Amy Grant facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amy Grant
Grant in 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 a famous American singer, songwriter, and musician. She started her music journey in contemporary Christian music (CCM). Later, in the mid-1980s, she also became very popular in pop music. Many people call her "The Queen of Christian Pop". Amy Grant is married to country music singer Vince Gill.

Amy Grant began her career as a teenager. She became well-known in Christian music during the 1980s with songs like "Father's Eyes" and "El Shaddai". In the mid-1980s, she started reaching a wider audience. She was one of the first Christian artists to become successful 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 stayed at the top of the Billboard Christian album chart for 32 weeks. This album sold five million copies in the U.S. and included her second number one pop song, "Baby Baby". It 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. Her album Age to Age was the first Christian album by a solo artist to sell over a million copies. In 2006, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to entertainment. In 2022, she was honored with the Kennedy Center Honors, a very special award for artists. Amy Grant has also written several books, including a memoir called Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far.

Her Early Life and Music Journey

Growing Up and Starting Out

Amy Grant was born in Augusta, Georgia. She is the youngest of four sisters. Her family moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1967. She is related to A. M. Burton, a kind person who helped Nashville a lot. Amy has said her family influenced her music career. She has a voice that can sing in different ranges, from mezzo-soprano to soprano.

In 1976, when she was a teenager, Amy wrote her first song called "Mountain Top". 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 called Word Records. Amy was offered a recording contract five weeks before her 16th birthday!

In 1977, she recorded her first album, Amy Grant. Brown Bannister produced it, and he also produced her next 11 albums. The album came out in early 1978, just one month before she finished high school. Later in 1978, she performed her first concert where people bought tickets. This was after she started college at Furman University.

In May 1979, Amy met Gary Chapman at a party for her second album, My Father's Eyes. Gary had written the album's main song. Amy and Gary toured together in 1979. In late 1980, she moved to Vanderbilt University. Amy made a few more albums before deciding to leave college to focus on her music career. These albums included Never Alone and two live albums in 1981. During these early concerts, Amy started a tradition of performing barefoot because she found it more comfortable. She still does this sometimes!

Her Breakthrough Album

In 1982, Amy released her very successful 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 won her first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Gospel Performance for this album. 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 a million copies (platinum).

In the mid-1980s, Amy started touring and recording with a new songwriter named Michael W. Smith. Amy and Michael are still good friends and often work together. They sometimes write songs for each other's albums and tour together for Christmas concerts.

After Age to Age, Amy released her first Christmas album. In 1984, she released another pop-style Christian album, Straight Ahead. This album led to her first appearance at the Grammy Awards show in 1985. An executive from NBC saw her performance and asked her manager to book her for her own Christmas TV special.

Reaching a Wider Audience

Becoming a Pop Star

After Amy Grant became known as "The Queen of Christian Pop," she decided to try to reach more fans. Her goal was to be a successful Christian singer who also had hits in pop music. Her album Unguarded (1985) had a very mainstream pop sound. The song "Find a Way" from Unguarded became one of the few Christian songs (not about Christmas) to reach the top 40 on the Billboard chart. She also had a hit with "Stay for Awhile" in 1986.

Amy Grant had her first number one song on Billboard in 1986. It was "The Next Time I Fall", a duet with Peter Cetera, who used to sing for the band Chicago. That year, she also recorded a song with Randy Stonehill and worked on The Animals' Christmas with Art Garfunkel.

Her 1988 album, Lead Me On, had songs about faith and love. Years later, Lead Me On was chosen as the greatest Contemporary Christian album ever by CCM Magazine. The song "Saved by Love" was a small hit on radio stations that played Adult Contemporary music. The album's title song also got some pop radio play. In 1989, she appeared in a Target advertisement, singing songs from the album.

Mainstream Success

Grant during her Behind the Eyes tour in 1998

When Heart in Motion was released in 1991, many fans were surprised because it was a contemporary pop album. Amy wanted to reach more people with her music. The song "Baby Baby", which she wrote for her newborn daughter, became a huge pop hit. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. This made Amy Grant a big name in the mainstream music world. "Baby Baby" was nominated for several Grammy Awards.

Four other songs from the album 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). All five songs were top 10 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart. Many Christian fans still loved her music, and the album stayed at the top of the Billboard Contemporary Christian Chart for 32 weeks. Heart in Motion is Amy's best-selling album, selling over five million copies.

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

Her 1994 album, House of Love, continued with pop songs that also had spiritual messages. This album sold millions of copies. It included the pop hit "Lucky One" and the title song, a duet with country music star and her future husband, Vince Gill. She also covered Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi".

In September 1997, Behind the Eyes was released. This album had a more serious, acoustic soft-rock sound with more grown-up lyrics. Although "Takes a Little Time" was a moderate hit, the album did not sell as many copies as her previous two albums. Behind The Eyes still sold over 500,000 copies. Amy then released A Christmas To Remember, her third Christmas album, in 1999. This album also sold over 500,000 copies.

After the events of September 11, 2001, Amy's song "I Will Remember You" became popular again. Many radio DJs played a special version of the song as a tribute. In the same year, Amy won $125,000 for charity on the "Rock Star Edition" of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Returning to Her Roots

Amy Grant returned to Christian pop music in 2002 with an album of hymns called Legacy... Hymns and Faith. This album mixed bluegrass and pop sounds. It celebrated Amy's 25th anniversary in the music industry. Amy then released Simple Things in 2003. This album did not have the same success as her earlier pop or gospel albums. In the same year, Amy was welcomed into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. She released another hymns album in 2005 called Rock of Ages...Hymns and Faith.

Amy Grant hosted a TV show called Three Wishes on NBC in 2005. On the show, she and her team helped make wishes come true for people in small towns. The show was canceled after one season. After Three Wishes ended, Amy won her 6th Grammy Award for Rock of Ages... Hymns & Faith. In 2006, Amy said she believed her "best music is still ahead".

Grant performing in October 2008

In April 2006, a live CD/DVD called Time Again... Amy Grant Live was recorded. It was released in September 2006. Besides getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Amy also appeared in CCM Magazine and performed on The View.

In 2007, Amy Grant celebrated 30 years in music. She released a new greatest hits album with all her songs digitally remastered. The album came out as a single CD and a special two-disc CD/DVD set. Amy also appeared with Vince Gill on The Oprah Winfrey Show for a holiday special.

In February 2008, Amy Grant joined the writing team from Compassionart to record a song called "Highly Favoured". This song was part of the album CompassionArt. On June 24, 2008, Amy re-released her 1988 album, Lead Me On, to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The new release included the original album and a second disc with new acoustic recordings and live performances. Amy recreated the Lead Me On tour in the fall of 2008. She also sang on the 2008 album Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends.

Grant in 2013

On May 5, 2009, Amy Grant released an EP (a short album) with two new songs, "She Colors My Day" and "Unafraid". This EP was sold only on iTunes and helped raise money for cancer research. In 2010, Amy released Somewhere Down the Road. It featured the hit song "Better Than a Hallelujah", which reached number 8 on the Billboard Top Christian Songs chart. Amy said she hoped these songs would "provide companionship" and remind people "what's important." In September 2012, Amy took part in a campaign called "30 Songs / 30 Days" to support a project about women's opportunities worldwide.

Amy's next album, How Mercy Looks from Here, was released on May 14, 2013. It reached number 12 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it her highest-charting album since 1997. Two songs from the album, "Don't Try So Hard" and "If I Could See", were hits on the US Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart. On August 19, 2014, she released an album of her hits remixed by famous engineers and DJs. It was called In Motion: The Remixes. This album reached number 5 on the US Dance chart. To promote the album, new remix EPs were released on iTunes. The remixes of "Baby Baby" and "Every Heartbeat" became popular in clubs and charted on the U.S. Dance Chart. This was her first time on that chart in 23 years. On September 30, 2014, Amy Grant released a new song called "Welcome Yourself". The money from this song went to breast cancer research.

On February 12, 2015, she announced a new album called Be Still and Know... Hymns & Faith, which was released on April 14, 2015. It reached number 7 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. Amy Grant released a Christmas album on October 21, 2016, called Tennessee Christmas. It included classic Christmas songs and new ones. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart. She supported the album with Christmas concerts with Vince Gill at the Ryman Auditorium. She also toured with Michael W. Smith and Jordan Smith. In February 2017, she released a new song, "Say It With a Kiss". In November and December 2017, Amy performed more Christmas concerts with Vince Gill and toured with Michael W. Smith and Jordan 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

Amy Grant has four children. She is married to 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 condition she was born with.

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

• 1992: Junior Chamber of Commerce Young Tennessean of the Year
• 1994: St. John University Pax Christi Award
• 1994: Nashville Symphony Harmony Award
• 1996: Sarah Cannon Humanitarian Award – TNN Awards
• 1996: Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award – Columbia Hospital
• 1996: Voice of America Award – ASCAP
• 1996: Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award
• 1999: "An Evening with the Arts" Honor – The Nashville Chamber of Commerce, Nashville Symphony, and Tennessee Performing Arts Center
• 1999: The Amy Grant Room for Music and Entertainment – The Target House at St. Jude's Children's Hospital
• 2001: Easter Seals Nashvillian of the Year Award
• 2003: Inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame
• 2003: Summit Award – Seminar in the Rockies
• 2006: Amy Grant Performance Platform – Nashville Schermerhorn Symphony Center
• 2006: Hollywood Walk of Fame star unveiled
• 2007: Charter member of Tiffany Circle – Red Cross
• 2007: Inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame
• 2008: Class of 1966 Friend of West Point award with Vince Gill
• 2012: Honorary Doctorate Degree of Music and Performance – Grand Canyon University
• 2015: No. 52 in The Top 100 Female Artists of the Rock Era (1955–2015)
• 2022: Kennedy Center Honoree
• 2023 Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts – University of Notre Dame

Images for kids

• 

  Grant with Michael W. Smith in 2011

See also

In Spanish: Amy Grant para niños