Synopsis
A gospel music composer discusses his childhood, ambition to become a gospel singer, frustrating years as a school teacher, and pursuit of his dream, which led to a Grammy-winning career and a fuller realization of his faith.
Reviews
In this enthusiastic narrative, Gaither (ASCAP Christian Songwriter of the Century) tells the story of his life, from his beginnings as a boy obsessed with gospel music to his current success in the Christian music industry. Gaither and his wife, Gloria, have written, published, performed and recorded hundreds of songs together, and here, he relates how their innate gift for turning any idea into a song made them prolific writers, and how their music won them the respect of the record industry and audiences everywhere. Gaither acknowledges his accomplishments while remaining realistic about fame and its fickleness. "I believe that I'm being honest with myself when I say that I have never gotten caught up in my own success, enamored with it, or fooled into thinking that I am somebody special because of it," he declares. While making music is one of his greatest loves (he's a self-proclaimed "non-recovering workaholic"), Gaither is also a dedicated family man; he paints a loving portrait of his family as genuine, devoted and dedicated servants of God. But he is also quite candid about the difficult times he and his loved ones have gone through, admitting to harboring doubt and having struggled to learn to trust God in the face of hopeless situations (like his brother's death from cancer). Gaither can switch abruptly back and forth between different decades, and this switching can occasionally make his story disjointed and needlessly repetitious. However, this is a small flaw in a warm and enjoyable autobiography, which also provides an educational overview of the intricacies of the music business.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Christian music's elder statesman has amassed some 600 songs, some 40 albums, and three Grammys: not bad for a boy from Alexandria, Indiana (still his home), who dreamed of being a gospel singer. He writes of his early years, including the three weeks at the Stamps School of Music in Dallas, where he learned the fundamentals of music, and of the fits and starts of a long career. He realized early that his first group wasn't good enough to go professional. Extremely humbled, he returned home to work as a meat cutter and attend Taylor University, a Christian liberal arts college. He communicates the thrills of composing and publishing his first song, "I've Been to Calvary," of his marriage at 26, and of the surprise success of his album Back Home in Indiana, its record company's best-seller up to that time. There are also hard times: bouts of depression and the death of his brother Danny. He makes no surprising revelations--the book is really quite sweet--and Christian music fans certainly won't complain. June Sawyers
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