Sparrow Records is a

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aroun ...

record label and a division of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

History

Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by

Billy Ray Hearn Billy Ray Hearn (April 26, 1929April 15, 2015) was the founder and chairman of the Capitol Christian Music Group (formerly EMI Christian Music Group) the world's largest Christian music label.McNeil, W. K. Encyclopedia of American gospel music. ...

, then

artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire ( colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentali ...

(A&R) director at

Myrrh Records __NOTOC__ Myrrh Records (also known as Myrrh Worship) was an American Christian music record label. According to ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music'', the label was instrumental in developing a popular following for contemporary Christian ...

. Purchased by Thorn EMI in 1992, Sparrow's parent underwent a

demerger A demerger is a form of corporate restructuring in which the entity's business operations are segregated into one or more components. It is the converse of a merger or acquisition. A demerger can take place through a spin-off by distributed or t ...

four years later to become the EMI Group, and the label is now part of the

Capitol Christian Music Group Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG) (formerly known as EMI Christian Music Group) is an American music group that, since 2013, is under the ownership of Universal Music Group. It is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Capitol CMG is in the C ...

. Sparrow Records rose to prominence with the signing of singer, songwriter, Contemporary Christian musician and minister Keith Green. Within a year of his 1976 signing by Sparrow, Green was the top selling Christian artist in America. As of 2009, Sparrow's artists include

Britt Nicole Brittany Nicole Waddell, better known by her stage name Britt Nicole (born August 2, 1984) is an American vocalist, songwriter and recording artist. She has mainly charted as a Christian pop artist, but in 2012 found her debut mainstream single, ...

Chris Tomlin Christopher Dwayne Tomlin (born May 4, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, and worship leader from Grand Saline, Texas, United States, who has sold over 7 million records. He is a member of Passion Conferences an ...

, Mandisa,

Matt Redman Matthew James Redman (born 14 February 1974) is an English Christian worship leader, singer-songwriter and author. Redman has released 16 albums, written 8 books, and helped start three church-plants. He is best known for his two-time Grammy Aw ...

Matthew West Matthew Joseph West (born April 25, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs "More", "You Are Everything", and " The Motions". He was nomin ...

Steven Curtis Chapman Steven Curtis Chapman (born November 21, 1962) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist. Chapman began his career in the late 1980s as a songwriter and performer of conte ...

and

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, ...

. Since 1996, a popular production of Sparrow Records has been the annual '' WOW Hits''

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Christi ...

series. In 1998, the WOW franchise then added the annual '' WOW Gospel'' series of albums. The ''

WOW Worship "WOW" is a series of annual compilation albums featuring contemporary Christian music dating from 1995. Comprising songs submitted by each partner label, the annual ''WOW Hits'' releases are usually double CD sets. The series was officially cance ...

'' series was introduced in 1999, an annual compilation of the greatest hits in

contemporary worship music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are fr ...

Roster

* Riley Clemmons * Jimi Cravity *

Crowder Crowder may refer to: Places in the United States * Crowder, Oklahoma * Crowder, Mississippi * Crowder, Missouri *Crowder College * Fort Crowder Other uses *Crowder (musician), contemporary Christian musician * Crowder (surname) *Crowder, someone ...

* Kristene DiMarco *

Colton Dixon Michael Colton Dixon (born October 19, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter and musician from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He placed seventh on the eleventh season of ''American Idol''. Early life Colton Dixon was born Michael Colton Dixon on Oct ...

(with

19 Recordings 19 Recordings Inc. (registered in the United Kingdom as 19 Recordings Ltd.) is a New York-based record label owned by 19 Entertainment. Founded in London by British entrepreneur Simon Fuller in 1999 as the music division of 19 Entertainment, the ...

) * Jon Foreman *

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

* Hillsong United *

Hillsong Worship Hillsong Worship (formerly Hillsong Live) is a praise and worship collective from Sydney, Australia and Orange County, California. They started making music in 1983 at Hillsong Church. Fifteen of their songs have appeared on the ''Billboard'' m ...

