The MercyMe Band

I have been exposed to various groups of Christian bands and numerous types of Christian music. But MercyMe gave me a new perspective after hearing their songs played by my officemate on his PC. It was indeed a new experience because the tempo is so different and you really have to look into the lyrics to know the meaning and what the song is telling mes. I am convinced that MercyMe band is playing a different yet special role in reaching out the world through music. Get to know Mercyme Band and their unique style of rendering heavenly music.

MercyMe Band – Formed and Founded

It was sometime in 1994, in Greenville, Texas, when MercyMe Band was formed and founded. MercyMe is an American contemporary Christian band consists of vocalist Bart Millard, keyboardist James Bryson, percussionist Robin Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul.

MercyMe started at releasing six albums and then signed with INO Records sometime in 2001. MercyMe band gained worldwide recognition with their crossover single, “I can only Imagine” also served as debut album as a group. “I can Only Imagine” album became a certified double platinum which inspired them more than ever resulting to releasing five additional albums. Three of the five albums are certified gold, and considered to be the greatest hits album.

MercyMe’s dedication to their work resulted to winning numerous Dove Awards plus various Grammy Award nominations. Another historic accomplishments of the group was the 2009 Billboard Magazine’s Award as the Christian Songs Artist of the Decade for the 2000s. Amazingly, MercyMe’s song “Word of God Speak” was awarded as the Christian Song of the Decade. MercyMe was also unanimously named as The Christian Adult Contemporary Songs Artist of the Decade which is a result of the group having 22 number one songs ending 2009, and six of these songs were ranked in the top 50 songs of the decade. Whew! A blessing indeed!

MercyMe Band – Formation and Early years

MercyMe’s lead singer is Bart Millard. Bart wanted to follow the footsteps of his father Arthur Millard, an All-American football player. Bart’s dream, however, was stopped when he injured his ankles in a football game during his high school days. The incident resulted him to take choir as an elective subject. After the death of his father during his college years, Bart Millard was invited to join a youth group’s band and started as in-charge of the video and sound systems. When the group’s leadsinger got stuck on stage, Millard took the opportunity to become the lead singer of the group. The group then went to Switzerland together James (Jim) Bryson who played the piano. The trip triggered Millard and Bryson to consider playing music in full-time capacity. MercyMe band then was formed together with Millard’s friend, guitarist Mike Scheuchzer. The band was formed in the heart of Oklahoma City. The trio recordings started in a makeshift studio, a converted day-care center. They joined afterwards by Nathan Cochran and Robby Shaffer who played bass and drums respectively.

The band later on released six independent albums then signed with INO Records in 2001. By the way, “MercyMe”, the band’s name orginated when Bart was still in a youth ministry in Florida. It was a word by his grandmother whenever she called him exclaiming “Well mercy me, why don’t you get a real job?”

MercyMe – Almost There, Spoken For and Undone (2001-2004)

MercyMe released its first major debut album under INO Records “Almost There”. The single of this album “I Can Only Imagine” won Golden Dove Award in 2002 for song of the year. The album started slow because only after three years of its release, it began to gain mainstream success, topping the billboard 2000 sales chart, reaching the peak of the adult contemporary charts and the U.S. Country Charts, and pushing to the limit Almost There to being certified double platinum. It was when the father of Bart Millard died of cancer, the song was made – it was a time of personal pain for the bands lead singer.

Another milestone was reached by MercyMe in 2002, when they released their sophomore release, Spoken For. Indeed, blessings are flowing unstoppable for the group when the album’s two singles, “Spoken For” and “Word of God Speak” became #1 hits on Christian radio station charts. Spoken for was certified gold. The group proudly explained that album’s theme is entrenched on the belief that is God has a reserved place for those who have a genuine relationship with him as illustrated in the artwork found on the cover of the album cover and cd booklet of reserved parking place in a garage, symbolically contribute to communicating the theme. The fruit of their labour unexpectedly came again when the album earned them three dove awards.

It was in 2003 when another asset came into the picture guitarist Barry Graul joined MercyMe, and it’s a perpect timing for him to be a part of the bands third studio album, Undone.

In 2004, another milestone of the group’s career reached as they bannered the “Imagine Tour”. Joining them are multi-awarded fellow Christian artists Amy Grant and Bebo Norman.

Aside from bannering the “Imagine Tour”, MercyMe released their major label album, “Undone” which in turn produced two Top 10 hits: “Here With Me” and “In the Blink of an Eye”. The former hit Billboard’s Top 100 chart that same year, and the former as of the end of 2005, was at #5 on R&R’s top Christian hits. “undone” also includes the song “Homesick”, which also gained notice by Christian and mainstream stations. “Homesick” was motivated by a difficult four-or five-week period where member of the band had a total of eight loved ones went home to our Maker in heaven. Believing that heaven is one’s ultimate home, “Homesick” was made with the longing that one day, the people they lost are in that home welcoming them joyfully and full of tears.

