First Call

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This article is about the Christian music group. For the bugle call, see First call.

First Call is a Christian Contemporary music (CCM) group, originally consisting of Melodie Tunney, Marty McCall, and Bonnie Keen. ^[1] Melodie's husband, Dick Tunney, acted as the arranger and producer for many of the groups early projects.

In the 1970's, Marty was a member of a band called Fireworks ^[2], while Bonnie was pursuing a career in musical theater^[3]. They met at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee, singing backup for other singers and recording commercial jingles. Dick Tunney, met the two during such a session and struck up a friendship, introducing them to his singer-wife, Melodie. The three saw a benefit in marketing themselves as a ready-made trio for back-up vocals and other studio recordings. They were considered the "first call" by music producers -- first choice for studio work. But the term also fit with their belief in making their Christian beliefs first in their lives. ^[4]

None of the three initially foresaw a recording or touring career. As a side project to their backing vocal careers, they agreed to record an a cappella Christmas album called “An Evening In December.” The album sold very well on the Contemporary Christian market, and propelled the trio into their own music projects. ^[5] Offers began to come in from high profile CCM artists such as Amy Grant and Sandi Patty to join them on tour. Their first album of non-Christmas music, "Undivided" (1986) was followed by "Something Takes Over" (1987) and "God Is Good" (1989). The two Christmas music collections, "An Evening in December" Volumes I (1985) and Volume II (1987), have long been bestsellers in the group's catalog. Many comparisons have been made to the group's style similarity to the recording group Manhattan Transfer^[6].

Around 1989, Melodie expressed a desire to try different styles of music, and left the group in 1990, yet continued her friendship with Marty and Bonnie. ^[7] ^[8] MaraBeth Jordan, another session singer, joined the group's ranks. ^[9]

The new line-up saw two successful albums, Human Song (1992) and Sacred Journey (1993). Unfortunately, MaraBeth was involved in a highly publicized affair with fellow CCM artist Michael English in 1994, both of whom were married to other people at the time. The media attention surrounding the affair lost them their record deal and MaraBeth left the group shortly thereafter ^[10].

After the incident, Melodie Tunney returned to the group for a short period to try and reduce damage to the group's image and complete their touring obligations. She also lent her vocals to several projects in which the group was currently involved. In late 1994 First Call acted as the backup group for David L Cook's Inspirational single, "When Heaven is My Home." The song was written and produced for Cook by Dick Tunney.

After signing with Warner Alliance, another Christmas album, 1995's "Beyond December" and the eponymously-titled album "First Call" of 1996 were recorded by Marty and Bonnie as a duo. ^[11]

After reuniting the original group to record two songs for some compilation projects, music publishers Discovery House signed the members of the original line-up to record together again. Their new collection, entitled "Rejoice" was released in 2006.^[12]

[edit] Awards

First Call was a recipient of GMA Dove Awards in the "Group of the Year" category for both 1988^[13] and 1989^[14]. They also have multiple Grammy-nominations^[15].