its wake. All too often, Evangelical Christianity and its associated music are known far more for what they stand against than stand for. Given her academic background, this is a largely neutral and historical text, but there is generous and healthy analysis of the music’s tie to many of the political themes of the last 50 years. This becomes especially pointed in a review of Trump’s ascension to power with the support of the majority of Evangelicals, the rise of Christian Nationalism, as well as the struggle of CCM and the Evangelical church to keep up with a culture in motion.
This is a very well written book, easy to read, meticulously detailed while remaining engaging. While it is not a book based in comedy, it is often humorous. Payne’s summary of the movie “God’s Not Dead,” left me laughing. “By the final credits, Wheaton and his friends discovered the key to living a proud, public Christian life was attending a Newsboys concert.” God Gave Rock & Roll To You will be of great interest to anyone who loves CCM or grew up CCM adjacent. American cultural historians take note— it is also unique as an accurate recording and analysis of an important part of Evangelical culture, therefore larger American culture as well.
March 18, 2025
This readable book offers analysis of the intersection between contemporary Christian music and conservative American politics. I am glad I read it, but I was disappointed with its narrow focus on Christian nationalism and social issues, rather than the actual music, the stories of its impact, and any theological considerations.
Don't get me wrong - I've read many books on the religious right, and think it's worthwhile. Some of my favorite include One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America, Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, and Guaranteed Pure: The Moody Bible Institute, Business, and the Making of Modern Evangelicalism. I can't wait to read Tim Alberta's work The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. If this was marketed as a history of how Christian entertainment embedded and propagated Republican political values, it would be get four stars. But Payne claims that it is a HISTORY of CCM, yet barely considers anything but the political impact of its artists.
If you have unquestioningly imbibed CCM for years, this is an important work to read. If you are post-evangelical, deconstructing the way the GOP Elephant has displaced the Slain Lamb in the American church, you will likely enjoy this book, though it does feel a bit like preaching to the choir. But a balanced history of CCM, with consideration of its multifaceted impact, this book is not.
It's not even the sharply critical tone with little consideration of positive perspectives - it is the surprising, laser-like focus on politics.
With that said, Payne provided some fascinating details and revealed valuable connections throughout this work. I had forgotten just how political many of the popular artists have been, and how many sold out to Trump and the far right in recent years. Her observations about white, colonializing themes were also striking - I was left reimagining Audio Adrenaline's "Big House" as antebellum plantation life and Chapman's "The Great Adventure" as a spiritualized Manifest Destiny.
So read the book if you're more interested in the political and cultural impact, than the theological and music aspects of CCM. It's good. It's just not what it claimed to be.
Don't get me wrong - I've read many books on the religious right, and think it's worthwhile. Some of my favorite include One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America, Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, and Guaranteed Pure: The Moody Bible Institute, Business, and the Making of Modern Evangelicalism. I can't wait to read Tim Alberta's work The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. If this was marketed as a history of how Christian entertainment embedded and propagated Republican political values, it would be get four stars. But Payne claims that it is a HISTORY of CCM, yet barely considers anything but the political impact of its artists.
If you have unquestioningly imbibed CCM for years, this is an important work to read. If you are post-evangelical, deconstructing the way the GOP Elephant has displaced the Slain Lamb in the American church, you will likely enjoy this book, though it does feel a bit like preaching to the choir. But a balanced history of CCM, with consideration of its multifaceted impact, this book is not.
It's not even the sharply critical tone with little consideration of positive perspectives - it is the surprising, laser-like focus on politics.
With that said, Payne provided some fascinating details and revealed valuable connections throughout this work. I had forgotten just how political many of the popular artists have been, and how many sold out to Trump and the far right in recent years. Her observations about white, colonializing themes were also striking - I was left reimagining Audio Adrenaline's "Big House" as antebellum plantation life and Chapman's "The Great Adventure" as a spiritualized Manifest Destiny.
So read the book if you're more interested in the political and cultural impact, than the theological and music aspects of CCM. It's good. It's just not what it claimed to be.
May 2, 2024
This is a fun, even a necessary read if you're interested in the history of CCM, although I wish it had focused more on the 1970s and '80s. It intentionally is focused on filling two gaps in the way scholars have talked about this industry: 1) its roots in early 20th century Holiness and Pentecostal Protestantism, and 2) its collapse even as the Praise and Worship subgenre it spawned remains as popular as ever. These aspects of the book are excellent and really informative. But it feels like there's a bit of a gap between the late 1960s and early 1990s – major bands and movements are mentioned almost in passing, and that's a missed opportunity for a good, if somewhat limited, book to become an excellent and comprehensive one.
