Who's On The Air?
J103:
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Phillips, Craig & Dean
In 1991, Randy Phillips went to several record companies with a solo album he had. StarSong, a Nashville-based company, urged him to form a male vocal group. He then called two friends who also happened to be pastors—and had also recently made solo albums. In 1992 they released their eponymously-titled debut album, which peaked at No. 13 on the Christian albums chart. The band followed it with Lifeline in 1994 and Trust in 1995, which charted at No. 12 and No. 11, respectively. The song Crucified with Christ from Trust was particularly popular, reaching No. 1 on the INSPO chart and being nominated for 'Inspirational Song of the Year' and ' Song of the Year' at the 1997 Dove Awards. It was also awarded the 'Inspirational Song of the Decade Award' by CCM Magazine. In 1996 they released a Christmas album titled Repeat the Sounding Joy featuring the Christ Church Choir and the Nashville String Machine. In 1997 they released Where Strength Begins. The following year, they released a compilation titled Favorite Songs of All. In 1999 they returned with Restoration, and followed it with Let My Words Be Few in 2001 and Let Your Glory Fall in 2003.
In recent years, they've shed their contemporary Christian roots and focused on more worship oriented music. On that line, they've released their latest albums. It was through Phillips' weekly TV program that Phillips, Craig & Dean discovered what would be the title track for their 2004 CD Let The Worshipers Arise. In 2006, Phillips, Craig and Dean released their 11th studio album, Top of My Lungs. Three singles from the album, Your Name, Saved the Day, and Top of My Lungs, landed Top 5 spots on the INSPO chart. The band gained national attention when Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton approached the plate at home games during the 2008 season to "Saved the Day", a song from the album. Since all three singers are full-time pastors and make it a priority to be at their respective churches in Sunday services, they have declared a virtual moratorium on Saturday night concerts.
Their most recent album, Fearless was released on August 4, 2009. It sold over 10,000 copies during its first week and reached number 46 on the Billboard 200, becoming the trio's highest-debuting album to date. The album's first single was "Revelation Song". It reached number 1 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart in August 2009. and earned a Dove Award at the 2010 GMA Dove Awards for 'Worship Song of the Year', while Fearless earned the 'Inspirational Album of the Year' award.
To check out more from Phillips, Craig & Dean visit:
http://www.phillipscraiganddean.com/index2.php
