Love Song (band)
Love Song was one of the most prominent Jesus music bands, and one of the first Christian rock bands. They released two studio albums—Love Song (1972) and Final Touch (1974)—and one live album—Feel the Love (1977)—before disbanding. They subsequently released Welcome Back in 1994, remastered versions of the three early albums and Love Song: The Book of Love as a box set in 2010.
Love Song | |
|---|---|
 Love Song in 2010. (L–R) Truax, Coomes, Mehler, Girard, Wall | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Costa Mesa, California U.S. |
| Genres | Jesus music, country rock, soft rock |
| Years active | 1970-present |
| Labels | Good News |
| Associated acts | Chuck Girard, Chuck Girard Band, Tommy Coomes Band |
Background
Love Song was founded in 1970 by Chuck Girard, Tommy Coomes, Jay Truax, and Fred Field. Field was replaced by Bob Wall, who played guitar on all three albums. Drummer John Mehler, who had joined the fledgling group in its infancy, then left with Field, rejoined in time to play on Final Touch and Feel the Love. Another latter-day member was Phil Keaggy, who joined to replace departing Wall in 1973 but had already left the group before the recording of Final Touch and Feel the Love.
They were a part of the Jesus movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, coming out of Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel. Their classic debut album, Love Song (1972), is considered one of the greatest Christian music albums of all time.[1] The group toured heavily in the early 1970s, becoming very popular both in the US and abroad. By 1976, the Jesus Movement was being replaced by Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) as the leading style of Christian rock, and it was becoming more business than ministry. Many of the bands that had started the movement began to break up, and after a final "Reunion Tour" in 1976 which resulted in the Feel the Love double live album, Love Song was no more.
Many of the original members continued with solo careers and a few are still performing today. In 1994, the band recorded another reunion album, Welcome Back which included new versions of the songs off the first three albums.
Love Song has released a box-set containing their first three albums plus a DVD of their 1973 concert in San Antonio. All original tapes on all three projects (Love Song, Final Touch, and the live Feel the Love albums) have been re-mastered at Mastering Lab. Recording engineer Bill Schnee assisted Chuck Girard and Tommy Coomes in the work. The drum solo has been re-included in the live album, which will mark the first time that there has been a full digitally re-mastered version of that album.
Love Song started a reunion tour in 2010 with Calvary Chapel founding Pastor Chuck Smith touring throughout the U.S.
In 2017 the band played a two night appearance concert at The Upper a Room in Orange County, California. Those concerts were filmed with the intention of producing a live concert DVD. Through a series of circumstances that project turned into the production of a full-length documentary on this iconic band. Many notable people have contributed to this project. The working title is Love Song The Documentary: The story of "A Band That Changed Christian Music" and is due to be released at the end of 2020.
Discography
- Love Song (1972)
- Final Touch (1974)
- Feel the Love (1977) - double live album
- Welcome Back (1994)
- Love Song: The Book of Love Box Set (2010) contains three original albums plus a DVD of early 1973 concert and a CD of demo sessions titled The Early Years.
Reissues
- Love Song (2010) Remastered
- Final Touch (2010) Remastered
- Feel the Love (2010) Remastered - double live album. Now includes "Solo drum"
Videos
- Live In San Antonio '73-DVD (2010) Includes Live performance, photos and footage of a baptism led by Pastor Chuck Smith
Compilations
- First Love (1998) Various Artists
References
- CCM Magazine