MercyMe
is an American contemporary Christian band founded in Greenville, Texas. The band consists of vocalist Bart Millard, keyboardist James Bryson, percussionist Robin Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul.
The band formed in 1994 and released six independent albums prior to signing with INO Records in 2001. [1]
The group first gained mainstream recognition with the crossover single, “I Can Only Imagine” which elevated their debut album, Almost There
, to becoming certified double platinum. Since then, the group has released five additional studio albums, three of which have been certified gold, and a greatest hits album. MercyMe has won numerous Dove Awards and has had various Grammy Award nominations.
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MERCY ME TICKETS
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History
Formation and Early years
Born into a family as the son of Southern Methodist University All-American player Arthur Millard
and the brother of a football player,
[2] MercyMe's lead singer, Bart Millard wanted to become a football player, yet his football career ended when he injured his ankles in a high school football game.
[3] As a result of his injury, Millard took choir as an elective.
During his freshmen year in college, Bart underwent the death of his father.
His youth pastor, who had moved from Texas to Florida, invited Bart to work with a youth group’s worship band.
Millard accepted his invitation and went on to work on the video and sound systems for the group.
[4] On a day when the band’s lead singer got stuck on stage, Bart took the challenge of singing for the group.
James (Jim) Bryson played piano for that band and later went on to play with Bart Millard and the worship band on a trip to
Switzerland.
This trip became the cause of Millard and Bryson’s consideration of playing music full-time. Millard and his friend, guitarist Mike Scheuchzer, moved to Oklahoma City to form MercyMe with Bryson. The trio set up a studio and a “living area” in an old abandoned day-care center.
Bassist Nathan Cochran and Drummer Robby Shaffer joined the band later on, accompanying the band on releasing six independent projects before signing with
INO Records in 2001. Unlike their first three major label albums, their earlier indie projects tended to orientate more towards rock rhythms.
[5] The group’s name, “MercyMe”, originated during Bart’s time as a youth ministry intern in Florida. Concerned that her grandson was home whenever she called, Bart’s grandmother would exclaim, “Well mercy me, why don’t you get a real job?”
[6] [7]
Almost There
, Spoken For
and Undone
(2001-2004)
After signing with
INO Records, the band released its first major debut album,
Almost There
. The single "
I Can Only Imagine" earned the band a
Dove Award in 2002 for song of the year; however, it was not until three years after its release in when the song began to gain mainstream success,
topping the
billboard 200 sales chart,
[8] peaking the adult contemporary charts and the U.S. Country Charts,
[9] and propelling Almost There to being certified double platinum. The song was birthed out of a time of personal pain for the bands lead singer, Bart Millard, after his father had died of cancer.
[10]
In 2002, MercyMe released their sophomore release,
Spoken For
. The album’s two singles, “Spoken For” and “Word of God Speak” went on to peak at #1 hits on Christian radio charts.
The album was certified gold.
[11] The albums theme is rooted on the belief that is God has a reserved spot for those who have a relationship with him.
[12] The artwork found on the album’s cover and cd booklet of reserved parking spot in a garage, metaphorically contribute to communicating the album’s theme.
The album earned the band three dove awards, but was to a certain extent overlooked by the attention that their song “I Can Only Imagine” received in the mainstream market.
[13]
In 2003, guitarist Barry Graul joined MercyMe,
[14] providing him the opportunity to be a part of the bands third studio album,
Undone
.
In 2004, the band headlined the “Imagine Tour” with fellow artists
Amy Grant and
Bebo Norman.
In addition headlining the "Imagine Tour", MercyMe found time to release their major label album,
Undone
which produced two Top 10 hits: "
Here With Me" which also hit Billboard's Top 100 chart that same year, and "
In the Blink of an Eye" which, as of the end of 2005, was at #5 on R&R's top Christian hits. This album also features the song "Homesick", which also received notice by Christian and mainstream stations. The song was inspired by a difficult four-or five-week period where member of the band had a total of eight loved ones pass away during that time.
With the belief that heaven is one’s ultimate home, the song came into being with the desire of one day seeing those people they lost who are in that home.
J. Countryman, a division of
Thomas Nelson, made a deal with MercyMe to release a gift book based on their song "
I Can Only Imagine"; the book was released on June 22, 2004.
