Glad (band)
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Glad is a famous Christian a cappella music group. While they started out as a progressive rock group in the late 1970s, they soon found a large market for purely a cappella music. They are still active as a group and have put out several albums in the past few years.
As Contemporary Christian Music magazine describes it, "Nearly two decades ago, Glad's elegant vocals helped set them apart from other pioneers of contemporary Christian music. That vocal sound has since evolved into a complex, self-sustaining life form of it's own..." For those of us in the field of a cappella music it is the vocals which the magazine mentions that are the primary interest in Glad. That's not the whole story, however. You see they really are a progressive Christian rock band. They got together on the campus of West Chester State University, near Philadelphia, in the early l970's. Early on the predilection toward complex vocals with classical and jazz overtones began to distinguish the band.
Glad made its first two recordings on the Myrr/Word label between 1978 and 1980. "The Reason" was the first song on which they experimented with an a cappella sound. It was originally on their second album, Beyond A Star (now out of print), but can be found on the Acapella Project CD. From l980 to the watershed album (Acapella Project) in 1988 they would add an a cappella cut to each album. When they recorded an all a cappella album it was released with some trepidation for there really was no track record in the field of Christian music to suggest success. They were amazed by the sale of over 300,000 copies. Since that time, Glad has alternated recording as a band and as an a cappella group with increasing success, which is particularly in evidence when we hear new groups which have obviously been influenced by this important group. Plus, as a band, they must be considered one of the pioneers of the contemporary Christian music scene.
The group made a bold leap into the secular with their release of the fabulous recording A Cappella Gershwin. It not only set the a cappella world buzzing, but found us listening to their religious work.The beauty of their music is the most dynamic ministry that there could be. It has been pouring out of the hearts of these men for over twenty-five years and has been found on twenty recordings. The current members are Ed Nalle (who has always been their producer as well), John Gates, Jim Bullard, Don Pardoe and Chris Davis.
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