This is a Headgun Podcast.

Christmas. A shortened form of the phrase, Christ's Mass. The day celebrating the alleged

birth of Jesus Christ. While no one knows the day, nor the hour of Mother Mary's

Sliden down our Savior. The first recorded date of its celebration on December 25th was

the year 336. Cut to a few years later and enter Amy Grant. By the early 80s, Miss Grant

was well underway to achieving Queen of Christian pop status with four studio albums under her belt,

including her self-titled debut, my father's eyes, never alone, and 1982's age to age.

Age to age was Amy's breakout record, becoming the first Christian album to go platinum,

and boasting such hits as El Shedai in GCF War Horses like Singer Praise to the Lord and Fat Baby.

And in 1983, she followed up the phenomenon with a Christmas album called A Christmas

Album. Now the move of the pop artist putting on a collection of Christmas hits is as long

standing a tradition in the secular market as it is in the Christian market going back

to the diamond certified Elvis' Christmas album and continuing to the mom arousing work

of Michael Buble. But one arguable difference is the even greater expectation and compatibility

in Christian markets to produce holiday hits, artists who don't end up releasing some

version of a Christmas album end up being in the minority.

Jars of Clay, Michael W. Smith, Jump 5, even the tragically unwoke bays of Raleigh and

K have all put out at least one Christmas album or three in Sminney's case. Amy's a Christmas

album straddles the line between the sacred and the secular pretty well with a nice split

of Christmas tunes we'll put into two genres, Frosty or Baby Jesus. And while not as

huge a smash as age to age, it would go on to be certified gold, then frankincense, then

merr. Come on, then platinum in 1989. She would then go on to release two more Christmas

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