Where Are the Downloadable Classic CCM Tunes?

Standard

Okay, so I’m ripping some of my old CDs via iTunes and I’ve only got one question:

When is someone in the Christian music biz going to get wise and start opening up the old catalogs for digital access?

Sweet Comfort BandRecently, I looked back over some “ancient,” decaying cassette tapes and started looking online for some of those classic songs. I put about two dozen of those songs into The iTunes Store and not a single one came up. There are so many classic bands and tunes from the 1970s through mid-1990s that are simply not available by any means. And that’s a crime. We stand to lose a true library of Christian music from that era if someone doesn’t get wise to collecting it into some digital format.

Albrecht, Roley & MooreI can’t get MP3 versions of far too many songs. One of my favorite songs of all time is Mark Heard’s own version of “Strong Hand of Love,” but the only downloadable version out there is a pale copy  (sorry, Bruce) by Bruce Cockburn. Anyone remember Albrecht, Roley & Moore? I’d love to get a copy of their song “Holiday Son,” but where? One of my favorite albums ever was Terry Talbot’s A Time to Laugh, a Time to Sing which has incredible songs like “Lamplighter” and “Father, Break Me,” as well as the truly funny “Bibleland.” Sadly, my copy of that album melted in a hot car and the tape I’d made of it finally snapped a couple years later. I still get a chill when Russ Taff belts out, “I’m goin’ down to the river, gonna be buried alive…” on The Imperials classic “Water Grave.” No hope of finding any of those available for download off the Web.

Terry Talbot & Barry McGuireAnd sure, you can probably find a recent compilation that features Dallas Holm’s “Rise Again,” but what if you like his classic “Here We Are” better? Good luck! Tear up every time you hear Billy Sprague’s version of his great “How Could You Say No?” or “I Never Should Have Left You” by Sweet Comfort Band? Remember Prodigal and their rockin’ number “Just What I Need”? Wanna compare Jacob’s Trouble’s version of “Door Into Summer” with the original Monkees version? Well maybe that’s going a little far, but you get my point.

Anyone who owns the old catalogs from Word Music, Sparrow, Benson, Light, or any of those classic labels, I think you’ve got a market out there that is going untapped. I know that I would pay good money to get some of these albums and songs. Some never made it to CD, but certainly master tapes exist somewhere.

There’s no good reason, either, that so many Christian artists are not available on iTunes or one of the other services. Too many partial catalogs exist, too. I mentioned Mark Heard—iTunes only has about half his albums. What gives on the other half?

Everyone knows that the MPAA is none too happy about copyrighted music being downloaded through sharing software. It’s wrong and Christians should not be doing it. That said, I’m guessing that some of the songs I’ve mentioned in this post were probably available online at some point through the old Napster and others. We just need legal sources—the artists or labels— to offer them for sale. I would buy them in a second if they existed.

With so much tuneless teeny-bopper drivel on most Christian radio stations, wouldn’t it be great to have some of those old catalogs available? The music from the time I became a Christian is precious to me, but it is slowly decaying and being lost forever.

How do we go about making this happen? Artists, labels…anyone listening?

(For a list of most of those old CCM artists and their discography, check out this and this.)

83 thoughts on “Where Are the Downloadable Classic CCM Tunes?”

  1. I completely agree with you on this… I have tried to find 70s Christian music online and can’t find any… Especially Albrecht Roley and Moore (whom we dubbed ARM all those years)… I really wish I could get a good copy of the Starlighter album. Good memories!

      • aj

        For ages I have been looking for ARM original album (don’t know if all the vinyls were solid white, but that was the one I had before my puppy ate the first one and my roommate moved out withthe second one I bought). MY favorite song was White Seagull but NOWHERE can I find it to download. NO Tim Shepherd, no Pam Mark..I’m hoping now to find some inexpensive method to transfer my disc collection to CD.

    • Rick

      If anyone still checks here, as of 9/2010, Scott Roley has a website, and all of the Albrecht Roley and Moore LPs (as well as a cd of unreleased sessions during their peak), are available remastered for cd. Also at reasonable prices ($12.98 per), and even less if you prefer digital download to a cd. Let’s all support (and applaud) his efforts to make their wonderful music easily available!

