Flashback Friday: A Little Choir Music

Sometimes deception makes great advertising. Back in the Mid 1980's when I was a college Disc Jockey I saw an album on the shelves by Youth Choir. Now I had been exposed to youth choirs as a teen (well, on radio at least. Back to the Bible Youth Choir was the one I remember the most). The album cover showed two guys with long hair of various pastel shades. Definitely not what I would say was youth choir material. I took a risk and put it on the turntable.

Youth Choir recorded only one album before "growing up" by dropping youth from their name. As simply The Choir, the band quietly became one of the Pioneers of the emerging Christian Alternative Rock scene. Since their beginnings with Voices In Shadows in 1985, the band has quietly built a 20 album in 27 year career.

From its inception The "Choirmembers" have been Derri Daugherty, Steve Hindalong, and Tim Chandler. Chandler left the band for sixteen years and returned in 2012. How many other bands have their bass guitarists take a 16 year sabatical and then return?

Better yet, how many alternative rock bands, while remaining unknown in the general music community, write a song which becomes famous in Christian Church Worship worldwide and yet the epople who sing it are unaware who wrote it. The Song is God of Wonders. Who wrote it? I bet the most popular answer would be Paul Baloche, thanks to time life music. No, the answer is The Choir, more specifically Daugherty and Hindalong. Here are the authors doing it acoustic at Cornerstone 2010



Of course the band isn't a worship band. Far from it. Dreamy, ethereal alternative is their hallmark. It comes across even in acoustic sets. One of their "hits" is Black Cloud, which originally appeared on Diamonds and Rain, their third album (second as The Choir) back in 1986. This is the album with the Pastel Colored Hair. Though they have done mostly acoustic sets in recent years, at times they do decide to plug in and rock. This is the title cut from their Platinum Vinyl Award Winning Album Burning Like The Midnight Sun

Burning Like the Midnight Sun is currently being offered for free on Noisetrade. Yes the entire album. Get it and you also receive a bonus song from their just released album, The Loudest Sound Ever Heard. You see, we even recommend Choir Music here on The Night Beat. Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend and until our next live post, I am Awaiting Your Reply.