Acappella (group)

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Acappella


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Origin = Paris, Tennessee, USA
Genre = Contemporary Christian
Years_active = 1982–present
Label = Word, Epic
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Current_members = Anthony Lancaster
Zac George
Zach Wilson
Robin Brannon
Allen Brantley
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Acappella is an all-male Contemporary Christian vocal group that was founded in 1982 by Keith Lancaster, who has variously played the role of singer, songwriter, and producer throughout the group's history. In 1988, a group of former back-up singers formed a spin-off group called AVB. Members of Acappella have included Keith Lancaster, Rodney Britt, Gary Moyers, Duane Adams, George Pendergrass, Wayburn Dean, Robert C. Guy, Steve Reischl, Kevin Schaffer, Gary Miller, Ken McAlpin, Barry Wilson, Don Connel, Nic Dunbar, Matt Nunnally, Gary Evans, Sean Samuel, Matt Sammons, Jordan House, and J.J. Blevins. The current lineup is Anthony Lancaster, Zac George, Zach Wilson, Robin Brannon, and Allen Brantley.

Acappella is far and away the most popular musical group to have come out of the Churches of Christ in the U.S. The song "Acappella" from 1986's "Conquerors" was the first to achieve widespread popularity within the Church of Christ (it could almost be called a 'hit') and the 1988 album "Sweet Fellowship" has become their all-time best seller. AVB's breakout "Song in My Soul" was released almost concurrently, and the number of like-minded a cappella vocal groups within the church of Christ grew almost exponentially after these two albums. Acappella experienced their first mainstream success outside the church of Christ with 1993's "Set Me Free". This album also had a song licensed for use in a Sony Camcorder Super Bowl commercial (with the refrain "They are more precious than gold").

The line-up changed for the second time in the group's history after this album. Since that time, membership in the group has changed almost on a yearly basis; in addition, The Acappella Company (the umbrella organization of several a cappella groups and musical projects that was formed directly from the successes of Acappella and AVB) has released a variety of Christian a cappella music albums that vary in spirit and line-up, with some albums being very similar to the original group and others being very distinct.

Membership

Current members

*Robin Brannon - Baritone/Vocal Percussion
*Allen Brantley - Bass
*Zac George - 2nd Tenor/Baritone/Vocal Percussion
*Anthony Lancaster - Baritone
*Zach Wilson - 1st Tenor

Group formations

Previous members

*Duane Adams - Duane is widely held to be the most versatile singer that has sung with Acappella. He joined the group as the bass and recorded on "Growing Up In The Lord", "He Leadeth Me", "Rescue", "We Have Seen His Glory", and "Set Me Free". After "Set Me Free" was released, baritone Wayburn Dean left the group and Duane took his part. As the baritone, Duane's vocals can be heard on "Acappella En Espanol", "Hymns For All The World", "Beyond A Doubt", and back to sing bass in "Let's Show And Tell" on "Act of God". "Dewey" currently serves as worship minister at the [http://www.amarillosouth.org/ Amarillo South Church] in Amarillo, Texas.
*J.J. Blevins -
*Rodney Britt - Rodney currently serves as preaching minister at the [http://www.theoscoc.com/ Ocean Springs Church of Christ] in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He is also currently singing bass for [http://www.thesoundsofglory.com/ The Sounds of Glory] .
*Don Connel - Don replaced Kevin Schaffer as the 1st tenor in Acappella. He left the group before they recorded another album, but you can hear him sing tenor for [http://www.cornerstonevocals.com/ Cornerstone] .
*Wayburn Dean - [http://www.wayburndean.com/ Official Website] .
*Nic Dunbar - evangelism minister at the [http://www.airportfreewaychurchofchrist.org/ Airport Freeway Church of Christ] in Euless, Texas.
*Gary Evans - Lubbock, TX
*Robert C. Guy - Robert appeared on "Acappella En Espanol", "Hymns For All The World", "Beyond A Doubt" and "Act of God".
*Jordan House - Jordan is currently chaplain at Greater Atlanta Christian School in Atlanta, GA.
*Keith Lancaster - Keith continues as producer for Acappella. In addition, he conducts Worship Seminars and Praise & Harmony workshops events full-time. [http://www.keithlancaster.com Keith Lancaster's Blog] He served as worship minister at the [http://www.madisoncofc.org/ Madison Church of Christ] in Madison, Tennessee for eights years until 2007.
*Jeff Martin - Jeff serves as Minister of Magnification at the [http://www.crossroadsportland.com/ Crossroads Church] in Portland, Oregon.
*Steve Maxwell - Steve currently serves as worship minister/associate minister at [http://www.parkrowchurch.com] Park Row Church of Christ in Arlington, Texas.
*Ken McAlpin - Ken currently serves as worship minister at the [http://www.campbellchurch.org/ Campbell Church of Christ] in Campbell, California.
*Gary Miller - Gary is currently singing bass for [http://www.vocalunion.com/ Vocal Union] . He also runs his own music production company, [http://www.garymillerministries.org/ Gary Miller Ministries] .
*Gary Moyers - "Mo" currently hosts the [http://www.pitchpipepro.com Pitch Pipecast] , a podcast dedicated to news, reviews and interviews about a capella Christian music.
*Matt Nunnally - Matt sang 1st tenor on "Heaven And Earth". He currently sings tenor for [http://www.firstdaymusic.com/ First Day] .
*George Pendergrass - He currently serves as Director of Multicultural Enrichment at Abilene Christian University.
*Greg Pittman
*Steve Reischl - Steve sang lead on "Beyond A Doubt" and "Act of God". His most popular song was "If There Were No God." After leaving Acappella, he spent time performing with the Contemporary Christian band, [http://www.newsongonline.com/ New Song] . He is currently pursuing a [http://www.myspace.com/stevereischlmusic solo career] .
*Matt Sammons
*Sean Samuel - Disney in Orlando, Florida
*Kevin Schaffer - [http://www.kevinschaffermusic.com/ Official Website] Kevin is the 1st tenor on the "Act of God", "All That I Need", "Hymns For All The Ages", and "Live From Paris" albums. His most famous lead was "Walking That Line." He currently teaches elementary music in Clovis, New Mexico.
*Bill Spencer
*Tim Storms
*Tim Tripp - family minister at the [http://www.northeastchurch.com/ Northeast Church of Christ] in Cincinnati, Ohio.
*Barry Wilson - Milton Hershey Foundation in Hershey, Pennsylvania
*Gary Yeager