    • I saw ARM at a coffee house in Inkster Michigan called the Shalom House in 1975, I thought they were wonderful, they made a great impression on me as a young singer/songwriter

  3. Anonymous

    I’ve got two ventage ARM vynal albums. The ’77 and I think the ’80.

    I recently fixed an old turntable and I’m am thinking about digitizing all my old christian vynl.

  4. Bruce

    I have the Albrecht Roley and Moore album that has Holiday Son on it. I have 3 of their albums on vinyl. How do feel about me tranferring albums to CD’s and then just giving them away. I would be willing to do that for you. Let me know on this blog.

    • Steve Ramos

      I would love to have a copy of there music i don’t know the copy right laws when you give the music away, i never hear there music on the radio and its not for sale at stores. SO… i guess you would need to look into the law and find out? if you find ite ok to give it away i would be totally blessed.

      THANKS, Steve

  5. Becky

    WOW!! Another good music lover!! You are so totally right!! I was listening to White Heart “God Made Convertables” on the way in to work and was thinking, “Where is all the good Christian music from the 80’s these days??” I hope someone takes your advise and soon!!!

    Jesus Never Fails,
    Becky

  7. Mark Muscutt

    Did anything ever come of this? I’m in the same boat. I’d love to have any form of copy of this album. I still have the words to “Eyes On The Clouds” wandering around in my mind some 25+yrs. after I’ve listened to it. I did finally find vintage reproduction of “Shotgun Angel” by Daniel Amos and thats fun to play for my kids. (They laugh at the idea of us old folks looking like “Hippies”.) If you know any way to get A.R.M. or any of their old songs please let me know.
    Thank You.

  8. Dave Haddock

    I grew up with the Jesus music of the 70s and got into the business for 16 years. I share the concerns of the author about the lack of availability on many of these older artists. I did see where “Forgiven” by Ron Salsbury & the JC Power Outlet has just made it to CD. Some of these older titles are slowly being picked up by independant labels and redistributed, some are available on artist websites like Farrell and Farrell, Honeytree and Stephanie Booshada. Some older titles have already come and gone in limited CD releases such as Kerry Livgren and Paul Clark. I got a Bruce Hibbard “Never Turnin Back” Cd as a japanese import.

    A good friend of mine and I (right or wrong) share songs back and forth digitally. I own the albums but cannot get them digitized. And I have some stuff he doesn’t have so we swap. We have a pretty incredible collection of older CCM. But alas, I still have holes I wish to fill. I would die to get Lenny LeBlanc’s “Say A Prayer” on CD…or Pam Mark Hall’s 1st two albums.

    Finally, there are direct to computer turntables on the market whereby you can convert your vinyl to mp3 files. Ion makes one for about $100 bucks. So it is not as hopeless as one might think. I do think the CCM industry as a whole has shamelessly allowed its history to slide into the abyss.

        • aj

          As with the movie industry, recordings often carry the same titles by various artists. I consider the Don Fransisco “Forgiven” (released in 1977 on NEW PAX/Benson label) a classic but as you see below, “Forgiven” by J C Power Outlet fronted by Ron Salsbury) was released 3 years prior.

          Ron Salsbury & J.c. Power Outlet Forgiven
          : EX 1974 FEATURES “PEACE AND POWER”, “OH MY JESUS”, “MY FRIEND”, “I CHOOSE TO FOLLOW YOU”, AND MORE! MYRRH:MST-6525:

  9. Mary

    I was wondering if anyone remembers a song that I think Pam Mark Hall recorded called “Let Your Mind Dwell On These Things”? If so does anyone know what album it’s on and where on earth I could find it??? It’s a gorgeous song and I loved it back when I first got saved but have forgotten it over the years. I hope that I can find it.

