Listen to the full conversation on today’s “Beyond the Fame” podcast.

WTOP’s Jason Fraley Presents Amy Grant at Birchmere (Part 1)

Amy Grant fans will have two chances to see the gospel-pop singer in the coming days.

First, she will perform live at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., Next Monday.

“We’ve worked like crazy to bring a great show and walk the memory trail of 40 years of music,” Grant told WTOP. “I have a great group. After all of Zoom’s music, it doesn’t have to be in the audience or on stage. Music brings us together.

Then, she will appear in the new gospel documentary “The Jesus Music” on October 1st.

“The beautiful thing about the documentary is that it really talks about the early days of contemporary Christian music,” Grant said. “I like everything that explains where something comes from. I like to know my family roots, I like to know my musical roots. My husband [Vince Gill] was really involved in the Ken Burns country music series. … All the dots are starting to connect.

Her roots began in Augusta, Georgia, before her family moved to Nashville, Tennessee.

“The music we listened to when I was a kid, like, very young, was Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Steve Wonder, the Kingston Trio, Roger Miller,” Grant said. “Then I had three older sisters who were at the forefront of Beatlemania and Elvis and all the great singer-songwriters. “

She began to sing gospel music in the pews of her local church.

“I went to a church that didn’t even have a choir,” Grant said. “I started to write music that spoke about the experience of faith. I grew up in a family that went to church three times a week, so my experience in religious music consisted of singing hymns. … Music has shaped my understanding of God.

Her idea of ​​the faith was broadened when her older sisters returned from Boston University and began attending what they called “The Hippie Church” on Music Row in Nashville.

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, are people wearing jeans and going barefoot?’” Grant said. “Young church musicians were playing in this nearby cafe. … Children of all backgrounds, colors, family configurations. For someone who had grown up with the church being more of a cultural experience, it was mind blowing to me. It ignited my faith and made me want to write about it.

She said the church was located on the edge of the projects with a bar diagonally across the crosswalk, music studios all around and buskers marching down the street with guitars.

“I must have been 14 or 15. I’m standing next to the preacher in front of the church,” Grant said. “A woman comes in and says, ‘Preacher, I take my clothes off for a living. Can I come to church here? I remember looking at her. … He said, ‘Lady, just follow Jesus, he will tell you what you can and cannot do. It’s not my job. Of course you are welcome here. And I was like, ‘Yes!’ ”

At the same time, she attended a preparatory school for girls.

“I went to the principal of the school and said, ‘Can I do a program here?’ Grant said. “I sang Carole King, James Taylor, John Denver, Joni Mitchell, then I added the songs I was writing. I was like, ‘Everyone writes these beautiful songs, but I can’t find anyone who writes songs about faith.’ “

Her breakup came when a Texan company came to Nashville hoping to start a Christian label.

“There was a producer in Nashville who was just trying to find people who were writing contemporary faith songs,” Grant said. “This producer came into the studio one day when the engineer was making a copy of a tape I made for my mom and dad. … He said, “Who is this? And he said, ‘It’s Amy Grant.’ … He said, ‘She’s not very good, but she looks really sincere.’ “

So, she was signed, winning five Grammys for Best Gospel Performance throughout the 1980s, including “Angels” and “Ageless Medley.” She also recorded the gospel hit “Father’s Eyes”.

“’Father’s Eyes’ was written by Gary Chapman,” Grant said. “I met him at the bookstore where they had live music on Saturday night. I actually only met him after I recorded his song, and we ended up getting married and being married for 17 years.

She met with crossover success with the hit pop album “Heart in Motion” (1991), including the hit song “That’s What Love Is For”, which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.

“I love this song,” Grant said. “I still do this one every night. A great message. When I think of this song, I think of that crazy clip we made for it. I don’t know if it has ever seen the light of day. It was strange. We did it in Zion National Park or the craters of the moon. It was just weird.

The album also included “Baby Baby,” which even topped the Billboard Hot 100.

“I wrote this with Keith Thomas,” Grant said. “He wrote this music. I’m so glad he let me write a word. I wrote it about my daughter, Millie. … I was pregnant with her doing a lot of this record, she was at the Grammys with me when she was a year old, and now she’s pregnant with a little girl.

The catchy track “Every Heartbeat” went all the way to number 2.

“I wrote this with Charlie Peacock and Wayne Kirkpatrick,” Grant said. “A song that feels good. Life looked like a big party then. It was just fun to have fun, upbeat songs that came to celebrate.

I guarantee you will also remember the catchy beat of “Good for Me”.

“That little popcorn trap!” Grant said. “Because I mentioned Mario Andretti, it actually invited me to the Indy 500.… The Andretti family in 1992 had three Andretti racing in the Indy 500 and their team was led by Paul Newman. led to subsequent invitations to Camp Hole in the Wall Gang.… This record really blew up the circle of my life into a much bigger arena.

In 1994, she recorded the duet “House of Love” with Vince Gill, whom she married in 2000.

“His manager contacted me to do a Christmas show with him, Michael McDonald and Chet Atkins,” Grant said. “I had never heard him sing live. Her voice is a phenomenon! … I said: ‘Would you like to sing on my record?’ The harmony was too high for me. He’s the only guy I know who can sing that loud. … Life has taken many turns. … I am so grateful to be where I am right now.

This includes the gospel documentary “The Jesus Music”, chronicling the genre’s humble beginnings in Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Calif., To a multi-billion dollar industry.

“I didn’t realize how much of a role Billy Graham had played in providing a platform for contemporary gospel music,” Grant said. “He opened up his trust platform to people who looked, dressed and sounded different from him. He wasn’t trying to protect the cultural status quo. Billy Graham was welcoming with his platform and with people who expressed their faith differently from him. “

How does she present the documentary to non-believers or those struggling with their faith?

“My belief is that we are all on a path of faith,” Grant said. “If people feel like they’re away from God, that’s about all they’re going to do because only we can raise our arms. … I think we’re going to go to the other side of life and say, “How did I ever see myself as separate from You? … He said, “Whatever you think you know about me, you don’t. “

WTOP’s Jason Fraley Presents Amy Grant at Birchmere (Part 2)

Listen to the full conversation on today’s “Beyond the Fame” podcast.