American composer (1927?2021)
Ralph Carmichael
|
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Born
| (
1927-05-27
)
May 27, 1927
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Died
| October 18, 2021
(2021-10-18)
(aged 94)
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Alma mater
| Vanguard University
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Occupation(s)
| Composer
,
arranger
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Spouses
|
Evangeline Otto
(
m.
1948;
div.
1964)
Marvella Price
(
m.
1965)
|
---|
Children
| Carol Parks
|
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Musical career
|
Genres
| |
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Years active
| 1951?2021
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Musical artist
|
Ralph Carmichael
(May 27, 1927 ? October 18, 2021) was an American
composer
and
arranger
of both secular pop music and
contemporary Christian music
. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music.
Early life and career
[
edit
]
Carmichael was born in
Quincy
,
Illinois
, the son of a
Pentecostal
minister. As a teenager, Carmichael played violin with the San Jose Civic Symphony. At seventeen, he enrolled at Southern California Bible College (now
Vanguard University
) to become a preacher like his father, grandfather, three uncles, and five cousins. He started a campus men's quartet, as well as ensembles and mixed groups of all kinds, blending jazz and classical music techniques with gospel songs and hymns. His bands were unwelcomed at many churches, and he was not allowed to store his baritone saxophone on campus because of its associations with big band music.
[1]
After college, Carmichael's band received mixed reactions from the Christian community. One church asked that they hide their drums behind a curtain; a pastor in Oakland stopped the band mid-song because the music sounded too "worldly." After a performance at a men's fellowship in Pasadena, however, Carmichael's band was invited to audition for television. The TV program drew so much response mail from Christians that the station asked for more shows.
In 1951, Carmichael was invited to score a film for the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
. In all, he scored twenty of the BGEA's films, including the funky urban soundtrack for the 1970 film
The Cross and the Switchblade
. By the late 1950s, secular producers had taken notice of Carmichael's radio and film work. He was invited to assist the composer at the television sitcom
I Love Lucy
and was soon arranging music for that show as well as
Bonanza
and
The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show
and for singer
Rosemary Clooney
. In 1958, Carmichael was hired by producer
Jack H. Harris
to score his science fiction film,
The Blob
. With the success of the film, Carmichael was brought back to score Harris' follow-up film,
4D Man
. He arranged and composed music for a
Bing Crosby
Christmas special television program (which prompted his denomination to strongly discourage the renewal of his ordination). He also composed and conducted the theme music for the 1965 sitcom,
My Mother the Car
.
Carmichael's work was noticed by
Capitol Records
in the late 1950s. They asked him to provide arrangements for an album of mainly sacred Christmas songs by one of the label's biggest stars,
Nat King Cole
. The result,
The Magic of Christmas
, was released for the 1960 festive season, by which time Capitol had already set Carmichael to work with Cole on more secular albums.
Carmichael duly became Cole's most regularly utilized arranger from then until the singer's death in early 1965. Their first mainstream pop collaboration was
The Touch of Your Lips
(also 1960), an album of romantic ballads backed by lush strings. Their final collaboration was Cole's last album,
L-O-V-E
.
Featuring jazzy big band arrangements. It was recorded in December 1964, only two months before Cole succumbed to
lung cancer
, which was already in its advanced stages.
Artistic Style
[
edit
]
Carmichael's experiments in pop-rock style Christian music in the 1960s and 1970s brought him recognition as the "Father of
Contemporary Christian Music
".
[2]
[3]
[
by whom?
]
He founded
Light Records
in order to widen the audience for the music of the
Jesus People
.
[4]
He was subject to controversy from within the church, being called a
heretic
for his use of guitars in worship and his adaptations of Gospel songs to big band stylings.
[5]
Manna Music Inc
founders, Tim and Hal Spencer, introduced
Andrae Crouch
to Carmichael, helping to launch Crouch's recording career. Carmichael also provided the backing for a number of
RCA
albums by Gospel singer
George Beverly Shea
, including
The Love of God
in 1958, and
How Great Thou Art
in 1969.
In 1969, Carmichael and
Kurt Kaiser
collaborated on
Tell It Like It Is
, a folk musical about God. The record album of the musical, which included the song "Pass It On", sold 2,500 copies, completely selling out the first run; it then completely sold out its second run of 100,000 copies.
The Carpenters
recorded Carmichael's song "Love is Surrender" on their 1970 album
Close to You
.
[6]
One of Carmichael's contemporary hymns, "
Reach Out to Jesus
", was recorded by
Elvis Presley
on the singer's 1972
Grammy Award
-winning album of sacred songs,
He Touched Me
. His album
Strike Up the Band
won a
Dove Award
for "Instrumental Album of the Year" at the
25th GMA Dove Awards
in 1994.
[7]
Carmichael wrote arrangements for many other top performers, including
Ella Fitzgerald
,
Bing Crosby
,
Jack Jones
,
Peggy Lee
,
Julie London
,
Al Martino
and
Roger Williams
.
[
citation needed
]
He arranged most of the carols on the 1961
Stan Kenton
album
A Merry Christmas!
.
[
citation needed
]
Personal life
[
edit
]
In 1948, Carmichael married singer Evangeline Otto; they divorced in 1964. Their daughter Carol Celeste Carmichael, later
Carol Parks
(1949?2010), was a vocalist and assistant record producer.
[8]
He married his second wife, Marvella Price, in 1965.
[9]
Carmichael's autobiography,
He's Everything to Me
, was published by
Word Books
in 1986.
Death
[
edit
]
Carmichael died on October 18, 2021, in
Camarillo
,
California
. He was 94.
[10]
Recognition
[
edit
]
Carmichael was inducted into the
GMA
Gospel Music Hall of Fame
in 1985
[11]
and into the National Religious Broadcasters' Hall of Fame in 2001.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Anonymous (Fall 2005).
"Music in his soul"
.
Vanguard Magazine
: 2?4, 42?43.
- ^
"Ralph Carmichael - Biography page 2"
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-03-13
. Retrieved
2006-09-23
.
- ^
"New Music for a Timeless Message"
. Today's Pentecostal Evangel. Archived from
the original
on 2006-10-15
. Retrieved
2006-09-23
.
- ^
Mount, Daniel J. (2005).
A City on a Hilltop? The History of Contemporary Christian Music
. pp. 16?17. Archived from
the original
on 2007-02-03
. Retrieved
2007-02-12
.
- ^
Powell, Mark Allan (2002).
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music
(First printing ed.).
Peabody
,
Massachusetts
: Hendrickson Publishers. pp.
144?145
.
ISBN
1-56563-679-1
.
- ^
"Carmichael Score Captures Israel Soul in New Film"
.
Billboard
. November 7, 1970
. Retrieved
October 2,
2021
.
- ^
"
Dove Award Recipients for 1995
Archived
2007-03-11 at the
Wayback Machine
". Published by the
Gospel Music Association
. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
- ^
"In Memoriam: Evangeline Carmichael McPherson"
Archived
2017-08-27 at the
Wayback Machine
The Tolucan Times
(July 15, 2009) Retrieved August 26, 2017
- ^
Sutherland, Emily (December 1, 2020).
"Hall of Honor: Ralph Carmichael"
.
Homecoming Magazine
. Retrieved
18 July
2020
.
- ^
Evans, Greg (October 20, 2021).
"Ralph Carmichael Dies: 'The Blob' & 'My Mother The Car' Composer, Arranger Of Beloved Christmas Classics Was 94"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
October 21,
2021
.
- ^
"GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame: Carmichael, Ralph"
. Archived from
the original
on 2006-07-12
. Retrieved
2006-09-23
.
External links
[
edit
]
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