  10. Jessica

    I was raised listening to the CCM of the early 80’s and it brings back so many wonderful memories of my childhood and i soo do miss the music. And its just not easy pulling out my dads old albums to listen to them whenever i want. So i did a little digging so far and have found a few artist still around with some best of cd’s like Dion Dimucci, Reggie Vinson, Stephanie Booshada, But finding anything on andres, blackwood, & company or Morris Chapman and others is proving hard. Im really tempted to just hook my turntable to my comp and upload stuff but im wondering would we get in trouble if we share it with others like us who enjoy that part of history and would it still be under copyright or would it matter if were not selling it?

    • Jerry

      Stuff that is out of print no longer draws a royalty for either the artist or the rec company.

      If it’s out of print, and I have it I share it.

  11. JOHN THE BAP

    this isn’t going to be solved unless some bigwig buys the rights and markets them. Maybe Degarmo or Key or Bob Hartman can help influence somebody. It won’t happen unless there’s an organized effort and even then the possible person wouldn’t do it for sentimental reasons. There would have to be a profit involved.

  12. Steve Ramos

    HI, i think i have a record from Terry Talbot that has the lamplighter song it may be his greatest hits im not sure i havent looked at it in a long time since its hard to get playres these days but let me know if you need help with this.

  13. David Haddock

    I tell you what would be great. If there were one site you could go to see what old CCM titles or songs had been released on CD. I know I can’t keep up with all the little independent little labels out there that buy the masters or the rights to manufacture….plus many artists own their own masters. For example, the band Parable (remember them) offers a 25th anniversay CD of their two albums together. Now if you weren’t ferociously looking you probably wouldn’t know that….or that Farrell & Farrell offer many of their early Christian classics on CD through their own site.

    There are literally dozens of great CCM classic albums or songs available that many have never heard about.

    p.s. I read a post where Pam Mark Hall is working on getting the rights to her early releases. Possibly available on CD down the road?

  14. Lloyd

    I have been trying to preserve my musical heritage from the vinyl days, too. In the old days, I made copies of albums onto cassettes to preserve the grooves in my LPs. I could also make best of and favorites cassettes. I sometimes made mixed sampler cassettes to give to friends and family that I was trying to get swithched over from secular to Christian music. I since discontinued this. I won’t own a pirated copy by itself. I figure that if I bought a licensed or copyrighted version, then making a copy to listen to and preserve my original is a reasonable use of the product(There are services available on the Web that do this to, but I found it easy to do it on my own with a PC, a turntable, cassette deck, cabling and software like MAGIX Audio Cleaning Lab). I’m pretty sure this has held up in court in test cases. In an attempt to respect copyrights, I often search for old cassette or vinyl originals to give to someone along with the digital copies ripped from good playing originals. Of course I’m always on the lookout for original CDs and authorized re-issues on CD. Smetimes these can be expensive! I paid $100 for an original David Meece 7 CD. I have bought some original Larry Norman that I haven’t even heard yet because the cartrige broke on my turntable. I sometimes loan original CDs, and too often never get them back. Looking for old music? I have many of the recordings referred to above incuding ARM. However, I’m not selling. I find most of my stuff in thrift stores and on the Internet. Do a google search every now and then and, if you’re persistent, one will show up. I’ve bought a lot through RadRockers.com through the years, too. The more people working on this, the better chance more of it survives and eventually may even get re-released. I really believe prayer can make a difference too!

  15. David Haddock

    Good post Lloyd. Since I last posted things have changed a lot for me. I have been a collector of CCM ever since I was a teenager back in the 70s. My record collection is in the thousands. There are very few things I don’t have. And then I got into the Christian music industry and that gave birth to my sizeable CD collection. But I still have a fondness for those old Jesus music days. The very thing that is hardest to find and get transferred to a digital format. Fortunately, I have a friend who is set up to make those transfers and I now have an incredible library of MP3s from artists like ARM, Pam Mark Hall, Agape, Randy Matthews, Dogwood, Wall Bros Band, Terry Talbot….all from my own LP collection.

