Publishers Weekly
11/20/2023
Payne (Gender and Pentecostal Revivalism), an associate professor of American religious history at Portland Seminary, provides a meticulous history of contemporary Christian music (CCM), a genre “created by and for, and sold almost exclusively to, white evangelicals” and worth nearly $1 billion at its 2000 apex. Tracing the genre’s roots to the music of early 20th-century revival meetings, Payne explains how attempts to lure teens away from rock (“the devil’s music”) coalesced in the 1960s and early ’70s, as Larry Norman and other musicians fused rock and folk with evangelical messages. Initially sold at Christian bookstores and bought primarily by mothers for their children, the success of CCM made clear that there was a “growing market for music created to teach Christian principles to kids,” though the manner in which those lessons were imparted sometimes seemed paradoxical. For example, Payne notes that songs about purity were particularly popular in the late 1990s and aughts as female singers aimed to “show chastity was the real way to be sexy.” Payne’s portraits of the audiences who consumed CCM, the personalities that populated the genre, and the cultural forces that shaped it are rich and robust yet sometimes marred by tangents, as in a discussion of Pentecostal performer Carman that segues somewhat abruptly into a summary of Frank Peretti’s 1986 book This Present Darkness and the “battle between spiritual principalities and local government powers” it depicts. Still, this is a comprehensive and fascinating survey of a much-maligned yet influential musical genre. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"This highly anticipated history of Contemporary Christian Music does not disappoint. Mapping out the complex and shifting landscape of popular Christian music, Payne provides an indispensable guide to the soundtrack of millions of Americans' lives while offering a fascinating window into evangelical culture more broadly." — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
"This wonderfully written, skillfully researched book adds much to what we know about popular religious music in the 20th and 21st centuries. Payne covers so much fascinating ground that others have not been over, illuminating a great deal about religion, pop culture, politics, and more." — Randall J. Stephens, Author of The Devil's Music: How Christians Inspired, Condemned, and Embraced Rock 'n' Roll"Fascinating! A fast-paced narrative as illuminating as it is cautionary about the powerful bond between Christian music and the making of white evangelical identity. Trust me-if you, like me, grew up with Amy Grant, you don't want to miss this book." — Beth Allison Barr, Author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth"God Gave Rock and Roll to You will take its place in the small canon of essential books on the subject. This is smart, historically accurate, sometimes humorous, and always gracious writing. It speaks to the genuine, heartfelt desire to honor God through music-how beautiful the impulse can be and how wrong Christians often get it. Easy to read and hard to put down." — Charlie Peacock, Grammy Award-winning music producer"God may have given Rock and Roll to white evangelicals, but as it turns out, they preferred a chimera instead: Contemporary Christian Music. As Leah Payne expertly shows in this indispensable survey, for several decades, CCM became a prized vehicle for the goal of many conservative religious movements: socialization and control." — Gregory Alan Thornbury, Author of Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock"[A] comprehensive and fascinating survey of a much-maligned yet influential musical genre." — Publishers Weekly"This breezy yet fact-filled romp through the Christian side of American popular culture from 1897 to the present will be eye-opening for many secular readers." — Library Journal"Dr. Leah Payne's book remains a significant contribution to this field of research. God Gave Rock and Roll to You is an impressive rendering of a diverse history and will serve as a standard work on evangelical cultural production. It is essential reading for those who want to deepen their understanding of late modern evangelicalism." — Tomas Poletti Lundström, Sociology Of Religion
Library Journal
01/01/2024
Payne (American religious history, Portland Seminary, George Fox Univ.; Gender and Pentecostal Revivalism) uses interviews with journalists, publishers, and artists and written sources in archives and periodicals to limn white evangelical Protestant U.S.-centric Christian music from the late 19th century through the present day. The book shows that contemporary Christian music (CCM) figures big in revivals and conversions, especially among adolescents who otherwise are the primary consumers of mainstream pop and rock music. Enthusiasts embrace their corporate identity of CCM through radio and TV programs, recordings, books, and often expensive venue tickets. Readers are reminded of the pervasiveness of Christian cultural stories, including those on Billy Graham, Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan's 1979 gospel concerts, the Promise Keepers, Amy Grant, Britney Spears, and Jessica Simpson. Temperance and pro-life causes reverberate in this way of life, while Payne asserts that other conservative political concerns only occasionally appear. Ironically, the end of the Cold War removed an energizing counterforce for CCM, perhaps accounting for a diminishment of its energy. VERDICT This breezy yet fact-filled romp through the Christian side of American popular culture from 1897 to the present will be eye-opening for many secular readers.—Frederick J. Augustyn Jr.
