|
|
 In
the business of music, 15 years might as well be a lifetime; however,
for four ordinary guys who couldn’t imagine anything better than
singing about Jesus, the past 15 years have been more like a dream
come to life. 4HIM has been about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ
through the powerful, incomparable medium of music since their
beginnings singing with the well-known ensemble group, Truth.
From the four ordinary guys who formed while sitting down at
McDonald’s to explore the idea of forming a four-man pop-gospel group,
4HIM presents ENCORE…FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS, their final project as
4HIM, a collection of career favorites, as well as a solo song from
each member.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to write the closing chapter to our
story than to sing our way out,” 4HIM states, “We hope you hear our
hearts in ENCORE and know how blessed we’ve been to be a part of your
lives.”
Since their formation in 1989, their harmonic convergence—the likes of
which hadn’t been heard in Christian music since the Imperials took
audiences by storm in the late 1970s—blended the best of tradition
from past decades in Christian music with modern pop sensibilities and
no-holds-barred, real life lyrics. Christian radio ‘got it’ right of
the box with the group’s first No. 1 single, “Where There Is Faith,”
and audiences began to sit up and take notice of the fresh-faced
foursome from down south.
4HIM managed to transcend any of those potential pratfalls, continuing
to make music that not only met the needs of listeners but pushed the
creative envelope as the mainstream pop music scene evolved into
something a little less slick, less produced.
 By
the time 4HIM’s ‘best of’ album released in 2004, all four men were
contemplating ‘where do we go from here?’ Not because they were
drifting apart or because the opportunities were few and far between.
No, call it sixth sense, the sense of discovery, of beginning to
understand that there could be life beyond the ministry they’d devoted
the biggest part of their adult lives to.
After much prayer, Andy Chrisman decided to pursue a lifelong passion
as worship leader at a local church in Celebration, Florida. Mark
Harris had begun writing new songs for a solo project. Marty and Kirk
were also busy writing and doing production work on their own.
Each one, in his own time, began to feel the excitement of seeing new
roads winding out before them. They began, one by one, to sense God
saying “I am doing a new thing in you.” And so, with gratitude for all
God has done over the past 15 years, they began to write the closing
chapter in the story of 4HIM.
Taking a walk down memory lane, 4HIM recorded new versions of their
biggest hits on the farewell project. Once again their longtime
producer Michael Omartian produced the project, which features nine
favorite 4HIM songs, in addition to a medley and one new track, “Unity
(We Stand),” featuring guest vocalists Point of Grace and Jeromy
Deibler of FFH. Four bonus solo songs from each band member will also
be included.
“This project will hopefully capture the spirit of the songs and where
we are now in 2005 musically, spiritually and thematically it will be
a trip down memory lane with a new twist,” Mark Harris explains. “We
wanted to do this last project as a gift to our loyal fans—to
commemorate all the years of faithful support we have received from
them.”
Throughout their time together, 4HIM has received much acclaim for
their 11 hit albums including an RIAA Gold certified album (The Basics
of Life), 24 No. 1 radio singles, eight Dove Awards including three
“Group of the Year,” and a Grammy Award nomination as well as
Alabama’s Music Hall of Fame for The Governor’s Achievement Award. In
addition to their numerous tours across the nation, the group has also
been featured performers with the Billy Graham and Louis Palau
crusades
|