    Lloyd is right. There are services out there that offer CD-Rs of old Christian recordings. Some are doing it right I believe by selling you an original copy of the LP with the CD-R or at least requiring proof you own an original copy. And some just have the means and are trying to make a buck. Do not support these types of users. In the mean time there are more and more artists or companies that offer legit Cd copies from original masters or at least the rights to transfer from LP. I just got a copy of Malcolm & Alwyn’s Wildwall from a company in conjunction with Alwyn Wall’s church in Florida. I am also getting a CD copy of Fresh Surrender (remastered) from Tim Archer’s own website. If you look hard enough they are out there. Good Luck…and God Bless.

    • Dale Murphy

      Hi David,
      Your comment: “. . . very few things I don’t have” motivated me to submit a “name that artist” quiz. Here’s a ’70s lyric:

      “17, and I’m, living a life, maybe I’ll reach 70, and then I’ll die. 17 and I’m, havin’ fun, but I’m kinda wonderin’ just who the last laugh will be on; 17 and I, just heard today, someone’s wanting to change my life in every way, but you won’t read it in the headlines, you won’t hear it on the news, there’s a Savior there who loves us all his life is what we choose; all we have to do is take a step of faith to see it throughhhhhh.”

      And one more: “”Blinded by the rays of our own sunshine, we search in vain to see, reflections of a garden lost and forgotten in the shadows of our dreams.” Heard it on the Scott Ross Show in my dorm room at the University of Tulsa on a Sunday morning in ’73. I’ve even tracked down Scott Ross via CBN, but he can’t remember it.

      I was hoping to put together an MP3 compilation for my 17 year old son, thus my interest in “17” above. Any memory bells ringing? Thanks, Dale

  17. tim amis

    does anyone know the name of a CCM classic song with lyrics that go something like this: leave behind your opinions, they’ll be worthless, oh the problems that you faced while on this land, for those of us who rest upon His promises, we will reach out and take the Savior’s hand.. when we all come together in the sky …………? please give me the name of the song and the artist God bless

  18. Pingback: The Lost Worship Song | Cerulean Sanctum
  19. Gordon Brown

    I’ve been looking for a song that I thought Keith Green sang live in concert here in S. Oregon years ago, but now I think it may be “Father Break Me” by Terry Talbot. The lyrics describe the alabaster cask of oil that was broken to wash Jesus’ feet.

    Anybody know where I can get a copy of that?

    Thanks.

    • Gordon,

      In my lone coffeehouse performance way back in 1989, I sang Terry Talbot’s “Father Break Me” from his album A Time to Laugh, A Time to Sing, which I consider to be one of the top 10 Christian albums of all time, a 2-record set that had a live and a studio album. Simply great stuff. It makes me a little sad that Terry did not enjoy the success in the business that his brother did, because I actually found him to be more talented.

      Where can you get a copy of the song or the album? Beats me. I sure would like to know.

  20. Crystal Hill

    I’m looking for the song “Water Grave”. Please I’ve lost the words and I would love to sing, share, and enjoy this song again. I would love to hear it again. How can I get this song? I feel it is the best baptism song ever… Thanks.

    • Crystal,

      Copies of the song are available at some video compilation sites as background music for videos people have shot, though the quality of the music track is very low-fi.

      Still, if all you want to do is hear the song, you can hear it as background on those videos. And if you Google “water grave lyrics,” you’ll find the lyrics too.

      Hope this helps!

  21. Henry Ward

    I didn’t realize there were so many out there who miss the old CCM tunes. As far as I am concerned there isn’t any good CCM being recorded these days. That is my opinion for what it is worth.
    Does anyone remember the group Dogwood? They were one of the early groups but didn’t achieve great success. One of their recordings was named Water Grave.
    There is too much to be said by me about how I was, and still am, ministered to by those songs.
    There is a guy on web radio named Jerry Bryant. He does a show called Full Circle (named after a Phil Keaggy song) which features only the old CCM songs.
    God Bless all of you lovers of real CCM!

    • Bro. R

      I discovered Dogwood just in the last year or so. Don’t know how I missed them. Very talented indeed. I’ll have to check out the “Full Circle” show. Thanks!