[15]
The Christmas Sessions
and Coming Up To Breathe
(2005-2006)
In 2005, MercyMe launched a tour with
Jeremy Camp,
The Afters and
Monk and Neagle in support of their album,
Undone
.
[16]
After releasing
Undone
in 2004, the band took a time to rest before releasing their next big release, so the band, seeing an opportunity, decided to work on a Christmas record.
[17] "
The Christmas Sessions" was recorded and ended up being released on September 27, 2005. The album was the band’s first effort reestablish itself publicly as a rock band,
initiating a step forward for their album "
Coming Up To Breathe". The band had a Christmas tour with
Steven Curtis Chapman, who also released a Christmas album that year titled
All I Really Want for Christmas
, which was inspired by Chapman’s observation of the many orphan children in the world who wake up with no family for Christmas.
In 2006, MercyMe released
Coming Up To Breathe
, which landed at no. 13 on the
Billboard 200.
Although the band had earned a reputation for being an adult contemporary group with their other albums, the group decided to make Coming Up To Breathe a rock album.
[19] In support of the album, MercyMe headlined the “Coming Up To Breathe Tour” with
Audio Adrenaline on its farewell tour and
Phil Wickham, seeing half their shows sell out two weeks into the tour.
[20] The album had three singles, “
So Long Self”, “Coming Up To Breathe”, and “Hold Fast”.
All That is Within Me
, Coming Up To Breathe: Acoustic
, and 10
(2007-present)
On November 20, 2007, MercyMe released
All That Is Within Me
. Millard, the band’s lead singer, had believed that All That is Within Me was going to be a worship album with half of the songs being cover songs and the other half original songs; however, when the band got in studio, the band ended up having writing all the songs found in this album.
[21] The album contained three singles, “God With Us”, “You Reign” and “Finally Home”, which gained both Christian and mainstream success. Like “
I Can Only Imagine” and “Homesick”, “Finally Home” alludes to Millard’s father’s death.
Stylistically, the song has a train like kind of ambiance to it, which Millard has said was the kind of music his dad used to listen to.
In 2008, the band released Coming Up To Breathe: Acoustic, an acoustic version of their earlier release, Coming Up To Breathe.
On April 7,
2009, MercyMe release their first
greatest hits compilation,
10
(the title refers to the decade since "I Can Only Imagine" was written).
[22] The package includes a CD with 11 hits and 3 new recordings (including a new version of "I Can Only Imagine" recorded with the
London Session Orchestra),
[23] and a DVD with 11
music videos and two short documentary segments.
On Saturday August 8, 2009, while on tour traveling from
Ft. Wayne, Indiana to
St. Louis, Missouri, the group was involved in a tragic accident that left two dead plus an unborn child. MercyMe's tour bus went though a green light when another vehicle turned left in front of the tour bus. Both passengers were killed in the car plus the driver's unborn baby.
[24] The car's pregnant driver died from her injuries four days later.
[25] No injuries were reported for members of the group or individuals on the bus.
Charity
In 2005, MercyMe participated in a benefit concert at
Belmont University with various other country, gospel and contemporary Christian artists for the people affected by the
Asian Tsunami.
[26]
In 2009, MercyMe conducted their ‘Rock and Worship Roadshow’ tour in partnership with
Compassion International and Imagine A Cure in order to raise money to help kids with diabetes through Imagine A Cure and people with medical needs around the world through
Compassion International.
[27]
The Go Foundation
Among the songs found in their eleventh album,
Coming Up To Breathe
, is a song titled
I Would Die For You
. This song was made in dedication to BJ Higgins, a young boy who contracted
Bubonic Plague on the mission fields of
Peru. Since then,
I Would Die For You
has been used to raise money for , which was born out of Higgins' untimely death.
Tour Bus Accident
|Christian band MercyMe's tour bus in fatal collision with car in Indiana}}
}}
On Saturday, August 8, 2009 at approximately 1:15 am in
Fort Wayne, Indiana, the MercyMe tour bus was traveling through an intersection on a green light when an oncoming passenger vehicle made a left turn on red into the path of the oncoming tour bus which resulted in a collision killing two passengers of the car and the unborn baby of the vehicle's driver. MercyMe was to perform at
Six Flags St. Louis but the park issued a statement saying the show was rescheduled because the band was "involved in a vehicle accident in Indiana."
