''Under Their Influence'' is the fifth studio album by Christian singer-songwriter

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 ...

, released in 1991 on

Myrrh Records __NOTOC__ Myrrh Records (also known as Myrrh Worship) was an American Christian music record label. According to ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music'', the label was instrumental in developing a popular following for contemporary Christian m ...

. It is an album of traditional spiritual covers that pays tribute to

Blind Willie Johnson Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945), commonly known as Blind Willie Johnson, was an American gospel blues singer and guitarist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930, thirty songs in all, display a combinat ...

Brother Joe May Brother Joe May (November 9, 1912 – July 14, 1972) was an American gospel singer. He was sometimes billed as "The Thunderbolt of the Middle West", and has been described as "arguably the greatest male soloist in the history of gospel music. ...

and

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel music, gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was ...

, among others. Even though the album was originally titled ''Under Their Influence, Volume 1,'' there was no Volume 2. Taff and his guitarist, James Hollihan, Jr., produced and arranged the album. Taff re-recorded a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

version of "Just Believe", originally recorded for his 1983 debut album '' Walls of Glass''. Taff won his second solo

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 ...

(his fifth and final overall) for Best Rock Gospel Album at the

34th Grammy Awards The 34th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1992, recognizing accomplishments by musicians from the previous year (1991). Natalie Cole won the most awards (three), including Album of the Year. Paul Simon opened the show. Performers ...

. The album peaked at number five on the ''

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 ...

Top Christian Albums Top Christian Albums is a weekly chart published in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the best-performing Christian albums in the United States. Like the ''Billboard'' 200, the data is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly ...

chart.

Track listing

All songs arranged by Russ Taff and James Hollihan, Jr., except where noted. # " God Don't Ever Change" – 4:28 # "Search Me Lord" – 4:38 # "God's Unchanging Hand" – 4:11 # " Life's Railway to Heaven" – 4:19 # " Were You There" – 3:05 # "As an Eagle Stirreth Her Nest" – 4:21 # "Just Believe" (R. Taff, J, Hollihan, Jr., Tori Taff)– 4:47 # "Everybody Shoulda Really Oughta Been There" – 2:52 # "There's a Hand" – 3:43 # "

Ain't No Grave "Ain't No Grave" (also known as "Gonna Hold This Body Down") is a traditional American gospel song attributed to Claude Ely (19221978) of Virginia. History Claude Ely, a songwriter and preacher from Virginia, describes composing the song whil ...

" – 6:26

Personnel

* Russ Taff – all vocals, guitars * James Hollihan Jr. – guitars, all other instruments * Jackie Street – bass (2, 9) * Lynn Williams – drums (1, 2, 6, 7) * John Hammond – drums (4, 9, 10) * Buddy Green –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

(4) * Bonnie Keen – vocals (3, 6) * Greg Sparks – vocals (9) * Rebecca Sparks – vocals (9) *

Ashley Cleveland Ashley Cleveland (born February 2, 1957) is an American singer-songwriter best known as a background vocalist and Gospel music, gospel singer. Ashley Cleveland was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Career She sang "We're Gonna Win This One" in 1 ...

– vocals (10) Production * Russ Taff – producer, arrangements * James Hollihan Jr. – producer, recording, mixing * Hank Williams – mastering at MasterMix (Nashville, Tennessee) * Roz Roos – art direction * Peter Nomura – design * Susan Goines – photography

Charts

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 ...

References

1991 albums Russ Taff albums Myrrh Records albums {{christian-album-stub