  22. aj

    Haven’t checked this board in a long time as you can see from the date of my previous comment. The Imperials also have a version of Watergrave which is good , although I do prefer the Dogwood version much better.I need to send Pam Mark Hall a request for the album with “Lord of the Starfields”- a Bruce Cockburn song, and “Little Miss Much Afraid”- inspired by the Hinds Feet in High Places book. I thank God for all your comments (I’ve been without internet access for a while!) and I’m trying to read them all in date order so I know where we stand on a viable site to find the music that helped shape us as we are today such as Parable (yes, I remember), Good News (which I believe had a young Keith Green as a member),Danny Taylor (I am searching for his “Live at Carnegie” and another live album with the song “Hey , Hey, Mon do you Know my Lord?” and “Livin’ Under Cover of Love”. A friend of mine was able to provide me with a cd copy of White Seagull (Albrecht, Roley, and Moore) from a cassette I made for him back in the day.Somewhere out there, someone has a good recording of Tom Autry’s “Blood of the Lamb” or Servant’s (who also did a version of Water Grave) “Shallow Water” or Phill McHugh’s “Canvas For the Sun” but until they are located we have to pray that David Haddock’s suggestion of a one site ALERT will come to pass.

  23. David Haddock

    Hey guys…how goes the searching? Thanks for the props aj. Since I last posted I have been diligently working at converting my own massive collection over to mp3. Also I have purchased a few old CCM projects directly through artist sites. Things like Andrus, Blackwood & Co.-Live, James Vincent-Enter In, Dave Edwards-Double disc S/T and Get The Picture, Archers-Fresh Surrender, Jimmy Hotz-Beyond A Crystal Sea. I have also been in contact with Pam Mark Hall. She lives here in the Nashville area and she will make CD-Rs of her albums. I forget the price. So there are sites out there. Support these artists. If you are interested in the links for these websites I would be more than happy to send them to anyone via e-mail. My address is dvhaddock@yahoo.com. If you are dying for a particular song and know the title and artist, and if I have it, I might be inclined to send it to you gratis. Just cuz I love helping others. BTW…nice find on the Albrecht, Roley & Moore site. Didn’t know those were available. I’ve already converted all my AR&M stuff I would certainly purchase them. I will check back here more frequently…God Bless and happy hunting.

  25. aj

    If my preparation for relocation (same city/different house/Jacksonville, Fl) can bless someone, let me know. I lost over 150 albums years ago trying to help a small Christian radio station (located outside of Jax) stay on the air. They suddenly shut down and the DJ who was using my collection was not able to retrieve them in time.
    Anyway, here is a partial list of what I still have if anyone is interested:
    Lamb/Songs for the Flock/1978, Rob Cassels Band/Kamikazie Christian/1983, Wendell Burton/Wendell/1978, Don Franscisco/Brother of the Son/1976, Dave Fullen/I’ll Keep an Eye on You/?, Bob Bennett/ First Things First/1979, Fireworks “Live”/1980, Take 6/Doo be doo wop bop!/1988, Jessy Dixon/Silent Partner/1985, Noel Paul Stookey/There is Love/1984 and Reel To Reel/1977, Craig Smith/The Grand Arrival/1979, and Maker/1981, Kemper Crabb/ the Vigil/1982, David Meece/David/1976 and I Just Call On You/1977,Barry McGuire/Lighten Up/1974, Al Green/Trust In God/1984,ArkAngel/Warrior/1980, Servant/Swimming in a Human Ocean/1985/ 4*4*1/Mourning Into Dancing/1986, Steven Soles/The Promise/1980, Jon Gibson/Standing On the One/1983, David Martin/Stronger Than The Weight/1985, Terry Talbot/Cradle of Love/1977, Tonio K/Notes From the Lost Civilization/1988, FOR THE BRIDE/1975, Randy Matthews/Son of Dust/1973, Mike Johnson/More than Just an Act/1977, AD/Reconstructions/1986, ‘ARK/The Angels Come/1979, Steve Taylor/On the Fritz/1985, Rich Mullins/Pictures in the Sky/1987, ATF/After The Fire/1982, Bob Ayala/Journey/1980, Sheila Walsh/Shadowlands/1986, Kansas/Vinyl Confessions/1982…

    …that’s enough for a start… of course I have several from Amy Grant, Leon Patillo, Janny Grien, Keith Green, Phil Keaggy, Phil Driscoll, Lamb… but with one or two exceptions for titles I’ve heard were hard to find, I would rather check what I have if asked, than list EVERY title still in my possession.

