Paul Janz (born 1951) is a Canadian theologian who was formerly a prominent singer-songwriter of

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

music in the mainstream and

contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

markets. He is known for such hits as "Every Little Tear", "One Night", "All I Have", "One Last Lie", "Believe In Me", "Go to Pieces", "Rocket to My Heart", "Close My Eyes", "Stand", "Prince Of Pain King Of Fools" and "I Won't Cry".

Career

Janz began his music career in the 1970s with his brother, cousin, and friends in several bands under the names Danny and Paul, Danny Paul and Wayne, the Janz Team Singers and, finally,

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...

. Brought up in a Mennonite family, he first learned the trumpet and by age 13 was engaged with his local chapter of the Salvation Army. Interested in Gospel music and rock, combined with a broad interest in music saw him record four albums with Deliverance in four years. These were successful in Germany and included 1979's ''Leaving LA'' which reached No. 56 on ''Billboard''. In 1984, he launched his solo career, which culminated in four projects with a string of chart-topping hits from each album. The first solo album recorded at Greenhouse Studios in Vancouver would achieve gold record status in Canada. In 1986, Michael Godin, who was vice president of A&R with A&M Records Canada, left to become Janz's manager. The success of his projects led to his nomination for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

, Canada's most prominent music award. Despite achieving great success in Canada, his U.S. record label's restructuring of its roster of artists led to the end of promotion in the American market. Janz's final project, ''Trust'', which was recorded under a co-partnership with the

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''Toronto St ...

label, continued the same lyrical compositions and melodic rhythms. Since that time, Janz has not released any new material. In 1981 he took part in the German selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "''Steine'' (Stones)". He finished tenth behind musicians like

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and

Peter Cornelius Carl August Peter Cornelius (24 December 1824 – 26 October 1874) was a German composer, writer about music, poet and translator. Life He was born in Mainz to Carl Joseph Gerhard (1793–1843) and Friederike (1789–1867) Cornelius, actors in ...

. Instead,

Lena Valaitis Lena Valaitis (born 7 September 1943) is a Lithuanian– German schlager singer who had her greatest success during the 1970s and 1980s. She finished second at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. Early life and education Valaitis was born on 7 S ...

was selected to represent Germany at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1981 The Eurovision Song Contest 1981 was the 26th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Dublin, Ireland, following the country's victory at the with the song "What's Another Year" performed by Johnny Logan. Organised by the Euro ...

with the song " Johnny Blue". The song has also been recorded in English with his band Deliverance, a longer version titled "Last Road to Forever". In 1989 ''Songwriter'' was released, an album distributed by the publisher, Irving Music of Canada, to promote Janz's songs to other artists and producers, not intended for commercial release. Prior to retiring, he was the Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology and Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. He formerly taught philosophy at

Trinity Western University Trinity Western University (TWU) is a Private university, private Christian liberal arts university with campuses in both Langley, British Columbia (district municipality), Langley and Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia. The ...

in Langley, British Columbia, and has written a book entitled ''God, the Mind's Desire: Reference, Reason and Christian Thinking'' published by Cambridge University Press. In 2004, Janz's first album, ''High Strung'', was re-released on CD for the first time by Escape Music in the UK. More recently, he has launched a new brand, Transformation Theology, a remake of

Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheranism, Lutheran pastor, Neo-orthodoxy, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazism, Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writin ...

's grass-root theology. His son Chris Janz was a recording artist and

GMA Canada The Gospel Music Association of Canada or GMA Canada (formerly known as the CGMA) is a not for profit association, founded in 1974, whose purpose is to promote Christian music in Canada. History GMA Canada is created in 1974 in Ontario with ...

Covenant Award The Covenant Awards are awarded to the Canadian gospel music industry by GMA Canada, the Gospel Music Association of Canada. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the growth and ministry of Christian music in Ca ...

winning songwriter and Covenant Award-nominated producer. Chris died in

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city in British Columbia next to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver, and the Fraser River. With a census population of 153,569 people (2021), it is the most populous municipality in the province outside metropol ...

on December 14, 2016.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''High Strung'' (1985) * ''Electricity'' (1987) * ''Renegade Romantic'' (1990) * ''Trust'' (1992)

Compilation albums

* ''Presence: A Collection of Hit Singles'' (1992)

Promotional albums

* ''Songwriter'' (1989)

with Deliverance

* '' To God Be the Glory'' (1976) * ''Give It a Try'' (1977) * ''Lasting Impressions'' (1978) * ''Tightrope'' (1979)

Singles

"Believe in Me" also reached No. 25 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart in 1987.

Notes

References

External links

Canconrox – Paul Janz biography

*
Professor Emeritus Paul Janz – King's College London biography
(copy archived June 10, 2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Janz, Paul 1951 births Living people 21st-century evangelicals 21st-century Christian theologians Academics of King's College London Alumni of the University of Cambridge Canadian Christian theologians 21st-century Canadian theologians Canadian emigrants to Switzerland Canadian expatriate academics in the United Kingdom Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian Mennonites Canadian performers of Christian music 20th-century Canadian philosophers 21st-century Canadian philosophers Canadian rock singers Evangelical theologians Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year winners Mennonite musicians Singers from Alberta People from Kneehill County Simon Fraser University alumni Systematic theologians Academic staff of Trinity Western University