Do you know which is the best selling Christian song of all time?
I’ve spent the last few weeks writing a series of adult Sunday school lessons on the topic of “The Songs of the New Testament.” This has caused me to be thinking about how music and songs proclaim the gospel. I began to wonder how Christian themed music has been accepted into the wider culture. I’m not talking about songs that get played on K-LOVE or other Christian networks. I’m speaking of songs that have Christian themes and have been embraced by a much wider audience. Some of these are crossovers, that is, songs performed by Christian artist that crossed over into pop/rock audiences. Some of these are songs that have been performed by artist with no, or little, commitment to the Christian faith. (Click the links to listen to the songs. Sorry about the ads.)
Let’s start with Elvis Presley. Presley was reared in the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal denomination. He often said that he learned to sing and dance in church. In 1967, he recorded How Great Thou Art. The song became a top 20 hit on the Billboard charts and Presley won a Grammy for the album. In 1972, Presley recorded and released He Touched Me, for which he was awarded his second Grammy. Presley performed Let Us Pray at the closing of the movie Change of Habit (1969), which is likely my favorite Elvis movie. The song, Let us Pray, is a “rocky” call to worship.
In 1965, The Byrds released their version of Turn, Turn, Turn. The lyrics of this song are largely lifted from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. This song was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1965.
The Edwin Hawkins Singers recorded O Happy Day. The song became number four on the US singles chart in 1969 and is the second best selling gospel song ever produced.
Andrew Lloyd Webber produced the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in 1969. The title song, Superstar, was number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971.
Folk singer Judy Collins released her version of Amazing Grace in 1970. This song made the billboard top 100 in 1971. It peaked at number 15.
Norman Greenbaum released Spirit in the Sky in 1969. Greenbaum was a Jew with little knowledge of the Christian faith when he wrote the song. The song was on the Billboard Hot 100 for 15 weeks, eventually becoming the third most popular song in the nation.
The Canadian rock band, Ocean, released Put Your Hand in the Hand in 1971. The song remained in the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks, peeking at number two.
The rock musical Godspell included the song Day by Day which spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at the #13 position in 1972.
The Doobie Brothers released Jesus is Just Alright in 1972. It peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Kris Kristofferson wrote and released Why Me, Lord? It appeared on the Billboard Top 40 for fifteen weeks and was number 1 on the country charts. It had the longest run of any song in the Billboard Hot 100 – 39 weeks – in 1973.
Sister Janet Mead, an Australian Roman Catholic nun, released a folk-rock version of The Lord’s Prayer in 1974. It soon became the number four song on the Billboard Hot 100.
I Can Only Imagine was released by Mercy Me in 2003. It was played throughout the nation on rock and pop radio channels. The song appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart, and country radio charts. It is the best selling Christian song of all time.
The last song on my list is Eve of Destruction by Barry McGuire (1965). Although this song is not considered a Christian song, its apocalyptic theme corresponds to the evangelical Christian mood of the 1960s and 1970s.
Which is your favorite? Can you think of other songs that might appear on this list?