    Last item: if you are looking for Paul Clark material, his website is:
    http://www.paulclarkmusic.com/webshophtml.htm
    If you try to google “Paul Clark” you unfortunately will find a site for a guitarist who is far removed from the pioneer Servant of God instrumental in my growth in Christ. Hitting the NEXT link will finally bring you to the right one and it surely feels “GOOD TO BE HOME” 🙂

  26. RED

    Some others I would love to see released…Servant (Shallow Water), Danny Taylor, Gary Paxton and does anyone remember Isaac Air Frieght?

    • Dave Peterson

      Just found out that emusic has a lot of older christian music now, including two old ones by Paul Clark, along with his newest one.

      Pastor Dave

    • David Haddock

      RED

      Shallow Water is available on CD through a website called CD Baby. You can probably Google it. I got a copy and it sounds great. I also see now where Lenny LeBlanc has digital download copies of Say A Prayer and Person to Person available directly through his website. This thrills me to no end. Say A Prayer ranks as one of the all time most underrated releases in CCM. A great album.

      Folks…overall I am encouraged at the number of old things I see popping up and finally seeing the light of day either on compact disc or via digital download. Keep digging. There are gems out there if you just keep looking and asking.

  27. Trevor Eldred

    Yes! In this age of digital music, no song should ever be out of print unless the copyright holder wants it so. It’s impossible to hunt for the old classics unless you already know what they are. For the most part I don’t, and neither does anyone else under the age of 45 (no offense meant to anyone). To most of my friends, “Christian oldies” implies the 90’s, not the 70’s. We have no where to hear Larry Norman, Don Francisco, or anyone else more obscure who wrote great songs before Christian music became formulaic.

  28. mr eckels

    I completely agree with the author.

    I am looking for an original copy of Craig Smith: Songs to The Father if Life from Benson records 1989.

    Anyone have any idea where I can obtain one? I have been looking for 17 years.

    • David Haddock

      Barry McGuire has his own bookstore thing on ebay. He has a lot of the old BM stuff including To The Bride….amazing. Harvest stuff is also available. Jerry Williams has a website for his current ministry and he offers Harvest stuff there (google it),

      Don Francisco has a website and offers CD-R copies of his older stuff for $10. In most cases a little research will yield a link to an artist or site where they sell the stuff you are looking for.

  31. David Haddock

    I hope everyone is doing well and finding success in their search for classic CCM. As stated previously, more and more sites are popping up where you can get those old classic albums available now on CD or CD-R or digital download. It truly is wonderful to hear a lot of this stuff on my ipod as I bebop down the road.

    There is a point I wish to make here regarding purchasing CCM vs. the freebie. A lot of this stuff appears as if its old and out of print. Getting something for nothing is fun unless its at the expense of someone else. An artist entitled to a royalty or a collector who has labored to preserve his albums for the future, etc…I have found too many people who want all the old CCM stuff but they do not want to have to pay for it. I found a site where a fan was making his old CCM available for free download and had a requests section. People were requesting everything from old Larry Norman to the latest Toby Mac. All for free. That simply is not right. I can understand something that is long out of print and cannot be procured any other way. A lot of old CCM stuff is now available for purchase whether it is Albrecht, Roley and Moore, The Archers, Pam Mark Hall or Farrell & Farrell. All it takes is a little effort to search them out. By purchasing, you are showing the industry that these titles have viability and it will help open up archives of stuff not available. Thanks for listening and happy hunting!

