2nd Chapter of Acts

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2nd Chapter of Acts was a Jesus Music and an early Contemporary Christian Music group comprised 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.

1 History
2 Roles Of Group Members
3 Discography
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

2nd Chapter of Acts began as a result of the trio singing at home together as Annie played the piano. Nelly and Matthew had moved in with Annie and her husband, recording engineer and producer Buck Herring after becoming orphaned in 1970.

Through a contract arranged by Pat Boone, the group released two singles on MGM, "Jesus Is" (1972) and "I'm So Happy" (1973). 2nd Chapter of Acts also came to the attention of 1960s folk singer Barry McGuire, who 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.

They released their first 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. Also named on the album were the musicians touring with the 2nd Chapter of Acts, "a band called David". These albums were issued by Myrrh Records. 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.

Live concert photo circa 1985

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 a sabbatical year in 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.

An exhaustive and official biography can be found here.

[edit] Roles Of Group Members

Annie was the main songwriter of the group. Her admittedly unschooled 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 most of the solo parts. Nelly -- whose voice could be hard to distinguish from Annie's -- generally only sang lead on songs where each member took a verse ("Which Way The Wind Blows", "Takin' The Easy Way") or on "spotlight" pieces on which the others did not sing ("I Don't Wanna Go Home", "Make My Life A Prayer"). On some albums (The Roar of Love, Night Light) she sings no leads at all.

[edit] Discography

With Footnotes (1974)
In the Volume of the Book (1975)
To the Bride [with Barry McGuire and "a band called David"] (1975)
How the West was One [with Phil Keaggy and "a band called David"] (1977)
Mansion Builder (1978)
The Roar of Love (1978)
Rejoice (1981)
Encores (1981) ["Best of" compilation of material previously released on Myrrh]
Singer Sower (1983)
Together Live [with Michael and Stormie Omartian] (1983)
Night Light (1985)
Hymns (1986)
Far Away Places (1987)
Hymns 2 (1988)
Hymns Instrumental (1989)
With Footnotes/In The Volume Of The Book (1989) [Collector Series]
20 (album) (1992) ["Best of" compilation from all previous material]