Raymond Howard Boltz (born June 14, 1953) is an American retired singer and songwriter who first came to notice in

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 ...

. Many of his songs tell stories of faith and inspiration.

Background

Raised by his parents William and Ruth Boltz in Muncie, Indiana, Ray Boltz is the middle of three children. Boltz was married to Carol (nee Brammer) Boltz for 33 years (1975-2008), and they have four children. Boltz graduated from Ball State University with a degree in business and marketing. Boltz was unknown when he wrote "Thank You", which won the Song of the Year prize at the 1990

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 ...

. His song "I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb" also won a Dove Award for Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year, at the 25th GMA Dove Awards in 1994. After the release of ''Songs from the Potter's Field'' in 2002, and his last tour in 2004, Boltz retired from the music industry. He separated from his wife in 2005 before moving to

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

, with their

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

being finalized in early 2008. On September 12, 2008, during an interview with the ''

Washington Blade The ''Washington Blade'' is an LGBTQ newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The ''Blade'' is the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the '' Philadelphia Gay News'' and the '' Gay City New ...

'', Boltz

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. Since then, Boltz has performed at several churches of the

Metropolitan Community Church The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming Christian denominations, LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. The ...

, a gay-affirming Christian denomination. In 2010, Boltz released the album ''True'', which won Album of the Year at the OUTMusic Awards. Boltz lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his husband Franco Sperduti, who is also his talent agent.

Discography

*1986 ''Watch the Lamb'' *1988 ''Thank You'' *1989 ''The Altar'' *1991 ''Another Child to Hold'' *1992 ''Seasons Change'' *1994 ''Allegiance'' *1995 ''The Concert of a Lifetime'' (live, RIAA Gold) *1996 ''No Greater Sacrifice'' *1997 ''A Christmas Album: Bethlehem Star'' *1998 ''Honor and Glory'' *2000 ''The Classics'' *2001 ''Concert of a Lifetime for Kids'' ive*2002 ''Songs from the Potter's Field'' *2004 ''The Unchanging Story'' *2010 ''True''

Compilation albums

*1994 ''Moments for the Heart'' (

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Gold Certified) *2001 ''Moments for the Heart, Vol. 1 & 2'' *2010 ''All The Best''

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boltz, Ray 1953 births Living people American male singer-songwriters American performers of Christian music American gay musicians Christian music songwriters LGBTQ people from Indiana LGBTQ Protestants American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ songwriters Gay songwriters People from Muncie, Indiana 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people Singer-songwriters from Indiana American gay writers Gay Christians