  32. Elena

    If you can direct me to some Archers stuff for sale, I’d like to know where to get it. I’ve been wanting their “Spreadin’ Like Wildfire” on CD for a long, long time. Any Scott Wesley Brown available? And how about Silverwind?? Some great stuff missing out there on CD. It makes me sick to think of all the old songs that aren’t being heard and are not available for us to enjoy anymore.

  33. David Haddock

    Elena:

    Tim Archer has his own website http://www.timarchermusic.com/

    He has reissued Fresh Surrender on CD and plans to do others however Spreadin Like Wildfire isn’t available just yet. Silverwind is a toughie. There was a two album set on CD that was released a few years back. Unfortunately, it became out of print and is now in collectible status which means you go to ebay and pay a pretty penny to get one. Scott Wesley Brown has his own website and sells product there. He has a collection of 35 of his best songs and it pretty much covers most of his hits. Definitely worth getting.http://www.scottwesleybrown.com/products.html

    Finally there are a few sites where folks are kind enough to share their music digitally for free download. I have no problem with this per se as long as its a release that is not already on CD or digital download via itunes or Amazon, etc…I believe in supporting the artists. One such site is http://oldchristianmusic.wordpress.com/

    Hope this has been a little helpful to you.

  34. David Haddock

    Just talked to Tim Archer a few days ago. The Archers album Stand Up has been remastered and he expects the CD to be available soon through his website. I asked about Spreadin Like Wildfire and he wants to do it but hasn’t secured the rights to the album just yet…he’s working on it. Hope that is helpful to someone.\

    Dave H

    • David Haddock

      I see you are starting to find my secet spots 🙂

      Lot’s of great stuff. Dave Hollandsworth (the guy who runs the one-way.org site) is a good friend. As always I encourage people to support the artists. If they have product available certainly buy it. For all the out of print stuff I’m not sure how that works. I personally own a record, cassette or CD copy of about 95% of my digital library.

  37. Dave P.

    I do know that everything that is on the one-way site is not available anywhere. In other words, you cannot buy this music on itunes, fromt he artists websites, in stores…it is 100% out of print…so it would be no different than if someone was giving away music that they had purchased but you could not buy somewhere. No one is losing money from these downloads because you can’t buy them anywhere.

    • David Haddock

      You are correct sir. In fact, the guy who runs the site uses a lot of caution. People request stuff and he will research I-tunes, Amazon, artist searches to see if the music is available in any format. If it is available anywhere he will not post it. His desire is to provide old CCM that cannot be gotten anywhere else. I do not know the legality of it. Many artists I know have thanked Dave for making their music available to new generations of fans.

  38. ocean cider

    Looking for Razz “Playground” (Exile Records, 1984). Only released on vinyl and cassette (I have two copies of the latter but no means to convert to digital).

    Anyone have it? Know where I can find it?

    Thanks!

  41. Jeremy Witte

    Oh yes! The glories of contradictions & catch 22s… “Don’t download!” And AH YES, It’s not on mp3 or cd format anyway BUT CHRISTIAN- NOOOO! Don’t do it! Nooooo! Um, I happily do & DID & WILL… But keep open eyes for remastered digital copies as i know those generally sound FAR SUPERIOR! (Thus, explaining why I got some remastered Sweet Comfort Band, Kansas & Mastedon cds.)

  42. David Haddock

    Wow…cannot believe the first post on this page was almost 8 years ago. Since that time I hope everyone is finding lots of old CCM and Jesus music being made available via reissue or digital download. Since this page started many artists have reclaimed the rights to old masters or if they had them then they are getting around to sharing them. Some artists of note:

    Pam Mark Hall
    Farrell and Farrell
    Terry Blackwood (Andrus and Blackwood)
    The Archers
    Coming soon…John Fischer!!
    Albrecht, Roley and Moore
    Malcolm and Alwyn
    David Meece
    Honeytree
    Scott Wesley Brown

    I could go on and on…there are so many artists and companies releasing this stuff its hard to keep up. There are some things that have come and gone already but more accessible now through Amazon and ebay then the old days where an out of print CD was going for $60 a pop!

