Artist:Phillips, Craig and Dean
Song:Come, Now Is the Time To Worship
Album:Here I Am to Worship: 16 Timeless Worship Anthems
Phillips, Craig and Dean has been one of the most popular CCM acts over the last 25 years. They were formed in 1991 but they were more successful in the 2000s because they switched to a larger label and were given a decent promotion budget. They have been nominated for ten Dove awards and won four. Randy Phillips is a pastor from Austin, TX. In 1991, he was shopping a solo album to record companies. When he showed up at the Nashville based CCM label StarSong, they suggested he form a male vocal group. Phillips called St. Louis native Shawn Craig and Dan Dean from the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, TX. and Phillips, Craig and Dean was born. All three guys are pastors. They recorded five albums for StarSong. EMI purchased StarSong in 1996. So by 1999, EMI closed StarSong and moved Phillips, Craig and Dean to EMI's CCM label Sparrow. The group's sound is soft rock with three part harmonies aimed mainly at an older audience. But that is what would have been acceptable to Christian audiences at the time. Today's CCM sound is more contemporary and I don't think Phillips, Craig and Dean have kept up. Besides, they are getting closer to retirement. Come, Now Is the Time for Worship is from the 2001 album Let the Words Be Few. CCM chart stats can be difficult to find but this is supposed to be one of their most popular songs. The song was written by Canadian CCM singer songwriter Brian Doerksen. The album was produced by Nathan Nockels who has produced several Phiillips, Craig and Dean albums. This budget comp covers their Sparrow albums. Phillips, Craig and Dean switched to Integrity's INO label distributed by Sony. When Integrity was sold in 2011, INO president Jeff Moseley bought the assets and changed the company name to Fair Trade Services. Sony still distributed them. So Phillips, Craig and Dean were on INO/Fair Trade from 2004-17. Their latest album You're Still God was released in 2020 on Gaither Music. So that means they are touring now with Bill Gaither's group. So I guess they are a nostalgia act now. They are currently on tour and they say they aren't retiring. We'll see. Here's Phillips, Craig and Dean performing Come, Now Is the Time for Worship.
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