Children of the Day
Encyclopedia
Children of the Day was a Contemporary Christian
music group that recorded and toured from 1971 to 1979. It is considered by many to be the world's first contemporary Christian music group.
was instrumental to leading her sister Wendy and friend Peter Jacobs to Christianity. Utilizing Carter
's talents as a songwriter, the three formed a Jesus music
group they called Children of the Day. With the addition of friend, singer and upright bass player Russ Stevens to the group, the band became a quartet and released their first album. Following the release of the album, Marsha Carter and Russ Stevens married.
pastor Chuck Smith
in order to produce the album that included what would become the group's best known song penned by Marsha Stevens, "For Those Tears I Died". The well-received album was followed two years later by With All Our Love (1973). Two more albums by the group were produced on the Maranatha! Music label, Where Else Could I Go (1975), and Christmas Album (1975). The group later signed with Light Records
, releasing, Never Felt So Free (1977) and Butterfly(1979), during which Jeff Crandall was brought in to replace the departed Peter Jacobs. It was after the release of Butterfly that the group disbanded.
with Cindy Stevens-Pino; they both travel the United States with Stevens-Pino giving concerts in predominantly gay and lesbian and as well as gay-affirming churches and fellowships. Stevens-Pino also works to help develop the talents of up and coming LGBT
Christian musicians through BALM's "UP Beat!" program.
Peter Jacobs currently runs the Pete Jacobs Wartime Revue http://www.wartimeradio.com/home.html, a 16-piece big-band that performs live shows featuring hits of the 1930s and 1940s. He also heads the jazzy Pete Jacobs Quintet and the 1960s tribute band Class of '69. Jacobs also created and produced the Colby's Clubhouse
television series for the Trinity Broadcasting Network
.
In 1974, Wendy Carter married the band's "roadie", Kit Fremin; they later had two children, daughters Jessica and Rebecca. Wendy Fremin now teaches private voice and guitar lessons in Murrieta, CA, and works with Peter Jacobs.
Jesus music
Jesus music, known as gospel beat music in the United Kingdom, is a style of Christian music which originated on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the Jesus movement...
music group that recorded and toured from 1971 to 1979. It is considered by many to be the world's first contemporary Christian music group.
Beginnings
After becoming a born-again Christian, 16 year-old Marsha CarterMarsha Stevens
Marsha Stevens-Pino is a Christian singer, musician, songwriter and recording artist.-For Those Tears I Died and "Children of the Day":...
was instrumental to leading her sister Wendy and friend Peter Jacobs to Christianity. Utilizing Carter
Marsha Stevens
Marsha Stevens-Pino is a Christian singer, musician, songwriter and recording artist.-For Those Tears I Died and "Children of the Day":...
's talents as a songwriter, the three formed a Jesus music
Jesus music
Jesus music, known as gospel beat music in the United Kingdom, is a style of Christian music which originated on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the Jesus movement...
group they called Children of the Day. With the addition of friend, singer and upright bass player Russ Stevens to the group, the band became a quartet and released their first album. Following the release of the album, Marsha Carter and Russ Stevens married.
Career
Released in 1971 on the Maranatha! Music label, the group's first album was titled Come to the Waters. In order to finance the project, the group borrowed $900 from Calvary ChapelCalvary Chapel
Calvary Chapel is an evangelical association of Christian churches with over one thousand congregations worldwide. Calvary Chapel also maintains a number of radio stations around the world and operates many local Calvary Chapel Bible College programs. It presents itself as a "fellowship of...
pastor Chuck Smith
Chuck Smith (pastor)
Charles Ward “Chuck” Smith, , is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement...
in order to produce the album that included what would become the group's best known song penned by Marsha Stevens, "For Those Tears I Died". The well-received album was followed two years later by With All Our Love (1973). Two more albums by the group were produced on the Maranatha! Music label, Where Else Could I Go (1975), and Christmas Album (1975). The group later signed with Light Records
Light Records
Light Records was a gospel record label founded in 1966 by Ralph Carmichael as a joint venture with the Waco, Texas-based Word Records.-History:...
, releasing, Never Felt So Free (1977) and Butterfly(1979), during which Jeff Crandall was brought in to replace the departed Peter Jacobs. It was after the release of Butterfly that the group disbanded.
The group's demise
After the release of Butterfly, Marsha and Russ Stevens divorced. Following their divorce, Marsha Stevens publicly announced she was a lesbian. In "The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music", editor Mark Powell referred to the incident as "Contemporary Christian Music's first official scandal".Aftermath
Marsha Stevens founded her own ministry, BALM (Born Again Lesbian Music), in the mid-1980s and continues to write and record. Now going by Marsha Stevens-Pino, she is in a domestic partnershipDomestic partnership
A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union...
with Cindy Stevens-Pino; they both travel the United States with Stevens-Pino giving concerts in predominantly gay and lesbian and as well as gay-affirming churches and fellowships. Stevens-Pino also works to help develop the talents of up and coming LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
Christian musicians through BALM's "UP Beat!" program.
Peter Jacobs currently runs the Pete Jacobs Wartime Revue http://www.wartimeradio.com/home.html, a 16-piece big-band that performs live shows featuring hits of the 1930s and 1940s. He also heads the jazzy Pete Jacobs Quintet and the 1960s tribute band Class of '69. Jacobs also created and produced the Colby's Clubhouse
Colby's Clubhouse
Colby's Clubhouse is a children's television show that teaches principles from the Bible through songs and everyday situations. It was written and produced by Peter and Hanneke Jacobs and was originally aired on Trinity Broadcasting Network, with Peter Jacobs playing the part of Colby. It...
television series for the Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
.
In 1974, Wendy Carter married the band's "roadie", Kit Fremin; they later had two children, daughters Jessica and Rebecca. Wendy Fremin now teaches private voice and guitar lessons in Murrieta, CA, and works with Peter Jacobs.
Members
- Marsha StevensMarsha StevensMarsha Stevens-Pino is a Christian singer, musician, songwriter and recording artist.-For Those Tears I Died and "Children of the Day":...
- Wendy Carter
- Russ Stevens
- Peter Jacobs (1971–79)
- Jeff Crandall (1979)
Discography
- Come to the Waters (1971)
- With All Our Love (1973)
- Where Else Could I Go (1975)
- Christmas Album (1975)
- Never Felt So Free (1977)
- Butterfly (1979)
External links
- Vintage footage of Marsha Stevens and Children of the Day performing "For Those Tears I Died" on the Kathryn Kuhlman television program, circa 1971 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np8GJGZ3Vv8
- A City on a Hilltop book written by Daniel Mount; mentions the group
- Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. ISBN 1-56563-679-1.
- BALM Ministries http://www.balmministries.net/?mpf=frame&