Prodigal (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Prodigal


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Origin = Cincinnati, Ohio
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Genre = Christian rock; Contemporary Christian music
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Years_active = 1974 — 1986
Label = Heartland Records /Priority (CBS)
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Current_members = Loyd Boldman, keyboards and vocals
Rick Fields, guitars and vocals
Mike Wilson, bass guitar
Dave Workman, drums, guitar and vocals

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Prodigal was a progressive, influential Contemporary Christian music group from Cincinnati, Ohio which released three albums in the early 1980s. Although classified primarily as a rock band, the group's sound ranged from radio-friendly pop to keyboard-driven New Wave to pop country. The group consisted of keyboardist Loyd Boldman, drummer Dave Workman, guitarist Rick Fields and bassist Mike Wilson. [cite web | url=http://www.christianmusicarchive.com/artist.php?id=4207 | title=Christian Music Archive (CMA) entry for Prodigal] Prodigal was noted for having three lead singers, as Boldman, Workman and Fields would trade off lead vocalist duties depending on the track. Boldman generally handled the rock-oriented tracks, while Workman and Fields split the more pop- and New Wave-focused material.

Prodigal had success on Christian radio with the songs "Invisible Man" (from "Prodigal"), the #1 single "Scene of the Crime," "Emerald City" (from "Electric Eye") and "Jump Cut" from "Just Like Real Life". The band also created a number of promotional music videos for "Electric Eye" and "Just Like Real Life" which were featured on Trinity Broadcasting Network's music video show "Real Videos."

The "Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music" says, "Prodigal was in tune with the sounds and spirit of the early ‘80s...while writing songs that expanded the boundaries of the worship and evangelism fare that typified contemporary Christian music at the time." Prodigal’s self-titled debut album was named Album of the Year in 1982 by "Group" magazine (along with Amy Grant’s "Age to Age" and Petra’s "More Power to Ya"). The music video for the song "Fast Forward" was named Video of the Year by the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers (now the Alliance for Community Media).

"Electric Eye", the group’s second album, received Best of the Year honors in 1984 by both "Contemporary Christian Music" magazine (CCM) and "Campus Life" magazine. The album also received national attention for a unique promotional idea: a computer program for a Commodore 64 was mastered into a “stop-groove” at the end of the vinyl record, the first time this had ever been done. Anyone who downloaded the program via a cassette drive into their computer would find graphics, lyrics and a message from the band. The video for the song, "Boxes" (written by Workman and directed by Boldman), won the very first Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Award for music videos ("Best Visual Song").

The Christian Music Archive said of the band's third album, "Just Like Real Life", "This is an excellent album by one of the early New Wave/Rock hybrid bands of the early to mid-eighties, using equal parts keyboards and rock guitar. Sadly the band didn't get the recognition they so richly deserved, as this was a cut above most Christian albums of the time with instantly memorable songs and lyrics so intelligently written as to be in a class of their own. If they had been a secular band, they would have been early MTV stars. An essential album."

After Prodigal disbanded, Boldman released a solo album "Sleep Without Dreams" on the independent label Outbound Records in 1988. Boldman created three music videos for the album, including one for the title track [cite web | url=http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=LQILYxHj7Ps | title=Loyd Boldman on YouTube: "Sleep Without Dreams"] which won Best Video from the Florida Motion Picture and Television Association (FMPTA). He later co-founded Devotion Media, [cite web | url=http://www.devotionmedia.com/ | title=Loyd Boldman's Home Page] a creative media firm in Winter Park, Florida. [cite web | url=http://www.thecreateawards.com/judges.html | title=Loyd Boldman entry at The Create Awards in Central Florida] Boldman has been part of the worship team at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida, since 1989. Workman is current pastor of Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, [cite web | url=http://daveworkman.blogspot.com/ | title=Dave Workman's blog "What I Meant to Say"] while Fields has been serving in the worship band at Crossroads Cincinnati since 2001. [cite web | url=http://www.bluejordan.com/jpt/janet_deardiary.htm | title=Recording artist Janet Pressley's official website] and as a member of David Wolfenberger's band. [Breen, Mike, 'Spill It', July 23, 2003 http://citybeat.com/2003-07-23/musicspillit.shtml ] Mike Wilson currently leads worship at Word of Life Church in Highland Heights, Kentucky.

All three of the band's albums are out of print, and have never been released on CD, either originally or as re-issues.

Prodigal Discography

*1982 "Prodigal" [cite web | url=http://www.christianmusicarchive.com/album_credits.php?id=2655 | title=CMA entry for "Prodigal"] [cite web | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpMHfAC069w | title=Prodigal on YouTube: "Boxes"]
*1984 "Electric Eye" [cite web | url=http://www.christianmusicarchive.com/album_credits.php?id=2654 | title=CMA entry for "Electric Eye"] [cite web | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdS7JiBk5b4 | title=Prodigal on YouTube: "Fast Forward"]
*1985 "Just Like Real Life" [cite web | url=http://www.christianmusicarchive.com/album_credits.php?id=2653 | title=CMA entry for "Just Like Real Life"] [cite web | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_urag9mjjc | title=Prodigal on YouTube: "Just Like Real Life (Jump Cut)"] [cite web | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg3pQOhSCQU | title=Prodigal on YouTube: "Future Now"]

Loyd Boldman Discography

*1988 " Sleep Without Dreams" [cite web | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlW32NVCDUg | title=Loyd Boldman on YouTube: "Wall of Sound"]
*1997 "" [cite web | url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Hunter#Dr._Hunter_and_Northland_Church.5B1.5D | title=Wikipedia entry for Northland: A Church Distributed']
*2000 ""
*2007 ""

Rick Fields Discography

*1988 " Sleep Without Dreams"
*1999 " The Perkolaters | Finishing School"
*1999 " Vineyard Community Church | My One Desire"
*2000 "Janet Pressley | Deeper State of Blue"
*2001 "Crossroads Band | Open Hands Bare Feet"
*2001 "David Wolfenberger | World of the Satisfyn' Place
*2002 "Sunrise For Someone | (It's Always) Sunrise For Someone
*2006 "David Wolfenberger | Portrait Of Narcissus"
*2008 "Sunrise For Someone | Summer Lake Champion"

Dave Workman Discography

*1999 " Vineyard Community Church | My One Desire"

References