Few things frightened conservative white Protestant parents of the 1950s and the 1960s more than thought of their children falling prey to the "menace to Christendom" known as rock and roll. The raucous sounds of Elvis Presley and Little Richard seemed tailor-made to destroy the faith of their young and, in the process, undermine the moral foundations of the United States. Parents and pastors launched a crusade against rock music, but they were fighting an uphill battle.
Salvation came in a most unlikely form. Well, maybe not that unlikely--the long hair, the beards, the sandals--but still a far cry from the buttoned-up, conservative Protestantism they were striving to preserve. Yet when a revival swept through counterculture hippie communities of the West Coast in the 1960s and 1970s a new alternative emerged. Known as the Jesus Movement--and its members, more colloquially, as "Jesus freaks"--the revival was short-lived. But by combining the rock and folk music of the counterculture with religious ideas and aims of conservative white evangelicals, Jesus freaks and evangelical media moguls gave birth to an entire genre known as Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). By the 1980s and 1990s, CCM had grown into a massive, multimillion-dollar industry. Contemporary Christian artists were appearing on Top 40 radio, and some, most famously Amy Grant, crossed over into the mainstream. And yet, today, the industry is a shadow of what it once was.
In this book, Leah Payne traces the history and trajectory of Contemporary Christian music in America and, in the process, demonstrates how the industry, its artists, and its fans shaped--and continue to shape--conservative, (mostly) white, Protestant evangelicalism. For many outside observers, evangelical pop stars, interpretive dancers, puppeteers, mimes, and bodybuilders are silly expressions of kitsch. Yet Payne argues that these cultural products were sources of power, meaning, and political activism. Throughout, she draws on in-depth interviews with CCM journalists, publishers, producers, and artists, as well as archives, sales and marketing data, fan magazines, merchandise--everything that went into making CCM a thriving subculture. Ultimately, Payne argues, CCM spurred evangelical activism in more potent and lasting ways than any particular doctrine, denomination, culture war, or legislative agenda had before.
God Gave Rock & Roll to You: a History of Contemporary Christian Music
Awards & Superlatives for God Gave Rock & Roll to You:
2024 Christianity Today book award for History/Biography
Best Books of 2024, The Englewood Review of Books
Best Book of 2024, The Anxious Bench
2024 Recommended Books, The Revealer
The Best Music Books of 2024, No Depression: the Journal of Roots Music
Praise for God Gave Rock and Roll to You
“…essential reading for those who want to deepen their understanding of late modern evangelicalism.”
— Sociology of Religion
"...a comprehensive and fascinating survey of a much-maligned yet influential musical genre."
-- Publishers Weekly
"This highly anticipated history of Contemporary Christian Music does not disappoint. Mapping out the complex and shifting landscape of popular Christian music, Payne provides an indispensable guide to the soundtrack of millions of Americans' lives while offering a fascinating window into evangelical culture more broadly."
-- Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
"This wonderfully written, skillfully researched book adds much to what we know about popular religious music in the 20th and 21st centuries. Payne covers so much fascinating ground that others have not been over, illuminating a great deal about religion, pop culture, politics, and more."
-- Dr. Randall J. Stephens, Author of The Devil's Music: How Christians Inspired, Condemned, and Embraced Rock 'n' Roll
"Fascinating! A fast-paced narrative as illuminating as it is cautionary about the powerful bond between Christian music and the making of white evangelical identity. Trust me-if you, like me, grew up with Amy Grant, you don't want to miss this book."
-- Dr. Beth Allison Barr, Author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth
"God Gave Rock and Roll to You will take its place in the small canon of essential books on the subject. This is smart, historically accurate, sometimes humorous, and always gracious writing. It speaks to the genuine, heartfelt desire to honor God through music-how beautiful the impulse can be and how wrong Christians often get it. Easy to read and hard to put down."
-- Charlie Peacock, Grammy Award-winning music producer and author of At the Crossroads: an Insider’s Look at the Past, Present, and Future of Contemporary Christian Music
“God Gave Rock and Roll to You is meticulously researched, thought-provoking, and beautifully written. Drawing on a rich tapestry of sources, Leah Payne masterfully navigates through the intricacies of the history of Contemporary Christian Music, highlighting its deep connections to broader culture and politics in the U.S. and beyond. This book offers a fascinating narrative indispensable for understanding U.S. evangelicalism and the history of 20th century United States writ large.”
-- Dr. João Chaves, Author of The Global Mission of the Jim Crow South: Southern Baptist Missions and the Shaping of Latin American Evangelicalism
"There are many facets to understanding the rise and fall of evangelicalism in the United States, Dr. Leah Payne manages to pinpoint one of the important and endearing ones - Contemporary Christian Music. Using the tools of a scholar but the deft touch of an accomplished author, Payne weaves together a tale of how the business of religion became the greatest driver of evangelical dominance but also led to its inevitable demise."
-- Dr. Ryan Burge, Author of 20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America
"God may have given Rock and Roll to white evangelicals, but as it turns out, they preferred a chimera instead: Contemporary Christian Music. As Leah Payne expertly shows in this indispensable survey, for several decades, CCM became a prized vehicle for the goal of many conservative religious movements: socialization and control."
-- Dr. Gregory Alan Thornbury, Author of Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock
