JAG was a

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...

band that recorded during the early 1990s. The band's name is an acronym for the band's founder and lead singer, John Allen Garies. John "Johnny" Allen Garies, Jr. (November 11, 1952 – August 5, 2007) was born in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

to John A. "Oscar" Garies, Sr. and Shirley A. (Gray) Garies, one of three children (Michael and Wendy, his two siblings). Garies started playing drums at age 10 and taught himself to play guitar and piano. Graduating in 1971 from Channelview High School in

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, and was estimated to be 5,009,302 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, most populous cou ...

, John attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. He married his wife, Ricka Cox around 1973, with whom he had two children, John Joel and Annie Grace."Deaths in Review; Nation & World.(B)(Obituary)." ''

The Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

'' (August 12, 2007): 2. General OneFile
Gale
LIRN. November 11, 2007.Online Memorial: John A Garies, Jr.
November 11, 2007. Building on his passion for music, Garies formed JAG in the late 1980s. JAG's original lineup for their 1990 debut, ''The Longest Road'' included guitarist J. Paul Brittain, guitarist and keyboardist Joel McCreight, bassist Tim Hall, drummer Chuck Connor, and Garies on lead vocals. Their 1991 follow up ''The Only World in Town'' traded McCreight for Michael Lusk and featured additional help from drummer

Chris McHugh Chris McHugh (born 1964) is an American musician from Camden, NJ. He began his career as the drummer of Christian rock band White Heart from 1986 to 1989. McHugh toured and played as a session drummer with artists such as Aaron Neville, Pe ...

and guitarists, Jim Williams,

Dale Oliver Dale Oliver is an American music composer, guitarist and producer, who is signed to TNA, where he is the head of TNA Knockout Music. Oliver was formerly a guitarist for the American country music group Blackhawk, Reba McEntire, Steven Curtis Ch ...

(originally of

Geoff Moore 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 ...

's band) and Giant's

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer, studio guitarist, and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004 ...

. Produced by frequent CCM-session keyboardist Blair Masters, JAG's final album, ''Fire in the Temple'', featured songs written by Garies, and the likes of

Billy Smiley Billy Smiley (born October 19, 1957 in Farmington, Michigan, United States) is a music producer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for being one of the core members of the Christian rock band White Heart. He was the band's guitarist and ...

and

Mark Gersmehl Mark "Gersh" Gersmehl (born July 29, 1954) is a contemporary Christian musician who is best known as one of the founding members of the Christian rock group White Heart. He and guitarist Billy Smiley were the only two original members of the band t ...

and performed by players Gordon Kennedy,

and

Tommy Sims Tommy Sims is an American bassist, songwriter, record producer and bandleader. Music career From 1987 to 1989 Sims was the bassist for the Christian rock band White Heart, which he left to become a Session musician, studio musician and pro ...

, all of whom were current or former members of the group

Whiteheart 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 ...

, a band's sound to which JAG is oft-compared.MusicMight Biography: JAG
Retrieved November 11, 2007. Fire in the Temple Overview Retrieved November 11, 2007. Beyond life as a recording artist and songwriter, Garies once owned Garies Enterprises and a franchise of Precision Tune Shops in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Upon his death from liver disease on August 5, 2007, Garies worked for

Coach USA Coach USA, LLC is a holding company for various American transportation service providers providing scheduled intercity bus service, local and commuter bus transit, city sightseeing, tour, yellow school bus, and charter bus service across the ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''The Longest Road'' (1990) (Remastered CD, Girder Records, 2020) * ''The Only World In Town'' (1991) (Remastered CD, Girder Records, 2020) * ''Fire in the Temple'' (1992) (Remastered CD, Girder Records, 2020)

John A. Garies Solo

* ''It's Your Choice'' (1987) (Remastered CD, Girder Records, 2020)

Compilation appearances

* "The Last Time I Looked" (from ''On the Edge: The Cutting Edge of Christian Music'') (1991)

References

External links

* *
MusicMight: JAG
{{DEFAULTSORT:JAG (John Allen Garies) American Christian rock groups Musical groups established in the 1990s