Live is a live album by Christian singer - songwriter Dallas Holm. It was released in early 1977 on Greentree/Benson Records.
The live project was originally titled Hey, I'm a Believer and it is the first album to feature his backing band known as Praise. On this album, Praise consisted of Tim Johnson (keyboards), Johnson's wife LaDonna (vocals), Randy Adams (bass guitar) and Holm on acoustic guitar and vocals. It was in this live album that he introduced what has become a signature song, "Rise Again." The song, about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, was an instant hit on the Christian radio charts and has been covered by many artists including Holm himself nearly a decade later in his 1988 album Beyond the Curtain. It was tied as the longest charting song on the Christian music chart along with another Easter-themed song "He's Alive" by Don Francisco from 1978 and throughout 1979 over 100 weeks.
The live album was produced by Tim Johnson's brother Phil Johnson and was recorded in Lindale, Texas. It made its first appearance on Billboard's inaugural Top Inspirational Albums (later renamed Top Christian Albums) chart in March 1980 and debuted at number 9, along with their 1979 release All That Matters. Live peaked at number 7 in July 1980 and was a best seller. In the spring of 1984, Live was the group's only Gold certified album selling more than half a million copies by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
When Live was first released, it was released as Hey, I'm a Believer when it was sold on LP, cassette and 8-track tapes. It was reissued in 1983 as Live...Rise Again with a different album cover design. Then in 1993, it was reissued on CD with the original album cover and was digitally remastered. It also featured "He Knew Me When" as an additional track, whereas the song could not be added on the original 1977 vinyl due to time constraints. In 2006, CCM Magazine named "Rise Again" as one of the 100 Greatest Songs in Christian Music and listed it at number 52.
In 1978, Holm won Male Vocalist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Mixed Group of the Year with Praise and the top prize for Song of the Year for "Rise Again" at the 10th GMA Dove Awards. Holm also won a special Dove Award for Associate
Membership. "Rise Again" was nominated again for Song of the Year but lost to "He's Alive" by Francisco the following year.
Track listing
All songs were written by Dallas Holm, except where noted.
1. Hey, I'm a Believer -3:12
2. Front Seat, Back Seat (Chuck Girard, Tommy Coomes) -2:53
3. He Means All to Me -4:08
4. Jesus, I'm an Open Book -4:46
5. Thank You Jesus (LaDonna Johnson) -2:59
6. If I Had It to Do All Over Again -2:56
7. Let My Light Shine -3:59
8. Rise Again -4:30
9. He Knew Me Then -3:51
10 Come Unto Jesus -3:55
Gold certified in 1984.
Personnel
Dallas Holm & Praise:
Dallas Holm -acoustic guitar, lead vocals
Tim Johnson -keyboards
LaDonna Johnson -backing vocals
Randy Adams -bass guitar
Accolades
Dove Award -Male Vocalist of the Year
Songwriter of the Year
Mixed Group of the Year (with Praise)
Song of the Year ("Rise Again")
Associate Membership Award
Radio singles
1978 -1979 "Rise Again" -#2 Christian AC/CHR
Previous release: Justright (1976)
Next release: Tell 'em Again (1978) (with Praise)
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