Amy Grant facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amy Grant
Grant in October 2008
Born	Amy Lee Grant (1960-11-25) November 25, 1960 (age 64) Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Education	Furman University Vanderbilt University
Occupation	Singer-songwriter musician
Spouse(s)	Gary Chapman ​ ​ (m. 1982; div. 1999)​ Vince Gill ​ (m. 2000)​
Children	4
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Contemporary Christian pop rock soft rock gospel
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Myrrh A&M Word Sparrow

Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She started her music journey in Christian music before becoming popular in pop music in the mid-1980s. Many people call Amy Grant "The Queen of Christian Pop."

Amy Grant became famous as a teenager in the 1980s with Christian hits like "Father's Eyes" and "El Shaddai." In the mid-1980s, she started reaching a wider audience. She became one of the first Christian artists to also succeed in mainstream pop music. This happened after her popular albums Unguarded and Lead Me On.

In 1986, she had her first number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was a duet with Peter Cetera called "The Next Time I Fall." In 1991, she released Heart in Motion, which became her best-selling album. It sold five million copies in the U.S. and included her second number one pop song, "Baby Baby." This album also had three other top 10 hits: "That's What Love Is For", "Every Heartbeat", and "Good for Me."

By 2009, Amy Grant had sold over 30 million albums worldwide. She has won six Grammy Awards and 22 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. She also had the first Christian album to sell over one million copies, which is called a platinum album. In 2006, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2022, she was honored with the Kennedy Center Honors, a very special award for artists. Amy Grant has also written several books, including her life story called Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far.

Amy Grant's Early Life and Music

Starting Her Journey

Amy Grant was born in Augusta, Georgia. She is the youngest of four sisters. Her family moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1967.

In 1976, when she was a teenager, Amy wrote her first song. She performed it for the first time at her school in Nashville. She made a demo tape for her parents with her church youth leader, Brown Bannister. The owner of the recording studio heard the tape and offered her a music contract. This happened just five weeks before her 16th birthday!

In 1977, she recorded her first album, Amy Grant. It was released in early 1978, right before she finished high school. She performed her first ticketed concert after starting college at Furman University.

In 1979, Amy met Gary Chapman, who wrote the title song for her second album, My Father's Eyes. They later toured together. Amy then went to Vanderbilt University but left college to focus on her music career.

Her Breakthrough Album

In 1982, Amy released her breakthrough album, Age to Age. This album included the famous song "El Shaddai." "El Shaddai" was later named one of the "Songs of the Century" in 2001.

Amy Grant won her first Grammy Award for Age to Age. She also won two GMA Dove Awards. Age to Age was the first Christian album by a solo artist to sell over 500,000 copies (gold) and then over one million copies (platinum).

In the mid-1980s, Amy started working with songwriter Michael W. Smith. They are still good friends and often write songs or sing together. They even tour together for Christmas concerts.

Amy also released her first Christmas album, which became very popular. In 1984, she released Straight Ahead, which led to her first appearance at the Grammy Awards show.

Reaching a Wider Audience

Becoming a Pop Star

After becoming known as the "Queen of Christian Pop," Amy Grant decided to try and reach more people with her music. Her goal was to be a successful Christian singer who also made popular pop music.

Her album Unguarded (1985) had a very mainstream sound. The song "Find a Way" from this album became one of the few non-Christmas Christian songs to reach the top 40 on the Billboard chart.

In 1986, Amy Grant had her first number one song, "The Next Time I Fall." It was a duet with Peter Cetera, who used to sing for the band Chicago.

Her 1988 album, Lead Me On, had songs about both Christianity and love. Years later, Lead Me On was named the greatest Contemporary Christian album of all time by CCM Magazine.

Mainstream Success

Grant during her Behind the Eyes tour in 1998

When Heart in Motion came out in 1991, many fans were surprised by how much it sounded like pop music. Amy wanted to reach a bigger audience, and this album certainly did! The song "Baby Baby" became a huge pop hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Amy wrote this song for her newborn daughter.

Four other songs from Heart in Motion also became top 20 pop hits: "Every Heartbeat" (No. 2), "That's What Love Is For" (No. 7), "Good for Me" (No. 8), and "I Will Remember You" (No. 20). Heart in Motion is Amy's best-selling album, selling over five million copies.

Amy followed this album with her second Christmas album, Home For Christmas in 1992. This album included the song "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)," which she co-wrote. Many other artists have sung this song.

Her 1994 album, House of Love, continued with catchy pop songs that also had spiritual lyrics. This album was also very successful. It had the pop hit "Lucky One" and the title song, which was a duet with country music star and her future husband, Vince Gill.

In 1997, Amy released Behind the Eyes. This album had a more quiet, acoustic pop-rock sound with more grown-up lyrics. The song "Takes a Little Time" was a moderate hit. Amy then released her third Christmas album, A Christmas To Remember, in 1999.

After the events of September 11, 2001, Amy's song "I Will Remember You" became popular again as many radio DJs played it as a tribute.

Returning to Her Roots

Grant performing in October 2008

In 2002, Amy Grant released an album of hymns called Legacy... Hymns and Faith. This album celebrated her 25th year in the music business. She followed this with Simple Things in 2003.

In 2003, Amy was welcomed into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. She released another hymns album in 2005 called Rock of Ages...Hymns and Faith. This album won her sixth Grammy Award.

Amy also hosted a TV show called Three Wishes in 2005. On the show, she and her team helped make wishes come true for people in small towns.

In 2006, a live CD/DVD called Time Again... Amy Grant Live was released. In 2007, Amy released a book called Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far. It's a collection of her memories, song lyrics, and poems.

In 2008, Amy re-released her 1988 album, Lead Me On, to celebrate its 20th anniversary. She also went on tour to perform songs from the album.

In 2010, Amy released Somewhere Down the Road, which included the hit song "Better Than a Hallelujah." She said that she hopes her songs can connect people to themselves, to each other, and to their faith.

Her album How Mercy Looks from Here was released in 2013 and was very popular. In 2014, she released In Motion: The Remixes, which featured remixes of her popular songs.

Amy released another album of hymns in 2015 called Be Still and Know... Hymns & Faith. In 2016, she released a Christmas album called Tennessee Christmas. She supported this album with Christmas concerts alongside her husband Vince Gill and Michael W. Smith.

Amy Grant has also been a guest narrator for Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World several times.

Personal Life

Grant with husband Vince Gill in 2004

On June 19, 1982, Amy Grant married fellow Christian musician Gary Chapman. They had three children together. In 1999, they divorced.

On March 10, 2000, Amy married country singer-songwriter Vince Gill. They have one daughter together, Corrina Grant Gill, born in 2001.

In June 2020, Amy Grant had heart surgery to fix a problem she was born with called partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR).

Discography

Grant with Michael W. Smith in 2011

Awards and Achievements

Grammy Awards

GMA Dove Awards

Special Awards and Recognitions

A child playing congas in the Amy Grant Music Room at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Grant and husband Vince Gill being awarded the Class of 1966 Friend of West Point Award in 2008

• 1999: The Amy Grant Room for Music and Entertainment – The Target House at St. Jude's Children's Hospital
• 2003: Inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame
• 2006: Hollywood Walk of Fame star unveiled
• 2007: Inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame
• 2008: Class of 1966 Friend of West Point award with Vince Gill
• 2022: Kennedy Center Honoree
• 2023 Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts – University of Notre Dame

See also

In Spanish: Amy Grant para niños