New Song

CCM group NewSong were formed in Valdosta, GA, in 1981 by Eddie Carswell, Billy Goodwin, Eddie Middleton, and Bobby Apon, who met while attending Morningside Baptist Church. The quartet's local popularity quickly swelled, and in 1982 they signed to Covenant Records to issue their debut LP, Son in My Eyes; a move to the Word label preceded NewSong's 1984 follow-up, The Word. Subsequent outings including 1986's Trophies of Grace, 1987's Say Yes!, and 1989's Light Your World further expanded the group's growing fan base, and with their 1993 Benson label debut, All Around the World, NewSong generated four CHR chart-topping hits — "More God," "Got Me Going," "Hero of the Faith," and the title cut. The group shifted gears with the exit of co-founders Middleton and Apon, but continued forward — 1994's People Get Ready launched four more number one singles, and Love Revolution (1997) was a similar Christian blockbuster. By 2000's Sheltering Tree LP, the lineup included Carswell, Goodwin, Leonard Ahlstrom, Michael O'Brien, Steve Reischl, and Matt Butler. The holiday-themed Christmas Shoes appeared in 2001, Scotty Wilbanks joined for More Life a year later. Rescue arrived in 2005, followed by Give Yourself Away in 2009. In 2010, NewSong celebrated its 30th anniversary with the release of One True God. In 2013, they returned with the album, Swallow the Ocean.