Discography

The labels are taken from each of the albums' original releases; many of these albums have been re-released under new distributors. Lyrics to each of these albums along with scripture references and other relevant information can be found at [http://www.acadisc.com Acadisc.com] .

* "Perfect Peace" (1984, Clifty Records)
* "Travelin' Shoes" (1985, Clifty Records)
* "Conquerors" (1986, Clifty Records)
* "Better Than Life" (1987, Clifty Records)
* "While the Ages Roll On" (1987, Clifty Records)
* "Sweet Fellowship" (1988, Clifty Records)
* "Growing Up In The Lord" (1989, Clifty Records)
* "A Savior is Born!" (1989, Clifty Records, with AVB)
* "He Leadeth Me" (1990, Acappella Music Group)
* "Rescue" (1990, Word)
* "We Have Seen His Glory" (1991, Word)
* "Acappella Christmas" (1992, Word)
* "Set Me Free" (1993, Word)
* "Acappella En Espanol" (1994, Word)
* "Gold" (1994, Word)
* "Platinum" (1994, Word)
* "Hymns For All The World" (1994, Word)
* "Southern" (1994, Word)
* "Beyond A Doubt" (1995, Word)
* "Act of God" (1997, Word)
* "The Collection" (1998, Diamante)
* "All That I Need" (1999, Diamante)
* "Hymns For All The Ages" (2001, The Acappella Company)
* "Live From Paris" (2002, The Acappella Company)
* "Heaven And Earth" (2004, The Acappella Company)
* "Family Christmas" (2004, The Acappella Company)
* "Radiance" (2006, The Acappella Company)

Before the group was named Acappella, it was briefly named "His Image"; the records released under that name are:
* "Till He Comes" (1982, Clifty Records)
* "Heaven's Gonna Shine" (1983, Clifty Records)
* "Made In His Image" (1984, Clifty Records)

External links

* [http://www.acappella.org/ Acappella Official Website]
* [http://www.theacappellacompany.com/ Official Website of The Acappella Company]
* [http://www.shoutlife.com/acappella Official Shoutlife.com Friends site]
* [http://www.acadisc.com/ Acadisc.com - Official Lyrics Site of Acappella and the Christian a cappella sub-genre]
* [http://www.acappella.com.br Official Brazilian Website]
*musicbrainz artist|id=d6f5d47f-e554-4734-9ec8-d340b9656663|name=Acappella
* [http://www.compassion.com. Acappella partners with Compassion to help bring children out of poverty]