OK, I know what some of you may already be thinking, based on this thread's title alone. "A Christian rock band? That's ridiculous; Christians can't make good music."
But in truth, history has shown the exact opposite. The contemporary Christian music movement (or "CCM", for short), first began in the late 1960s, and within a decade it was in full swing. Artists who first became popular in the late '70s and early '80s include the likes of Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Mylon LeFevre, and Steven Curtis Chapman. Early examples of all-out bands in the genre included Stryper, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Whitecross, and Petra.. But the idea of "Christian rock" really exploded in the 1990s, sending groups into the mainstream such as DC Talk, Third Day, Jars of Clay, Switchfoot...and of course, Skillet.
The latter was first formed in 1996, by frontman John L. Cooper (former vocalist for Tennessee progressive rock band Seraph), and his friend Ken Steorts, former guitarist for Urgent Cry. They met through touring together, but they disbanded soon after, so John and Ken's pastor encouraged them to form their own band as a side project. Trey McClurkin joined the band as a temporary drummer, but left in 2000. Cooper has said the band's name was meant to be humorous, as the other founding members had already been in previous bands, each with a different sound and style. The pastor of Covenant Community Church in Memphis (where the group was formed as a worship band side project) gave them their name as he felt they were like "southern cooking, where you just toss a bunch of different things into a big ol' skillet and see what it turns out like."
Skillet's debut self-titled album was released by ForeFront Records, on October 29, 1996. In the years since, they have released ten more, becoming one of the biggest gospel-oriented acts ever. John still serves as frontman, playing bass, acoustic guitar, and keyboards - he also contributes most of the lead vocals. His wife Korey provides rhythm guitar, synthesizers, occasional keyboard work, and some backing vocals. The band's current drummer is Jen Ledger, who's been a member since 2010; she mainly stays in that capacity while providing most of the backing vocals, though on a few songs she does sing lead. Finally, there is Seth Morrison, whose main addition is lead guitar, but he's also done backing vocals on live performances since 2019.
Skillet's most recent album, "Dominion", was released in 2022 and quickly gained 33 million global streams. Their entire body of work has risen to the level of 17 million albums, as of May 2023. John has said many times, that some in the music industry have told him, "Your band could be the biggest in the world, if you just stopped talking about Jesus so much." His response every time, has been a simple "No way." He has made it clear in interviews and such, that he would rather "side with God, and be judged by the world, than side with the world, and be judged by God".
Anyway, I've said all of this to give whoever has actually read this far, some necessary background on a group I personally think is truly awesome. Here's a few samples of their stuff - don't hesitate to let me know what you think.
But in truth, history has shown the exact opposite. The contemporary Christian music movement (or "CCM", for short), first began in the late 1960s, and within a decade it was in full swing. Artists who first became popular in the late '70s and early '80s include the likes of Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Mylon LeFevre, and Steven Curtis Chapman. Early examples of all-out bands in the genre included Stryper, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Whitecross, and Petra.. But the idea of "Christian rock" really exploded in the 1990s, sending groups into the mainstream such as DC Talk, Third Day, Jars of Clay, Switchfoot...and of course, Skillet.
The latter was first formed in 1996, by frontman John L. Cooper (former vocalist for Tennessee progressive rock band Seraph), and his friend Ken Steorts, former guitarist for Urgent Cry. They met through touring together, but they disbanded soon after, so John and Ken's pastor encouraged them to form their own band as a side project. Trey McClurkin joined the band as a temporary drummer, but left in 2000. Cooper has said the band's name was meant to be humorous, as the other founding members had already been in previous bands, each with a different sound and style. The pastor of Covenant Community Church in Memphis (where the group was formed as a worship band side project) gave them their name as he felt they were like "southern cooking, where you just toss a bunch of different things into a big ol' skillet and see what it turns out like."
Skillet's debut self-titled album was released by ForeFront Records, on October 29, 1996. In the years since, they have released ten more, becoming one of the biggest gospel-oriented acts ever. John still serves as frontman, playing bass, acoustic guitar, and keyboards - he also contributes most of the lead vocals. His wife Korey provides rhythm guitar, synthesizers, occasional keyboard work, and some backing vocals. The band's current drummer is Jen Ledger, who's been a member since 2010; she mainly stays in that capacity while providing most of the backing vocals, though on a few songs she does sing lead. Finally, there is Seth Morrison, whose main addition is lead guitar, but he's also done backing vocals on live performances since 2019.
Skillet's most recent album, "Dominion", was released in 2022 and quickly gained 33 million global streams. Their entire body of work has risen to the level of 17 million albums, as of May 2023. John has said many times, that some in the music industry have told him, "Your band could be the biggest in the world, if you just stopped talking about Jesus so much." His response every time, has been a simple "No way." He has made it clear in interviews and such, that he would rather "side with God, and be judged by the world, than side with the world, and be judged by God".
Anyway, I've said all of this to give whoever has actually read this far, some necessary background on a group I personally think is truly awesome. Here's a few samples of their stuff - don't hesitate to let me know what you think.
