- Paul Smith (christian music)
Infobox musical artist
Name = Paul Smith
Img_capt = Paul Smith
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Paul Charles Smith
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Origin =United States
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Genre =Contemporary Christian
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URL = [http://www.paulsmithsings.com/ Paul Smith Official Website]
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Notable_instruments =Paul Charles Smith is a
Grammy Award winning andDove Award winningContemporary Christian Music performer and songwriter. He is best remembered by his early years with the legendary gospel group,The Imperials . Paul spent four years withThe Imperials recording four albums and one live video and was inducted into theGospel Music Association 'sGospel Music Hall of Fame as a member ofThe Imperials . He has recorded five solo albums and is an award winning songwriter.Biography
tarting Out
Paul Smith began his musical career in1981 withThe Imperials , following the departure ofRuss Taff ; Paul had previously come to knowThe Imperials by booking them for concerts at his college. Paul finished out the “Priority ” tour and quickly calmed the fears of Imperials fans world wide. “Stand by the Power ” hit store shelves in1982 , Paul co-wrote the title track as well as the hit “Lord of The Harvest .” He brought back a dominant songwriting ability withinThe Imperials that had not been there since the early years withHenry Slaughter . He found continued success when he co-wrote the 1980sLarnelle Harris hit “How Excellent Is Thy Name .”In
1983 ,The Imperials released “Side By Side .” It was a double record set featuring five solo performances from each member. Paul had the last five songs on the album; his pure and original pop style came through spinning off the hit “Here on the Rock .” “Side By Side ” won the “Dove Award ” for “Pop/Contemporary Album of The Year ” in1984 . Paul recorded four albums and one live video withThe Imperials before leaving the group in1985 . He would still continue to submit songs toThe Imperials and in1987 scored another hit as a writer for the song “Wings of Love .”olo
In
1986 Paul signed withDayspring Records a division of theWord Records . His first three albums, showcased studio talent that not only helped redefineThe Imperials in the 80s, but also helped defineContemporary Christian Music in the 80s. He would only record three albums on this label. By1990 The record labelStarSong pulled away fromWord Records and became apart ofSparrow Records . Many of the artists includingThe Imperials had left Word and signed withStarSong , so it was no surprise that Paul also made the move. “Human Touch ” was released in1991 ; the album showed a more classic enthusiastic version of Paul, though it would be his only album released on that label.Paul continued to tour thru the early 90s, but didn’t have a new album out until
1994 , when he signed a contract withIntegrity Music to release “Extra Measure ” the album charted, but the success of the album didn’t last.Finally in
2006 . Paul's long awaited album "Soli Deo " was released independently. "Soli Deo is not a huge departure from the musical style that made Paul a highly recognizable voice in contemporary Christian music in the 80"s. "- [http://cdbaby.com/cd/psmithsings CD Baby Review] "Today Paul is still performing concerts as well as working as a Music Minister at the First Baptist Church of Colleyvile,Texas. Imperial fans today still long for a reunion of
The Imperials with Paul.Discography
olo
*1986 Live and Learn "(Dayspring/Word)"
*1987 No Frills "(Dayspring/Word)"
*1989 Back to Who I Am "(Dayspring/Word)"
*1991 Human Touch "(StarSong )"
*1994 Extra Measure "(Integrity)"
*2006 Soli Deo "(Independent)"Albums with the Imperials
*1982 Stand By the Power "(Dayspring/Word)"
*1983 Side By Side "(Dayspring/Word)"
*1984 Sing the Classics "(Dayspring/Word)"
*1985 Let the Wind Blow "(Myrrh/Word)"
*1986 Old Fashioned Faith "(Dayspring/Word)"
*1996 The Imperials – Legacy "(Word)"
*2007 The Definitive Collection "(Word)"Video
*1984 The Imperials 20th Anniversary "(Myrrh/Word)"
References
* Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music; Powell; pp 46, 47; Hendrickson Publishers; Pap/Cdr edition (August 2002) ISBN-10: 1565636791 ISBN-13: 978-1565636798
* Resource Publications, "The Christian Music Directories" formerly "The Recording Locator" - http://www.rpinet.com/cmd.html
* http://www.paulsmithsings.com/ the official website of Paul Smith
* http://www.theimperials.com theimperials.com
* http://www.biggodrecords.com - imperials complete catalog
* http://www.sandipatty.com – sandipatty.com
* http://www.doveawards.com/history/browse.cfm?year=1984 – the GMA Dove Awards 1984
* http://www.christianmusicarchive.com/artist.php?id=1086 – Paul Smith Discography
* http://www.bsnpubs.com/word/dayspring.html - Dayspring/Word Discography
* http://www.bsnpubs.com/word/myrrh.html - Myrrh/Word Discography
* http://www.bsnpubs.com/word/starsong.html - StarSong Discography
* http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=8664870&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1 - ASCAP list of Paul Smiths Songs
* http://www.sghistory.com/index.php?n=Main.Imperials (does not have complete list of imperials recordings up to 2007 listed yet)
* http://cdbaby.com/cd/psmithsings - CD review of "Paul Smith Soli Deo"External links
* [http://www.paulsmithsings.com/ Paul Smith Official Website]
* [http://www.theimperials.com/ The Imperials Official Website]
* [http://www.biggodrecords.com/ Big God Records]
* [http://www.worddistribution.com/ Word Music Group]
* [http://www.chordant.com/ EMI/CMG Distribution (StarSong)]
* [http://www.providentmusic.com/pgs/main.aspx/ Provident Music Group (Integrity)]
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