    If you are looking for old Pat Terry releases (not available) or BJ Thomas Home Where I Belong (mega rare on CD) then you will be disappointed. But there is so much more to find…keep looking!

  43. tony

    i still have albrect roley and moore album, along with parable,fireworks,sweet comfort band degarmo and key 2nd chapter of acts rez band steve camp petra terry talbot, scott wesley brown.and others i still like listening to them to this day

  44. Rick Giovanetto

    This blog was written in 2005 – now it’s 2013 and Dan’s original frustration is still relevant. There are so many albums I would love to purchase, but thanks to the people who own the rights, these albums are not available (and God forbid I would dare to download them from a share site). When I find them, I buy them (Pam Mark Hall, Albrecht, Roley and Moore, Dave Kelly), but what about Bob Ayala, Terry Talbot, Bethlehem, ‘Ark, Danny Taylor and on and on and on and on?

    • Rick,

      It’s slightly better news in 2013 than in 2005. Some CCM artists found a way to retrieve their catalog and now own their music, which they’ve made available.

      Some omissions are baffling, though. Still no availability of The Imperials’ megaseller Sail On (which means no Taff-sung “Water Grave”). Why? Some legal issue? If so, don’t the parties involved understand that the market for this is getting older? Whatever happened to “strike while the iron is hot”?

    • Jeff Stevenson

      I have pretty much every artist that has been requested on this site plus many of the rare and obscure, eg Nutshell, Quickflight, etc.

      By this time (2014) much of it has been made available on iTunes or the artist’s site, but I worked with the Jesus Music site http://one-way.org/jesusmusic/ and translated all my LPs to CD…and then bought the CDs as the artists released them.

      If it’s really rare and not on CD/commercially available, I probably have it or can locate it for you/point you in the direction.

      Also, when someone posts a song at YouTube, simply copy the link and plug it in here:
      http://www.youtube-mp3.org/

      and it changes the link into an MP3. The amazing Internet!
      Jeff
      jcsnyc@hotmail.com

  46. Greg Friesen

    I have just launched a 24/7 CCM Internet Radio Station. I highlight the best songs from the last 50 years. We play many songs from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The web address is:
    www. spiritstreamradio.com
    See what you think!

  47. Nelson Cruz

    There is a Christian music site which sells many old classics on CD. The site is:www.sweet-music.com. I have found many old classics available on CD. The Cruse Family, Terry Talbot, Andrus, Blackwood & Company to name a few. The CD’s are priced at $16.98 but are worth it. They sound great.

  48. Chris Robinson

    Amen brother. Can we contact someone… I love so many songs from those days… Water Grave, or anything with Russ Taff on it… the old Imperials live album and the Dallas Holm live album. David Meece or Andrus, Blackwood and Company. We have great praise music in todays Christian market, but I believe we had way more diversity in the 70’s and 80’s in Christian music than we do today. You could jam to the Resurrection Band and get cold chills to Don Fransisco as he belted out “He’s Alive.” Russ Taff could jam to Higher Power and then bring tears to your eyes with Praise the Lord. It was a great time for Christian music.

  49. David Haddock

    Can’t believe this site is still up and running. I first posted here back in January of 2008! So many CDs have been added to my collection during that time. There are some things I do not believe will ever be released (legitimately not bootleg) on CD such as The Pat Terry Group, Early David Meece, Fireworks, Dogwood and the like.

    However, many great recordings have seen the light of day these past 16 years. Some great work being done by Girder Music and Boone’s Overstock. Many artists have their own websites now where you can purchase past releases. Bandcamp and Kickstarter campaigns have added several great classic releases. Not long ago Pantano Salsbury’s Hit The Switch was released. Unfortunately the downside is many of these releases are limited run issues. Not many copies so if you aren’t informed up front they can come and go without you being aware and then what do you do? Still, it’s better than how it was 16 years ago for sure. Being able to search online and track down harder to find CCM is not as difficult as it was. Keep searchin;….there is a lot out there to find. Happy hunting.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *