Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll [Paperback]

John J. Thompson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An insider's look at the birth, evolution, and growing popularity of Christian rock music. As the counter-cultural movements of the sixties gathered steam, one of its first splinter groups was the Jesus freaks. In addition to culturally hip pastors, the scene produced a handful of musicians who brazenly coupled rock & roll music with lyrics that reflected a Christian world-view and often became an outright evangelistic tool. Jesus music was born.

Raised By Wolves is about this music. It traces the birth and growth of a genre that has married seeming opposites - Jesus and rock & roll - for 30 years. John J. Thompson looks at the social conditions in which this music developed and how it has been evolving in North America since the Jesus Movement of the sixties, including a look at contemporary Christian rock. He also looks at the artists behind this music, including groups like dc Talk, The Supertones, and crossover artists such as Jars of Clay, MxPx, and Sixpence None the Richer. These are the real rebels of rock & roll who live on the fringes in an underground Christian culture. One group, Sixpence None the Richer, recently scored two international hits with "Kiss Me" and "There She Goes." The band's self-titled album has also stormed the charts after seven years underground. Which one of the thousands of bands will be next?

From the Author

In 1989 JOHN J. THOMPSON opened True Tunes Etc., a cutting-edge music store located just outside of Chicago. Thompson founded his own band and his own record label and has produced two albums for independent bands. He has published articles about progressive Christian music, has contributed a chapter to a handbook for Christian musicians, and has written two short books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550224212
• ISBN-13: 978-1550224214
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #911,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Encyclopedia look at Christian music, July 6, 2001

By 

D. Benz (Appleton, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll (Paperback)

This book is an excellent source of dates and names. However, it is lacking personal glimpses into the lives of the artists. We find out the songs and albums produced by a number of Christian artists (and those preferring not be identified as a Christian artist) but the book is almost completely devoid of personal interviews with the artists or profiles of their life experiences and influences.

The book is useful as an encyclopedia of the history of Christian rock and roll but begs a follow-up book profiling more in depth some of the artists such as Terry Taylor, Steve Taylor, Larry Norman, and Phil Keaggy.

Also, a minor note here but the author also drops the name of his band (The Wayside) more often than the band's success to date would warrant.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Off the Beaten Path, November 23, 2002

By 

Paul "Ognyen" (Warrensburg, MO United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll (Paperback)

If you're trying to find detail on your favorite Christian pop stars, this really isn't the place. You will, however, find great information on those tenacious Christian music "artists". These artists, for the most part, came on-scene before contemporary Christian music was well accepted. They had, out of necessity, to develop their own ministry and distribution systems. They kept their stuff a bit too controversial for the mainstream --both mainstreams. They were too Christian for the secular market, but too edgy for mainstream Christians. The artists Raised By Wolves concentrate on really show some of the better work in Christian music. I made lots of great discoveries in the book.

This all is not to say other artists aren't mentioned. Newsboys, Audio Adrenaline, DC Talk, and more, get very positive reviews, too. I bought the book because I'm questing for Christian music.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long overdue, April 9, 2001

By 

K. Fromer "kfromer" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll (Paperback)

This is a long overdue look at the world of music made by people of faith. An interesting read as well as encyclopedic in its breadth. The author does a wonderful job of detailing the little-known world of "Christian" rock, and in so doing introduces the reader to many overlooked, underrated artists in a much-maligned "sub-genre." Stories of great artists pigeonholed and subsequently confined to the "Christian ghetto" mingle with stories of those who broke out into the mainstream - and we're talking about the likes of Dylan, U2, Bruce Cockburn, and T-Bone Burnett here - NOT the usual fare of Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, thank you.

Recommended to anyone who thinks they'd never be caught dead listening to "Christian" music: you might be surprised to find that such unfamiliar names as Mike Knott, Terry Taylor, Mark Heard, the 77s, The Choir, and Adam Again (to name a few) provide music as honest and relevant as anything offered up by Elvis Costello or as creative as anything produced by Pink Floyd or the Talking Heads.

Recommended to anyone who thinks they're a big fan of Christian music because they really like Jars of Clay, DC Talk or The Newsboys: there's a whole world that you have yet to discover, and you owe it to yourself to take a good look at the "underground" that made bands like those I just mentioned possible.

And finally, to anyone who's suffered as a fan with the same frustrations that many of these artists have confronted: finally, someone's told the whole story!