[28]
Despite news reports claiming that the band remained silent during the days after the crash, not contacting the family of the deceased and injured
[29], MercyMe did release a statement through publicist Velvet Rousseau Kelm the same day as the crash: "MercyMe would like to express their incredible heartache over this horrible accident. They are praying for the families of all who this will affect, and are asking others to please pray as well. The band and crew sustained minor bumps and bruises, however their hearts are heavy. They appreciate the concern they have received from people all over the world."
[30]
Current lineup
- Bart Millard - vocals
- Nathan Cochran - bass guitar
- Michael John Scheuchzer - guitars
- Robin (Robbie) Troy Shaffer - Drums
- James (Jim) Philip Bryson - keyboards
- Barry Graul - guitars
Discography
Independent releases
Studio albums
Note:
All certifications based on current data from RIAA's website: .
Compilation albums
DVDs
Release
Year
| Video
| RIAA Certification
| Label(s)
|
| 2004
| MercyMe Live
| Platinum
| INO Records
|
Singles
| Year
| Single
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
| US Christian
| US
| US AC
| US Country
|
| 2001
| "I Can Only Imagine"A
| 1
| 71
| 5
| 52
| Almost There
|
| 2002
| "Spoken For"
| 1
|
|
|
| Spoken For
|
| "Word of God Speak"
| 1
|
|
|
|
| 2004
| "Here with Me"
| 1
|
| 12
|
| Undone
|
| 2005
| "Homesick"
| 9
|
| 9
|
|
| "In the Blink of an Eye"
| 1
|
|
|
|
| 2006
| "So Long Self"
| 1
|
| 16
|
| Coming Up to Breathe
|
| "Hold Fast"
|
|
| 27
|
|
| 2007
| "Bring the Rain"
| 1
|
|
|
|
| "God with Us"
| 1
|
|
|
| All That Is Within Me
|
| 2008
| "You Reign"
| 2
|
|
|
|
| 2009
| "Finally Home"
| 3
|
| 17
|
|
- A"I Can Only Imagine" peaked on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs chart in 2004.
Awards and accolades
;
GMA Dove Awards [31]
- 2002 Song of the Year - "I Can Only Imagine"
- 2002 Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year - "I Can Only Imagine"
- 2004 Song of the Year - "Word of God Speak"
- 2004 Artist of the Year
- 2004 Group of the Year
- 2004 Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year - "Word of God Speak"
- 2005 Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year – Undone
- 2005 Special Event Album of the Year- The Passion of the Christ: Songs
;
ASCAP Awards
- 2003 Bart Millard awarded Christian Songwriter of the Year at the 25th annual ASCAP Christian Music Awards.
;
American Music Awards
- 2004 Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist [32]
References
- Real People. Real Worship
- MercyMe: Biography
- More Than You “Imagine”
- Fluke brings Mercyme together
- MercyMe: Spoken For
- 17 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About: MercyMe
- Finally There With MercyMe
- MercyMe begins ‘Imagine Tour’ in 2004
- Artist Chart History-MercyMe
- Story Behind the Song
- RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database
- MercyMe: Spoken For
- Undone
- Christian Group MercyMe Combines Rock, Religious Influences in Music
- MercyMe’s ‘I Can Only Imagine’ Inspires Book
- MercyMe Schedules ‘Undone’ Tour For February
- Well Mercy Me, Children
- MercyMe Hits Billboard Top 20 with Latest Release
- MercyMe’s Jesus Freak?
- MercyMe National Tour Selling Out Nationwide
- Comfortable with All That Is Within
- 10 Questions with MercyMe
- MercyMe Releases '10'
- Despite crash, Christian rock band will perform at Wisconsin State Fair
- 3rd teen dies after MercyMe bus crash
- Country and Christian Artists to Stage Benefit for Tsunami Relief Efforts
- ‘Rock and Worship Roadshow’ Draws Over 120, 000 Music Fans
- http://www.foxbaltimore.com/template/inews_wire/wires.national/3bbea106-www.foxbaltimore.com.shtml
- http:www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908110339
- http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090808/entertainment/us_mercyme_fatal_crash
- Dove Awards History Artist:MercyMe
- MercyMe Wins American Music Award