Bart Marshall Millard (born December 1, 1972) is an American singer and songwriter who is best known as the leader of the band

MercyMe MercyMe is an American contemporary Christian music band founded in Edmond, Oklahoma. The band consists of lead vocalist Bart Millard, percussionist Robby Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul. The b ...

. He has also released two solo albums: '' Hymned, No. 1'', in 2005 and '' Hymned Again'' in 2008. He received a solo Grammy nomination in the category of Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album for the latter album.

Band career

In high school, Millard wanted to become a football player, a dream which ended when he injured both ankles at a high school football game. As a result, Millard took choir as an elective. Millard's father, Arthur Wesley Millard Jr., died in 1991, during Bart's first year of college, and his youth pastor invited him to work with the church's youth group worship band. Millard accepted and worked with the video and audio systems for the group. James (Jim) Bryson played piano for that band and later went on to play with Bart Millard and the worship band on a trip to Switzerland. This trip inspired Millard to pursue a full-time musical career. Millard and two of his friends, James Phillip Bryson and Michael John Scheuchzer, moved to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, and formed

. Since then, the band has recorded six independent, ten studio, two Christmas, and three compilation albums.

Solo career

Millard made a promise to his grandmother to record an album of hymns before she died, which he did with ''Hymned No. 1'', and he subsequently shared the story of how he was inspired by his grandmother's faith. Millard made the second of his two hymn albums because he realized that the church he was attending did not sing hymns and he wanted his children to have hymns as a part of their lives. Millard said his dad heavily influenced him in his musical direction with respect to the hymn albums, drawing particularly on

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

and Louie Prima. Millard stated that these influences would not be appropriate for MercyMe, as MercyMe is similar to

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

, while these hymns are more in the vein of Frank Sinatra. Millard said that he embarked on his solo effort in order to give expression to musical styles that would not have been compatible with MercyMe. Millard said that they sang a Hank Williams song called " I Saw the Light" in his church growing up. The title of ''Hymned Again'' is a "tongue-in-cheek" reference to the first album. The first album was an effort to make songs that he did not particularly care about cooler, and the second album was created to achieve a Kansas City swing/shuffle mood in the vein of Louie Prima, Harry Connick Jr. and

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

, which is what was achieved. According to Greer, this album was very reminiscent of '' She'' by Connick, which was done five or six times according to Millard. Millard said he accomplished this by listening to a stack of albums by these musicians. Millard said the songs on the album ''Hymned Again'' are in the tradition of the Great Revival era musically, but that this was not done on purpose. Millard said the one original song on the album, entitled "Jesus Cares for Me", was written by

Thad Cockrell Thad Aaron Cockrell is an American singer-songwriter. He has released five solo albums, along with a collaborative album with Caitlin Cary and two albums with LEAGUES. Cockrell often writes emotional songs with the intent of inclusion. Early lif ...

, a song that, according to the singer, "could’ve been written 50, 60 years ago." Millard nervously asked

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

to participate on the album. On the possibility of a future "Hymned" effort, Millard said, "Man, I hope so." Millard is featured as a vocalist on "I See Love," a 2004 single by

Third Day Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee (both of whom were the only constant members) and Billy Wilkins. Drummer David Carr was the ...

and

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 ...

. He is also featured as a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Phil Wickham Philip David Wickham (born April 5, 1984) is a Contemporary Christian musician, singer and songwriter from San Diego, California. Wickham has released nine albums: ''Give You My World'' in 2003, a self-titled album in 2006, ''Cannons'' in 2007 ...

's 2009 single " Safe."

Awards

Millard was called the Best Male Vocalist by '' Christianity Today'' in 2005, for his work on his solo album ''Hymned No. 1'' and for '' The Christmas Sessions'' album with his band MercyMe. Millard's ''Hymned No. 1'' was called the No. 9 best album of the year by ''Christianity Today'' in 2005.

Film

Millard's song " I Can Only Imagine" was inspired by his father's death, and was made into a film also titled '' I Can Only Imagine''. The film was released on March 16, 2018.

Personal life

Millard is from

Greenville, Texas Greenville is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, about northeast of Dallas. It is the county seat and largest city of Hunt County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,557, and in 2019, its estimated population was 28,827. ...

. He and his wife Shannon have five children: Sam, Gracie, Charlie, Sophie and Miles.

Discography

Albums

Guest appearances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Millard, Bart 1972 births American performers of Christian music American rock singers Fair Trade Services artists Living people Singers from Texas People from Greenville, Texas Songwriters from Texas 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers American male songwriters