Hillsong Young & Free Hillsong Young & Free (also known as Hillsong Y&F or simply Young & Free or Y&F) is an Australian contemporary worship music group from Sydney, Australia, where they started making Christian music in 2012 at Hillsong Church. They have released ...

* Mandisa *

Mosaic MSC Mosaic MSC is a contemporary worship music band from Mosaic Church in Los Angeles, California. The band is led by Worship Pastor Mariah McManus. The band have released three live albums and three extended plays. History Mosaic MSC recorded i ...

Shawn McDonald Shawn Michael McDonald (born September 4, 1977) is a Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Chri ...

* NF (with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

) *

(with

) * Christy Nockels *

Nichole Nordeman Nichole Ellyse Nordeman (born January 3, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian singer and songwriter. Biography Nordeman was raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she played the piano in church. She got her start when she entered ...

* Passion * Rend Collective (with Rend Family Records) * Kristian Stanfill * The Young Escape *

We the Kingdom We the Kingdom is an American contemporary Christian music band signed to the Capitol Christian Music Group. The band consists of multiple generations of relatives: Andrew Bergthold, Ed Cash, Franni Rae Cash, Martin Cash, and Scott Cash. The ba ...

Tauren Wells Tauren Gabriel Wells is an American singer, songwriter, and multi instrumentalist from Houston, Texas who is known for making contemporary Christian music. Biography Wells was a founding member of Royal Tailor along with DJ Cox and Blake Hubb ...

Former

2nd Chapter of Acts The 2nd Chapter of Acts was a Jesus music and early contemporary Christian music group composed of sisters Annie Herring and Nelly Greisen and brother Matthew Ward. They began performing in 1972 and enjoyed their period of greatest success du ...

(disbanded) *

Above the Golden State Above the Golden State was an American Christian rock band from Portland, Oregon. Their self-titled debut album, ''Above the Golden State'', was released on July 22, 2008 through Sparrow Records. The band's first single from the album was "Sound ...

* Susan Ashton (active, unsigned) *

Audrey Assad Audrey Nicole Assad (born July 1, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums and four EPs. Early life Audrey Assad's mother was from Virginia and her father is a Syrian-born refugee. She was raised Protestant ...

(active, independent) *

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

(active, with Red Street Records) * Margaret Becker (active, with

Kingsway Music David C. Cook is an American nonprofit Christian publisher based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded as a provider of Sunday school curriculum and remains a major publisher of such materials. It also publishes fiction and nonfiction b ...

) *

Bellarive Bellarive was a Christian pop rock band that originated in Orlando, Florida in 2009. The band is composed of Sean Curran (vocals, keys and guitar), Melissa Mage (vocals and percussion), Mike Mage (programming, guitar and vocals), Zach Glotffelty ...

Dan Bremnes Daniel Jobiah Bremnes (born May 11, 1983) is a Canadian Christian musician, guitarist, and drummer. He released four studio albums, ''Your Strength'' (2010), '' Where the Light Is'' (2015), '' Wherever I Go'' (2019), and ''Into the Wild'' (2022), ...

* Steve Camp (active, unsigned) *

Michael Card Michael Card (born April 11, 1957) is an American, Christian singer-songwriter, musician, author, and radio host from Franklin, Tennessee. He is best known for his contributions in contemporary Christian music, which combine folk-style melod ...

(active, unsigned) * Marcos Vidal (active, unsigned) *

Carman In Celtic mythology, Carman or Carmun was a warrior and sorceress from Athens who tried to invade Ireland in the days of the Tuatha Dé Danann, along with her three sons, Dub ("black"), Dother ("evil") and Dian ("violence"). She used her magica ...

(deceased) *

(active, with

Reunion Records Reunion Records is a contemporary Christian record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee, that operates under the Provident Label Group. The label was founded in 1982, by Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton. History The label was formed by Amy Grant's ...

) * City Harbor * Daryl Coley (deceased) * David Crowder*Band (disbanded, had moved to sixstepsrecords) * Danyew *

Delirious? Delirious? (formerly known as The Cutting Edge Band) were an English contemporary Christian band. For the majority of their career, the lineup featured Martin Smith on vocals and guitar, Stu G (full name Stuart Garrard) on guitar and backing v ...

