2nd Chapter of Acts

2nd Chapter of Acts
Background information
Origin	California, USA
Genres	Contemporary Christian music Jesus music
Years active	1973-1988
Labels	Myrrh Records Sparrow Live Oak Records
Website	2ndchapterofacts.com
Members
Annie Herring Nelly Greisen Matthew Ward

The 2nd Chapter of Acts was a Jesus Music and early Contemporary Christian Music group composed of sisters Annie Herring and Nelly Greisen and brother Matthew Ward. They began performing in 1973 and enjoyed their period of greatest success during the 1970s. The group disbanded in 1988.

History

The 2nd Chapter of Acts began as a result of the trio singing at home together as Annie played the piano. Following the death of their parents in 1970, Nelly and Matthew, still minors, moved in with their older sister, Annie, and her husband, recording engineer and producer, Buck Herring.^[1] Annie was a self taught singer and song writer who wrote and played her songs around the family piano. Her brother and sister would often join in as she played, and eventually they developed extremely tight and intricate harmonies.^[2][3]

They started singing for local coffee houses and small gatherings, then gained the notice of Pat Boone who arranged a contract to record and release two singles with MGM, "Jesus Is" (1972) and "I'm So Happy" (1973). The fledgling trio also came to the attention of 1960s folk singer Barry McGuire, who had recently become a Christian and was preparing to record his first Christian music album, produced by Buck Herring. The siblings provided background vocals for Seeds and McGuire's 1974 follow-up Lighten Up.

The trio released their debut album, With Footnotes, in 1974. This album featured "Easter Song" which would become a signature piece for the group and has been recorded by many other artists since. This was followed up with In the Volume of the Book in 1975, the year that also saw the release of a live album with Barry McGuire, To the Bride, which included "a band called David", who supported 2nd Chapter of Acts on tour. 2nd Chapter of Acts' first three releases were issued by Myrrh Records, and the group toured with McGuire intermittently for three years.

The group went on a touring hiatus in 1976. Annie released her first solo record on the Sparrow Records label founded that year by the executive who had signed them to the Myrrh label, Billy Ray Hearn. For the summer of 1977, they were joined on an 18-city tour by Phil Keaggy and the result was the live triple album, How the West Was One. Their contract with Myrrh fulfilled, they moved as a group to Sparrow.

Their Sparrow debut, Mansion Builder (1978) was followed up with The Roar of Love (a concept album inspired by C. S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), Rejoice, Singer Sower, and Together Live (with Michael and Stormie Omartian). 2nd Chapter moved to their own Live Oak label with the release of Night Light in 1985, and their final recording of original material, Faraway Places.

Their voices can heard among other Christian artists on 2 benefit singles in 1985. Do Something Now! credited to The Cause on Sparrow Records to aid famine relief in Africa and Fight the Fight, Rescue the Unborn which featured over 100 Christian artists, to benefit the Christian Pro-Life Movement, released on Live Oak.

2nd Chapter of Acts broadened their appeal with the release of Hymns and Hymns 2, reaching audiences with more traditional music. Hymns proved to be their best-selling release.

Except for two sabbatical years in 1976 and 1983, 2nd Chapter of Acts continued to tour until 1988. Their final concert was in Houston, Texas on August 12 of that year.

2nd Chapter was recognized by the Gospel Music Association in 1999 by their induction into its Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Annie and Matthew also recorded several solo projects during the 2nd Chapter of Acts years. Both have continued to release new material and perform concerts as of 2006.

Roles of group members

Annie was the main songwriter of the group and the only one who played an instrument (piano). Her admittedly unschooled compositional style mixed elements of progressive rock (probably unintentionally) into what was otherwise a light CCM sound. Matthew and Nelly initially made the occasional small contribution to the lyrics, and Matthew developed as a songwriter for the group as his solo career grew.

Annie and Matthew sang many of the solo parts. Nelly, whose voice was richer and thicker in texture, did less of the solo work but the songs that she sang generally became favorites like "Now That I Belong To You", "Make My Life A Prayer To You", "Mountain Tops", and "My Jesus I Love Thee" among others. Her voice was considered the 'glue' to the 2nd Chapter of Acts sound and her parts were generally the most difficult to sing.

Discography

Albums:

• With Footnotes (1974)
• In the Volume of the Book (1975)
• To the Bride [2 LPs - with Barry McGuire and "a band called David"] (1975) Most of this is by McGuire. The 2nd Chapter's section—1 side plus 2 songs—consists mostly of songs they never released anywhere else. This was released on CD in early 2007 and is available only through Barry McGuire's website.
• How The West Was One [3 LPs - with Phil Keaggy and "a band called David"] (1977) Half of this was by 2nd Chapter, half by Phil Keaggy. It includes 3 songs (one by Annie, one by Matthew, and one by Phil) never released anywhere else. It was later reissued on 2 CDs.
• Mansion Builder (1978)
• The Roar of Love (1980)
• Rejoice (1981)
• Encores (1981) ["Best of" compilation of material previously released on Myrrh]
• Singer Sower (1983)
• Together Live [2 LPs - with Michael and Stormie Omartian] (1983) 3 sides of this were by 2nd Chapter, 1 side by the Omartians. It includes one 2nd Chapter song that was never released anywhere else. This is the only 2nd Chapter album that has never been released on CD.
• Night Light (1985)
• Hymns (1986)
• Far Away Places (1987)
• Hymns 2 (1988)
• Hymns Instrumental (1989)
• 20 (1992) ["Best of" compilation from all previous material] Issued on 2 CDs or 2 cassettes.
• Very Best of 2nd Chapter of Acts (2006)

Video:

• Together Live [with Michael and Stormie Omartian] (1983) [This was available from Sparrow Records by mailorder only. The offer was mentioned on the inner lyrics and liner notes sleeve of the LP. The 60 minute concert featured not only most of the songs from the LP's, but also personal testimonies. (on VHS videocassette)

Footnotes

External links

• Official site
• Musicmoz:2nd Chapter of Acts
• Annie Herring official site
• Matthew Ward official site