September 21, 2024
Being alive after much of this took place, Payne helped me begin to understand the emotional connection previous generations have with this music. She hammers home the point that while CCM responded to gatekeepers and evangelical mom crowd, that’s changed in just the last few years. While the emphasis on the political ties of Charismatic worship leaders is heavy at the end, it’s an intriguing hypothesis to keep track of as it develops.
April 8, 2024
The book gives a great accounting of the history of CCM and how the industry was/is used as a vehicle for conservative values and politics. This was the overall narrative. I do not disagree with it- I was expecting more about the artist’s stories.
As someone who grew up on Christian Rock/Alternative (and less CCM) I experienced the music as mostly encouraging my faith- while having people disciple me about detangling from the junk of the industry.
As someone who grew up on Christian Rock/Alternative (and less CCM) I experienced the music as mostly encouraging my faith- while having people disciple me about detangling from the junk of the industry.
October 31, 2025
I wanted to love this book going into it. However, it was entirely too political for that and left me with the question, “who hurt you?” Rather than an interesting reflection on the history of CCM, the author instead used it as a means to browbeat and condemn the music, artists, and listeners at every opportunity. I don’t know her but it smacks of the former Christians disassembling on TikTok, though I’ve give her slightly better researched. The book follows the chronological rise of CCM and as such begins prior to the Civil Rights Era in the 1960s. The first several chapters were spent demonizing the the roots of CCM as racist and appropriation. She mentions in passing desegregated worship services and revivals but rather than explore that, she jumps right back in to the race baiting and “white evangelical” (at term she uses ad nauseum) shaming. Fast forward to the 70s, 80s, and 90s and she glosses over incredible artists like Larnelle Harris (presented as a token), Kirk Franklin (barely mentioned), and Cece Winans (I don’t believe she was mentioned at all, though Bebe Winans was). While no person, denomination, or movement is perfect, as we are all or they are all made of fallible humans, this book seems to go out of its way to disparage and demonize the very topic to which it is devoted. Calling Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant the CCM Ken Doll and Barbie, lumping all Christian artists in with certain political movements the author clearly does not support, etc. Her luxury beliefs are on full display and in full condemnation of CCM and evangelicals as a whole. She discredits any perceived good in CCM as political, commercial, or racist. As a white evangelical (evil I know!!) growing up in the hey day of CCM, I know some of the things she said are true. Our mothers did want alternatives to “secular” music. Artists did have to adhere to morality clauses with their record labels (don’t we require that of pastors and other prominent ministry leaders as well?). Undoubtedly, based on the timeframe the author chose to start her book, race is an important issue, particularly with the segregation between Black Gospel music and Southern Gospel music, both of which were highly influential in the birth of CCM. However, there were many good things that came from the rise of CCM, though the author would likely disagree. People did begin relationships with Christ through it (something the author almost denies entirely and belittles). Christians’ faith was strengthened. In my darkest times to this day, when I don’t have the words or strength a playlist of predominantly Larnelle Harris, Michael W. Smith, and various hymns and worship songs are still my go to and I know I am not alone. Rather than being an interesting and informative book on the history of CCM, this book took every opportunity to denigrate it. It is clearly a product of its time when many were turning away from their faith and condemning the things that helped lead them to it. The author has thrown the baby out with the bath water and rather than learning from and enjoying this book, I’m led to pray for healing for this author and others like her, who bitter, jaded, and believe themselves more enlightened than those of us who look at the era she so maligns with open eyes that, sure there was some bad, but there also was a lot of good, and choose to believe and endure. At the end of this book, I truly felt sad for the author that she so entirely missed the point, or maybe she just chose to push an agenda instead.
February 17, 2024
A great academic read on CCM. I wish there was more on the tooth and nail subculture.
October 8, 2024
The history recounting that shoehorns in racism is tiring. The phrase “predominantly white” was used a laughable amount of times.
May 24, 2024
There is much to like in Dr. Payne's book. No one could question she did her research on the genre. The questions pile up in her weaving together a thesis that at times lacked depth and ignored anything which didn't support said thesis. While I have no doubt that there was definitely an emphasis among many on a conservative politics, she barely considers that the patriotism found in Christian music could have been influenced heavily by two world wars, which by the way, also heavily influenced the rise of apocalyptic fervor. (And this comes from a guy who had so much Hal Lindsey stuff shoved down his throat, I left behind those endless Revelation creative interpretations and found a church body not fixated on it.) My biggest hesitancy of giving at least a four star rating is to me she fell at times into the same lack of the nuance she complained about in the CCM machine.
June 3, 2024
Read The Gaithers & Southern Gospel by Ryan Harper instead—covers a lot of the same history and I found more engaging.
April 9, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5. Good history of Christian music. Some bias is obvious and no real conclusion.
May 25, 2024
Really 3.5 stars. Another case where I wish Goodreads allowed us readers to rate a half star.
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