(disbanded) * Bethany Dillon (active) * Dogs of Peace (active) *

Earthsuit Earthsuit was a New Orleans-based Christian rock band formed in 1995. The band consisted of guitarist Dave Rumsey, keyboardist/vocalist Paul Meany, bassist Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas, Roy Mitchell, drummer David "Hutch" Hutchison, and vocalist Adam L ...

(disbanded) * The Elms (disbanded) *

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) ...

(active, with GospoCentric Records) *

Peter Furler Peter Andrew Furler (born 8 September 1966) is an Australian musician, songwriter, producer and record executive, best known as the co-founder and former lead vocalist of the Christian rock band Newsboys. Biography Furler was born in McLare ...

(active, independent) * Keith Green (deceased) * Steve Green (active, unsigned) *

Rickey Grundy Ricky R. Grundy (January 30, 1959 – July 27, 2015), who went by the stage name Rickey Grundy, was an American gospel musician and leader of The Rickey Grundy Chorale. He started his music career in 1988, with Sparrow Records releasing ''Spiri ...

, (active, independent) * Charlie Hall (active, with sixstepsrecords) *

Matt Hammitt Matt Hammitt (born October 19, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, speaker and author. He was the lead singer for Sanctus Real, which has released seven studio albums with Sparrow Records, toured internationally and released 14 top five ...

* Tramaine Hawkins *

Tim Hughes Timothy David Llewelyn Hughes (born 23 July 1977) is a British worship leader, singer, songwriter, and Anglican priest. Formerly the director of worship at Holy Trinity Brompton, a large Anglican church in central London, he has since been o ...

(active, with

Survivor Records Survivor Records is a British Christian Music record label and is a sub-ministry of Kingsway Communications. The label launched in 1997 as a medium by which to publish music associated with the Soul Survivor events. One of the first artists s ...

) * Kari Jobe (active, with

) *

Jump5 Jump5 was an American Christian teen pop group active from 1999 until 2007. The group was made up of five members from Nashville: Brandon and Brittany Hargest, Chris Fedun, Lesley Moore and Libby Hodges. After Libby Hodges left in 2004, Natash ...

(disbanded) *

Phil Keaggy Philip Tyler Keaggy (born March 23, 1951) is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 55 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets. H ...

(active) *

Donald Lawrence Donald Lawrence (born May 4, 1961, Gastonia, North Carolina) is an American gospel music songwriter, record producer and artist. He is best known for his Grammy Award-nominated songs "The Blessing of Abraham" and "Encourage Yourself". He studied ...

* Luminate *

Barry McGuire Barry McGuire (born October 15, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter primarily known for his 1965 hit " Eve of Destruction". Later he would pioneer as a singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian music. Early life McGuire was born in O ...

(active, unsigned) *

Geoff Moore and the Distance Geoff Moore (born February 22, 1961) is an American contemporary Christian music singer. He began recording as a solo artist in 1984. In 1987, he formed Geoff Moore and The Distance, his touring band, which released eight albums generating a st ...

(disbanded) * Michael W. Smith (active, with Rocketown Records) *

Needtobreathe Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Seth Bolt (backing vocals, bass), Josh Lovelace (backing vocals, keys), Randall ...

(active, with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

) *

Newsboys Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, the band has released 17 studio albums, 6 of which ...

(active, with Fair Trade Services) * Christy Nockels (active, with sixstepsrecords) *

Out of the Grey Out of the Grey is a husband-and-wife Contemporary Christian music project consisting of Scott and Christine Denté. Christine provides lead vocals, while Scott plays guitars and sings background, along with the occasional lead vocals. They have r ...

(on hiatus) * Twila Paris (active, with

Koch Records MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...

) *

Charlie Peacock Charles William Ashworth (born August 10, 1956), known professionally as Charlie Peacock, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and author. His albums include ''Love Press Ex-Curio'', ''Arc of the Circle'' and ''No Man's L ...

