| — Wikipedian — | |
| Name | Joelcab123 |
|---|---|
| Born | July 13, 1970 Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Country | 🇺🇸 |
| Current location | Whitehouse, Texas |
| Languages | |
| Time zone | Central Time Zone |
| Account statistics | |
| Joined | Since 2015 |
I am the "unofficial" contributor to Contemporary Christian music, writing articles on some of CCM artist's discographies featuring their albums, radio singles and chart information from the 1980s and 1990s. And also correct some articles for inconsistencies and wrong information.
I would love to add some early albums but Wikipedia has a restriction on that. I did a couple of articles like Sandi Patty's first nationally released album Sandi's Song (1979), but one of the heads of Wikipedia said that it is not a notable release. A notable release has to be an album that has charted or won awards. I'm afraid the heads of Wikipedia do not understand what CCM is.
First of all, it's not "mainstream music." It's a different genre. How do Christian artists get their start? If an independent label signs said artists, it is considered notable. It doesn't matter if the album has charted or not. The album has to be in article form. Sandi's Song did not chart on Billboard magazine's Top Christian Albums chart, but Patty's second album Love Overflowing (1981) did two years later in late 1983 when Patty started winning awards and having charting albums. From Sandi's Song, the song "The Day He Wore My Crown" is considered one of Patty's signature songs but still Wikipedia will not accept the article. Some resources on CCM artists have been limited so looking for any extra information is scarce.
I have resources to help with the articles I am writing about. For chart information, I have two books from CCM Magazine: Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 - 2001 and Hot Hits: Christian Hit Radio - 20 Years of Charts, Artist Bios and More. Both books were compiled and written by Jeffrey Lee Brothers. I'm also using the book The Billboard Guide to Contemporary Christian Music by Barry Alfonso. These are great resources for information on CCM artists. Wikipedia should not focus so much on chart info or accolades on CCM artists. Amy Grant is considered a great example of what a CCM artist should be with charts and awards. But there are others that do not have those mentioned. For artists, it takes time and prayer. Debut albums and even compilation albums that have not charted should be written about. It's a part of the artist's history. They may not have charted but it is worth mentioning.
Articles I have written edit
I am writing the album information, song titles, charts and awards on CCM artists on their discography sections. So far, discographies have been made on the following artists and/or various artists albums:
- Kim Boyce (complete discography on studio albums) NEW! - (Photo now included in her artist article)
- Whiteheart (complete discography on studio albums) NEW!
- Kathy Troccoli
- Sandi Patty
- Russ Taff
- The Imperials (from 1977's Sail On to 1992's Stir It Up)
- Evie's Christmas album Christmas Memories
- Our Hymns
- Our Christmas
- Christmas
- Deniece Williams' two gospel albums So Glad I Know and Special Love and her compilation album From the Beginning
- Twila Paris' discography studio albums from Keepin' My Eyes On You to Small Sacrifice (Photo now included in her artist article) (NOTE: He Is Exalted: Live Worship has been removed...not by me...it was due to "factual inaccuracies, vandalism, or material not compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License." It will be restored soon. It needs more information such as where the album was recorded and personnel and production notes.
Another NOTE: Twila Paris' The Ultimate Collection was removed, due to not being notable.
- I have also been editing some articles on the GMA Dove Awards, especially from the mid 1980's up to 1997, so you will see the winners of those years I've mentioned.
- I have finished writing about Farrell and Farrell now in article form. Discographies of their albums coming soon!
Billboard magazine did not have a Christian Airplay chart in the 1980s edit
Billboard magazine did not have a Christian Airplay chart in the 1980s. So in their year-end issues they would only focus on their top selling artists and albums. Billboard did not start a Christian airplay chart until 2003. Chart information originally was provided by CCM Magazine's trade publication MusicLine, then later renamed The CCM Update. You can read about how the Christian airplay system works on my article called CCM AC chart.
Back issues of The CCM Update needed edit
I would love to have back issues with chart information such as The CCM Update or MusicLine. They are the Christian equivalent of Billboard magazine. Extra chart info such as Rock and Inspirational charts will really help very much when writing articles about artists whose Christian genre is beyond CHR (Christian Hit Radio) or AC (adult contemporary).