Michael Passons is an American singer-songwriter and the founding member of the Christian band

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

Biography

Michael Passons was born and raised in

Yazoo City, Mississippi Yazoo City is the county seat of Yazoo County, Mississippi, Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in referen ...

, and as a toddler, began to sing and play piano. As a young musician, Passons was influenced by music from the small country church where his family attended, and also popular mainstream singer/piano player artists like Elton John and Lionel Richie. Michael went on to attend

Mississippi College Mississippi College (MC) is a private university affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention and located in Clinton, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1826, MC is the second oldest Baptists, Baptist-affiliated college or university in ...

where he graduated with a degree in classical piano. He joined a college band his senior year, and after graduating, toured nationally several summers with a New Jersey–based band. Passons moved to Nashville in 1990 and began working with fellow musicians. It was there that Grant Cunningham, a

Sparrow Records Sparrow Records is a Christian music record label and a division of Universal Music Group. History Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then artists and repertoire (A&R) director at Myrrh Records. Barry McGuire was the fi ...

(EMI) A&R director, caught his performance at a February 1995 Nashville showcase. This pivotal meeting led to Passons becoming the founding member of the Christian pop group,

.Christian Music Lighthouse Michael Passons Bio
The band made its debut in November 1995, in San Jose, California, at the start of the multi-city arena tour, "The Young Messiah," alongside such artists as

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 cont ...

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, ...

and

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 ...

. This proved to be an excellent launching pad for Avalon who, during Passons' tenure, later garnered two

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

s, twenty No. 1 radio singles, six GMA awards, two

GRAMMY The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominations, a 2003

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

for, "Favorite Artist Contemporary Inspiration," and their hit song, " Testify to Love," would eventually be named one of the top

gospel song Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compos ...

s of all time. After eight years with Avalon, Passons left the group in 2003. After years of public statements by Avalon to the contrary, Passons confirmed in a 2020 podcast interview that he was forced out of the group because he was gay and that he ultimately refused to attend

reparative therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have been ...

. "Avalon showed up at my house and told me I was no longer in the group ... And it was all because of who I am." Since leaving Avalon, Michael has been an opening act on tour with fellow Christian group,

Point of Grace Point of Grace is an all-female contemporary Christian music vocal group. The current trio consists of Shelley Breen, Denise Jones, and Leigh Cappillino. The group started out as a quartet in 1991, with original members Breen and Jones, as wel ...

. He has also collaborated with Country Music singer

Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone Herndon (born May 2, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His music career began in the 1980s as a member of the Tennessee River Boys, a predecessor to the country band Diamond Rio. Herndon quit the band early on ...

and Broadway star

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

to record a new inclusive version of Avalon's 2006 song "Orphans of God".

References

External links

Entertainmentwatch.net - An Interview with Michael Passons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Passons, Michael 1965 births Living people American Christians American gospel musicians American male pianists American gay musicians LGBTQ people from Mississippi People from Yazoo City, Mississippi Singer-songwriters from Mississippi 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people American male singer-songwriters