Mitchell McVicker is a

contemporary Christian music 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 Christianity, Chri ...

singer-songwriter.

Early life and education

McVicker was born in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

, to Doug and Wendee McVicker. He attended Shawnee Heights High School in

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, before studying at Allen County Community College. While there, he played for the college's basketball team and served as sports editor of the school newspaper, ''The ACCC Journal''. In 1993, he was recruited by

Friends University Friends University is a Private university, private Nondenominational Christianity, nondenominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield Uni ...

basketball coach Ron Heller to join their team, and began studying a degree in religion and philosophy. In his first year in the college's team he was a leading scorer, with an average 15.7 points per game.

Career

Collaborations with Rich Mullins

While studying at Friends University, McVicker became close friends with

(CCM) singer

Rich Mullins Richard Wayne Mullins (October 21, 1955 – September 19, 1997) was an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter best known for his contemporary worship music, worship songs "Awesome God" and "Sometimes by Step". Some of his ...

. Following their graduation in 1995, the pair moved to

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

together and Mullins began teaching music to children on a

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

reservation near

Window Rock, Arizona Window Rock, known in Navajo language, Navajo as Tségháhoodzání (), is a city and census-designated place that serves as the capital of the Navajo Nation, the largest List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States, Nativ ...

. He also began teaching music to McVicker, and the pair began to perform and write music together: they teamed up with David "Beaker" Strasser to write the 1997 musical ''The Canticle of the Plain'', based on the life of

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

. An album of the musical was released later that year, with McVicker singing on four songs. In September 1997, McVicker and Mullins recorded songs together in Chicago for the former's solo album, completing the recording on September 19. On that same day, they began travelling to Wichita, where Mullins was due to play at a benefit concert. During the journey, their vehicle swerved off the road and Mullins died after being thrown into the road. Neither man had been wearing seatbelts and McVicker was hospitalised by the accident. In 1998, McVicker performed on A Ragamuffin Band's Homeless Man tribute tour alongside other Mullins-associated acts like This Train and the Kid Brothers of St. Frank. In 1999, McVicker won the Song of the Year Dove Award as a co-writer of the song "My Deliverer" with Mullins.

Personal life

In 1999, McVicker was living in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. In 2017, he was married and living in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Album discography

* ''Mitch McVicker'' (1998) * ''Chasing the Horizon'' (2000) * ''Without Looking Down'' (2002) * ''Love Will Rise'' (2007) * ''Always Believe'' (2009) * ''Everything Shines'' (2010) * ''Walking Through the Dark'' (2011) * ''Underneath'' (2013) * ''The Grey: When Black & White Fade'' (2014) * ''The Acceptance of And'' (2018) *''A Shrugging of the Shoulders'' (2021) *''Behind the Lightning'' (2023) *''Where the Earth Makes No Sound'' (2024)

Other

* ''Canticle of the Plains'' (1997) * ''Music Inspired by the Motion Picture Ragamuffin (Based on the Life of Rich Mullins)'' (2014) *''Live in Morton'' (2016)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McVicker, Mitch Living people Friends University alumni American performers of Christian music Musicians from Topeka, Kansas Year of birth missing (living people)