Billy Sprague (born July 17, 1952) is an American

Christian pop Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as 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 Christian faith a ...

singer, songwriter, and producer. Sprague was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, to William Sprague and Oteka (Barnes) Sprague. He was raised in

Borger, Texas Borger ( ) is the largest city in Hutchinson County, Texas, Hutchinson County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,551 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Borger is named for businessman Asa Philip "Ace" Borger, who also est ...

. He attended

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

, graduating in 1979, then studied English in a Master's program at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

.Mark Allan Powell, ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music''. Hendrickson Publishers, 2002, pp. 856-857. Starting in 1981 he played in

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began her music career in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the mid-1980s. Grant has been referred to as "Honorific ...

's backup band, and also embarked on a songwriting career. His compositions would be recorded by

Brown Bannister Elliott Brown Bannister III (born August 15, 1951) is a contemporary Christian music (CCM) producer and songwriter. Biography Bannister released one album of his own, ''Talk to One Another'', in 1981 on NewPax Records. It was reissued on the Reuni ...

, Gary Chapman,

Sandi Patty Sandra Faye "Sandi" Patty (born July 12, 1956) is an American Christian music singer, known for her wide soprano vocal range and expressive flexibility. Biography Early life Patty was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, into a family of musician ...

, Bebe and

Cece Winans Priscilla Marie Love, known professionally by her stage name as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer who has garnered 17 Grammy Awards, the most for any female gospel singer; 33 GMA Dove Awards, 19 Stellar Awards, ...

Kathy Troccoli Kathleen Troccoli (; born June 24, 1958) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, author, and speaker. Early life and family Born in Brooklyn, New York, Troccoli was raised in Islip Terrace, Long Island, New York, w ...

, and

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the G ...

. He began recording under his own name in 1984, releasing an album, ''What a Way To Go'', produced by

Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian music, contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This Worl ...

. A second album, ''Serious Fun'', followed in 1986, featuring production by

Wayne Kirkpatrick Wayne Kirkpatrick (born c. 1961) is an American songwriter and musician born in Greenville, MS, who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from Baton Rouge Magnet High School in 1979. His younger brother is American screenwriter and d ...

and a song co-written by Chris Rodriguez. Sprague ceased recording and performing in 1989 after his fiancé was killed in a

car crash A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

while driving to one of his concerts, not returning until 1992. During this time he continued working as a producer, and produced the album ''Friends Forever Part 2'', which won a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

for Best Musical Album in 1990. Switching to

Benson Records Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, ...

, Sprague released ''Torn Between Two Worlds'' in 1992 and ''The Wind and the Wave'' in 1993. In 1994, he married, and continued songwriting through the decade of the 1990s. In 2015, Sprague released a new album, ''Songs In The Key Of Awe'', after a successful fundraising campaign on Kickstarter. In 2024, Sprague launched a web site
www.billysprague.com
for books and new or out-of-print music not available on any streaming platforms.

Discography

*''What a Way to Go'' (

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

, 1984) *''Serious Fun'' (Reunion, 1986) *''La Vie'' (Reunion, 1988) *''I Wish'' (Reunion, 1989) *''Torn Between Two Worlds'' (

, 1992) *''The Wind and the Wave'' (Benson, 1993) *''Soundtrack of My Soul'' (Mission Music, 2004) *''Songs to a Grieving Heart'' (2005, companion to book) *''Songs In The Key Of Awe'' (Independent, 2015) *''Hope Rope'' (Independent, 2024)

Books

Nonfiction

* ''Ice Cream as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe'' (2000) * ''Letter to a Grieving Heart'' (2001) * ''Is God Really There? And is He Good'' (2002) * ''Sacred vs. Shinola: Letters to my children from the kitchen table'' (2024)

Fiction

* ''Music City Mayhymn'' (2023) * ''Untamable'' (2023)

For children

* ''A Friend Should Be Drastic, Gymnastic, but Most of All, Elastic'' (1990) * ''A Friend Should Be Radical, Fanatical, but Most of All, Mathematical'' (1990) * ''A Friend Should Be Athletic, Poetic, but Most of All, Magnetic'' (1990) * ''A Friend Should Be a Magician, a Physician, but Mostly Fond O' Fishin (1990)

References

1952 births Living people Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Record producers from Oklahoma Songwriters from Oklahoma Singers from Oklahoma American male songwriters American performers of Christian music American male singers {{Oklahoma-stub