(active, independent) *

Marty Raybon Marty Raybon (born December 8, 1959) is an American country music artist. He is known primarily for his role as the lead singer of the country band Shenandoah, a role which he held from 1985 to 1997, until he rejoined the band in 2014. He rec ...

(active, with

Integrity Music Integrity Music is part of the David C Cook nonprofit group. Founded as a direct-to-consumer music club in 1987 as ''Integrity Music'', Integrity was at the forefront of contemporary worship music's widespread popularity of praise and worship mu ...

) * Resurrection Band * Sanctus Real (active, with Fair Trade Services) * Sarah Reeves *

Samestate Samestate was an American Christian alternative rock band originating from Kansas City, Kansas. Band members included Dalton Diehl on vocals, piano and guitar, Darren Harms on guitar and Ryan Lytle on the bass guitar. Their first studio album, ...

Robbie Seay Band Robbie Seay Band (aka RSB) is a Christian contemporary band located in Houston, Texas. The band has led worship and performed all over the country for many years. Currently, Robbie, Ryan & Dave lead worship in the Northwest part of Houston. Many o ...

(active, unsigned) *

Something Like Silas Something Like Silas was an American Christian alternative rock band from San Diego, California. Background The band played at the Hume Lake Hume Lake is a reservoir in the Sierra Nevada, within Sequoia National Forest and Fresno Count ...

* Soulfire Revolution * Aaron Spiro (active, unsigned) * Kristian Stanfill (active, with sixstepsrecords) * Starfield (active, independent) *

(active, with lowercase people records) (Switchfoot still has a distribution agreement with Sparrow Records) *

Russ Taff Russell Taff (born November 11, 1953) is an American gospel singer and songwriter who grew up in Farmersville, California. He has sung a variety of musical styles throughout his career including: pop rock, traditional Southern gospel, contemp ...

(active, with Springhouse Records) *

John Michael Talbot John Michael Talbot (born May 8, 1954) is an American Christian musician, author, television presenter and founder of a monastic community known as the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. Life and career Talbot was born into a Methodist family wi ...

(active, with Troubadour for the Lord) * Steve Taylor * Dave Thrush (active, independent) *

(active, with sixstepsrecords) *

Michelle Tumes Michelle Louise Tumes (born 1971) is an Australian contemporary Christian musician from Adelaide. In 1993, she moved to the United States and has released five studio albums, ''Listen'' (1998), ''Center of My Universe'' (2000), ''Dream'' (2001), ...

(active, with

EMI CMG Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG) (formerly known as EMI Christian Music Group) is an American music group that, since 2013, is under the ownership of Universal Music Group. It is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Capitol CMG is in the Ch ...

) * James Vincent * The Waiting (active, independent) * Sheila Walsh * Matthew Ward (active, independent) *

* Lisa Whelchel *

White Heart White Heart, also listed as Whiteheart, was an American contemporary Christian music and pop-rock band which formed in 1982. White Heart's discography includes thirteen albums, the most recent of which was released in 1997. Original members Bill ...

* Josh Wilson (active on Black River Christian) * Deniece Williams (last worked, with

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word '' seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distrib ...

) * ZOEgirl (disbanded) *

Danniebelle Hall Danniebelle Hall (October 6, 1938 – December 28, 2000), was an American gospel musician, recording artist, songwriter. Biography Early life Danniebelle Hall was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the fourth of eight children. She was born ...

(deceased) * West Angeles Church of God in Christ Mass Choir and Congregation ("Saints in Praise" series) *

The Archers (musical group) The Archers were an American contemporary Christian music group. They were originally brothers Tim and Steve Archer, Fred Satterfield, Nancye Short and Billy Rush Masters. After Masters and Short departed in 1977, sister Janice Archer joined. ...

Compilations

* ''Firewind: A Contemporary Dramatic Musical'' (1976) * ''Christmas'' (1988) * '' Passion: Awakening'' (2010)

References

Sparrow projects

* WOW Worship Series

External links

Official site

EMI Christian Music Group
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1976 Universal Music Group Gospel music record labels 1976 establishments in Tennessee

History

Roster

Former

Compilations

See also

References

Sparrow projects

External links