''Priority'' is the 27th studio album by the

Christian music Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christianity, Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence and lament, and its f ...

group

The Imperials The Imperials is an American contemporary Christian music group that has been active for over 60 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There ...

, released in late 1980 on

DaySpring Records Word Records is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records, and is a part of Word Entertainment. It is distributed by Warner Records (the former Warner Bros. Records). History In 19 ...

. It is the second album that the group has collaborated with well-known musician/producer

Michael Omartian Michael S. Omartian (born November 26, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, keyboardist, and music producer. He produced number-one records in three consecutive decades. He has earned 11 Grammy Awards nominations and won three. H ...

, their first being their previous album '' One More Song for You'' (1979). In 1982, the Imperials won their fourth and, to date, final

Grammy Award 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 ...

for Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational at the

24th Grammy Awards The 24th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1982, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and were broadcast live on American television. The event recognized the accomplishments of musicians during the year 1981. Quincy Jones was t ...

and at the 13th GMA Dove Awards, they were named Group of the Year and ''Priority'' was named Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. Lead singer

Russ Taff Russell Taff (born November 11, 1953) is an American gospel singer and songwriter who grew up in Farmersville, California. He has sung a variety of musical styles throughout his career including: pop rock, traditional Southern gospel, contempo ...

won his second Dove Award for Male Vocalist of the Year, winning back-to-back. Prior to the award ceremonies, Taff had left the group in 1981 to begin his solo career and started work on his debut album '' Walls of Glass'' (1983) before being replaced by

Paul Smith Paul Smith is the name of: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (English singer) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of British in ...

as the new lead singer. ''Priority'' gave the Imperials their second number-one album on ''

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 ...

'' magazine's Top Inspirational Albums chart.

Track listing

All music and lyrics by

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

and

Stormie Omartian Stormie Omartian (; born September 16, 1942) is an American Christian author. She is married to Michael Omartian, with whom she recorded five musical albums before she launched her writing career. Early career Omartian aspired to be a singer an ...

, except where noted.

Personnel

The Imperials *

– lead vocals * Jim Murray – tenor, vocals * David Will – baritone, vocals * Armond Morales – bass, vocals Musicians *

– keyboards *

Marty Walsh Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and trade union official who served as the 58th mayor of Boston from 2014 to 2021 and as the 29th United States Secretary of Labor from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Democr ...

– guitars *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the fathe ...

– bass *

Paul Leim Paul William Leim (born December 29, 1950) is an American drummer and recording session musician based in Nashville. Biography Leim was born in Port Huron, Michigan and raised in Troup, Texas. He was inspired to take up drumming as a child a ...

– drums *

Alex Acuña Alejandro Neciosup Acuña (born December 12, 1944), known professionally as Alex Acuña, is a Peruvian–American jazz drummer and percussionist. He has also worked as an educator at University of California, Los Angeles, and Berklee College of ...

–

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s * Kim Hutchcroft – saxophones, sax solos *

Jackie Kelso John Joseph Kelson Jr. (February 27, 1922 – April 28, 2012), known professionally as Jackie Kelso, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Kelson was the eldest child of John Jose ...

– saxophones * Dick Hyde – trombone * Lew McCreary – trombone *

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical ab ...

– trumpet * Steve Madaio – trumpet * Assa Drori – concertmaster * Myrna Matthews – additional backing vocals * Marti McCall – additional backing vocals *

– additional backing vocals Production *

– producer, arrangements * John Guess – engineer, remixing * Ken Perry – mastering at Capitol Mastering (Hollywood, California) * Yvonne Garcia – production coordinator * Bob Anderson – layout, photography

Charts

Radio singles

Accolades

Grammy Awards 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 ...

GMA Dove Awards 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 excep ...

*1982 Group of the Year

References

{{Authority control 1980 albums The Imperials albums Word Records albums Albums produced by Michael Omartian