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Acappella is an all-male Contemporary Christian vocal group that was founded in 1982 by Keith Lancaster, who has variously played the role of singer, songwriter, and producer throughout the group's history. In 1988, a group of former back-up singers formed a spin-off group called AVB. Members of Acappella have included Keith Lancaster, Bill Spencer, Rodney Britt, Gary Moyers, Duane Adams, George Pendergrass, Wayburn Dean, Robert Guy, Steve Reischl, Kevin Shaffer, Ken McAlpin, Barry Wilson, Nicolas Dunbar, Matt Sammons, Matt Nunnally, Gary Evans, and Sean Samuel. Recently, the group became a quintet. The current lineup is Jordan House, Zac George, Zack Wilson, Robbin Brannon, and Allen Brantley.
Acappella is far and away the most popular musical group to have come out of the Churches of Christ in the U.S. They are in large part responsible for inspiring an entire culture of a cappella musical performance in the Church of Christ, a tradition that essentially forbids the use of musical instruments in worship. The song "Acappella" from 1986's Conquerors was the first to achieve widespread popularity within the church of Christ (it could almost be called a 'hit') and the 1988 album Sweet Fellowship has become their all-time best seller. AVB's breakout Song in My Soul was released almost concurrently, and the number of like-minded a cappella vocal groups within the church of Christ grew almost exponentially after these two albums. Acappella experienced their first mainstream success outside the church of Christ with 1993's Set Me Free. This album also had a song licensed for use in a Sony Camcorder Super Bowl commercial (with the refrain "They are more precious than gold").
The line-up changed for the second time in the group's history after this album. Since that time, membership in the group has changed almost on a yearly basis; in addition, The Acappella Company (the umbrella organization of several a cappella groups and musical projects that was formed directly from the successes of Acappella and AVB) has released a variety of Christian a cappella music albums that vary in spirit and line-up, with some albums being very similar to the original group and others being very distinct.
Membership
Current members
- Jordan House - 2nd Tenor
- Zack Wilson - 1st Tenor
- Zac George - Baritone/Vocal Percussion
- Robin Brannon - Baritone/Vocal Percussion
- Allen Brantley - Bass
Previous members
- Duane Adams
- Rodney Britt
- Don Connell
- Wayburn Dean
- Nicolas Dunbar
- Gary Evans
- Robert Guy
- Keith Lancaster
- Jeff Martin
- Steve Maxwell
- Ken McAlpin
- Gary Moyers
- Matt Nunnally
- George Pendergrass
- Greg Pittman
- Steve Reischl
- Matt Sammons
- Sean Samuel
- Kevin Shaffer
- Bill Spencer
- Tim Storms
- Barry Wilson
- Gary Yeager
Discography
The labels are taken from each of the albums' original releases; many of these albums have been re-released under new distributors. Lyrics to each of these albums along with scripture references and other relavent information can be found at Acadisc.com.
- Perfect Peace (1984, Clifty Records)
- Travelin' Shoes (1985, Clifty Records)
- Conquerors (1986, Clifty Records)
- Better Than Life (1987, Clifty Records)
- While the Ages Roll On (1987, Clifty Records)
- Sweet Fellowship (1988, Clifty Records)
- Growing Up In The Lord (1989, Clifty Records)
- A Savior is Born! (1989, Clifty Records, with AVB)
- He Leadeth Me (1990, Acappella Music Group)
- Rescue (1990, Word)
- We Have Seen His Glory (1991, Word)
- Set Me Free (1993, Word)
- Acapella En Espanol (1994, Word)
- Gold (1994, Word)
- Platinum (1994, Word)
- Hymns For All The World (1994, Word)
- Beyond A Doubt (1995, Word)
- Act of God (1997, Word)
- The Collection (1998, Diamante)
- All That I Need (1999, Diamante)
- Hymns For All The Ages (2001, The Acappella Company)
- Live From Paris (2002, The Acappella Company)
- Heaven And Earth (2004, The Acappella Company)
- Radiance (2006, The Acappella Company)
Before the group was named Acappella, it was briefly named "His Image"; the records released under that name are:
- Till He Comes (1982, Clifty Records)
- Heaven's Gonna Shine (1983, Clifty Records)
- Made In His Image (1984, Clifty Records)
External links
- Acappella Official Website
- Official Website of The Acappella Company
- Acadisc.com - Official Lyrics Site of Acappella and the Christian a cappella subgenre
Christian musical groups | Professional a cappella groups | Musical collectives
"Acappella (group)"