Farrell and Farrell

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Farrell and Farrell
Cover of debut album Farrell and Farrell, 1978
Background information
Birth name	Bob Farrell, Jayne ???
Born	Bob Farrell October 23 [[]] (-10-23) (age Expression error: Missing operand for -) Jane Farrell [[ Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"]] [[]] (-??-??) (age Expression error: Missing operand for -)<]
Origin	Houston, Texas, United States
Genre(s)	CCM,Pop music
Occupation(s)	Singers
Years active	1978 – 1989
Associated acts	Dove, Millennium
Website	[1]

1 Early history
2 Popular success
3 SUPERPOWER through today
4 Legacy
5 Discography
6 References

[edit] Early history

Farrell and Farrell were a husband and wife Contemporary Christian music act which had its beginnings in the early 1970s Jesus music era and went to become one of the first Christian new wave acts in the 1980s on such albums as 1984's CHOICES and 1985's JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS.

The core members of the act were high school sweethearts Bob Farrell and wife Jayne Farrell, who had sung in a local rock band with Bob prior to her conversion to Christianity at a crusade. It was through Jayne and a friend that Bob experienced his own conversion. Jayne joined Bob in the band One Man Band which later changed names to Millennium. It was under this name they recorded their one and only album in 1971. The pair parted ways musically as Bob joined the Myrrh Records act Dove from 1972 through 1976. Jayne continued to sing for religious events as a solo singer in the meantime.

The pair became active as a duo again in 1977, gaining a record contract with Gary S. Paxton's NewPax Records in 1978. Their first album FARRELL AND FARRELL was notable for being one of the first Contemporary Christian music recordings to feature the Fairlight synthesizer as well as co-writing assistance from Pat Terry of the Pat Terry Group on the song "Can't Ask Anything More". Eddie DeGarmo of DeGarmo and Key guested on keyboards for the album MAKE ME READY, which also featured early songwriting from future Contemporary Christian music star Michael W. Smith. A sold out July 24,1982 performance at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma's Civic Center Music Hall led to their live album LET THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW-LIVE. Unlike their previous albums where studio musicians handled keyboards, Bob Farrell handled the OBX keyboard as well as acoustic guitar.

[edit] Popular success

The next album could be seen as the beginning of the "golden era" of the band as electronic keyboards would play a larger part in the group's more experimental sound. CHOICES utilized not only electronic keyboards but the use of Simmon drums and other electronic percussion and unusual "instrumentation" like a 7-Up can. This time, Dana Key and Eddie Degarmo both guest on guitar and keyboard and co-write "Get Right or Get Left". Jimi Jamison of the mainstream rock band Survivor did some session work on the album as part of the "Rock Choir" backing vocals. Billy Smiley and Mark Gersmehl of White Heart also contributed lyrics to songs for the disc. During a time period when mainstream musicians were making headlines with charity benefit singles like USA for Africa's "We are the world", Christian musicians likewise banded together with CAUSE (Christian Artists United to Save the Earth). Bob took part in the recording of their 1984 single "Do Something Now".

The success of tracks like "Get Right or Get Left" encouraged the duo to point their music in an even more electronic direction for 1985's JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS. The disc included one of their most popular compositions, "People in a Box", a diatribe against the consumerism and anti-Christian attitudes seen on ads and programs from the "boob tube" and "The Meek and the Mighty", a tune Bob wrote in response to the suffering of persecuted Christians in the former Soviet Union. (The band would play in the former U.S.S.R. several times prior to their late 80s dissolution.) MANIFESTO continued in the same vein, with hit ballad "People All Over the World" featuring a smattering of star Contemporary Christian stars of the day in Billy Sprague, White Heart's Billy Smiley, Mark Gershmehl, and Rick Florian, Pete Carlson, Angie Lewis and Scott Wesley Brown and a second TV-themed tune in "Captain Video."

[edit] SUPERPOWER through today

The band took a 3 year break from recording before releasing their swansong, 1989's SUPERPOWER on Word Records. After nearly 20 years in the business, the strain of touring was taking too much toll on the group's marriage and they decided to call it quits.

Bob remains active in the Contemporary Christian music industry as a songwriter for such acts as Stacie Orrico,Jaci Velasquez,Wynonna Judd,and Eric Clapton. He also was a key player in the recent rock opera !Hero, being involved with creation of the music along with veteran Christian rocker Eddie DeGarmo, formerly of DeGarmo and Key, as well as acting in the opera in the role of Governor Pilate.

[edit] Legacy

In first bringing electronics-based sounds to Christian Contemporary music, Farrell and Farrell helped pave the way not only for similar synth-pop acts like 80s bands Crumbacher and Mad at the World and 90s act Painted Orange but the groundwork was laid for genres which derive from keyboard heavy sounds such as industrial music and techno.

[edit] Discography

1973 (as Millennium) Millennium
1973 Jayne Farrell Jayne CAM-154
1974 (Bob as part of band Dove) Dove Myrrh Records
1976 (Bob as part of band Dove) Dove II Myrrh Records
1978 Farrell and Farrell NewPax Records NP-33050
1979 A Portrait of Us All NewPax Records NP-33076
1981 Make Me Ready NewPax Records NP-33104
1982 Let the Whole World Know-Live NewPax Records NP-33127
1984 Choices Star Song Records 710205386X
1985 Jump to Conclusions StarSong Records 7102060866
1986 Manifesto StarSong Records 7102074867
1989 Superpower Dayspring Records
1989 The Meek and the Mighty, a greatest hits anthology, StarSong Records