On June 22, 2004, J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, closed a deal with MercyMe band to release a gift book based on their song “I Can Only Imagine”.

MercyMe – The Christmas Sessions and Coming Up To Breathe (2005-2006)

On September 27, 2005, MercyMe released a Christmas album of their own “The Christmas Sessions.” The album was recorded after a tour with Jeremy Camp, The Afters and Monk and Neagle as a support of their album, “Undone.” The album was the band’s first attempt to reinstate itself publicly as a Christian comtemporary rock band, commencing a breakthrough for their album “Coming Up To Breathe”. The band teamed up for a tour with Steven Curtis Chapman, who also released a Christmas album that year titled “All I Really Want for Christmas,” which was stimulated by Chapman’s heartfelt observation of the life of many stray children in the world waking up without a family during Christmas seasons.

It was in 2006 when MercyMe released “Coming Up To Breathe,” which settled at no. 13 on the Billboard 2000. Although the band had already gained a status for being an adult contemporary group with their other albums, the group was still determined to make “Coming Up To Breathe” a rock album. To sustain the album, MercyMe bannered the “Coming Up To Breathe Tour” with Audio Adrenaline on its send-off tour and Phil Wickham, unbelievably seeing almost 50% of their shows sell out two weeks into the tour.”Coming Up To Breathe Tour” had three singles, “So Long Self”, “Coming Up To Breathe”, and “Hold Fast”.

MercyMe – All That is Within Me, Coming Up To Breathe: Acoustic, and 10 (2007-2009)

It was on November 20, 2007 when MercyMe released “All That Is Within Me.” Lead singer Bart Millard had believed that “All That is Within Me” was going to be a worship album with half of the songs being cover songs and the other half original songs; but the band ended up having written all the songs found in this album. “All That is Within Me” included three singles, “God With Us”, “You Reign” and “Finally Home”, which gained both Christian and mainstream success. Like “I Can Only Imagine” and “Homesick”, “Finally Home” in reference to Millard’s father’s death. Fashionably, the song has a train like kind of atmosphere to it, which Millard has said was the type or breed of music his dad used to listen to.

It was in 2008 when the band again released “Coming Up To Breathe:” Acoustic, an acoustic version of their earlier release, “Coming Up To Breathe.”

And then, on April 7, 2009, MercyMe released their first greatest hits compilation, 10 (the title refers to the decade since “I Can Only Imagine” was written). The package includes a CD with 11 hits and 3 new recordings (including a new version of “I Can Only Imagine” recorded with the London Session Orchestra), and a DVD with 11 music videos and two short documentary pieces.

MercyMe Band in Charity Works and The Go Foundation

MercyMe Band is only good at singing because sometime in 2005, the group participated in a benefit concert at Belmont University with various other country, gospel and contemporary Christian artists for the people affected by the Asian Tsunami. Also in 2009, MercyMe carried out ‘Rock and Worship Roadshow’ tour in partnership with Compassion International and Imagine A Cure in order to raise money to help kids with diabetes through Imagine A Cure and people with medical needs around the world through Compassion International.

Among the songs found of MercyMe’s eleventh album, “Coming Up To Breathe,” is a song titled “I Would Die For You” which was said to be made in dedication to BJ Higgins, a young boy who sealed a deal with Bubonic Plague on the mission fields of Peru. From that time on, “I Would Die For You” has been used to raise money for The Go Foundation, which was born out of Higgins’ death at an early age.

MercyMe Band in a Tour Bus Accident

Rough time is no longer new for Christian band MercyMe when one time, their tour bus suffered fatal collision with acar in Indiana On Saturday, August 8, 2009 at approximately 1:15 am in Fort Wayne, Indiana while on their way to perform in a tour concert. It was reported that MercyMe tour bus was traveling through an intersection on a green light when an oncoming passenger vehicle made a left turn on red into the path of the oncoming tour bus which resulted in a collision killing two passengers of the car and the unborn baby of the vehicle’s driver. MercyMe was to perform at Six Flags St. Louis but the park issued a statement saying the show was cancelled and rescheduled because the band was “involved in a vehicle accident in Indiana.” There are news reports saying that the band remained quiet during the days after the crash, not contacting the family of the deceased and injured, but on the contrary, MercyMe did release a statement through publicist Velvet Rousseau Kelm the same day as the crash: “MercyMe would like to express their incredible heartache over this horrible accident. They are praying for the families of all who this will affect, and are asking others to please pray as well. The band and crew sustained minor bumps and bruises, however their hearts are heavy. They appreciate the concern they have received from people all over the world.”

MercyMe Band Current Members as of January 2010

MercyMe Band is currently composed of Bart Millard as lead singer, vocals; Nathan Cochran for the bass guitar; Michael John Scheuchzer and Barry Graul for the guitars; Robin (Robbie) Troy Shaffer for the Drums; James (Jim) Philip Bryson for the keyboards.

Watch MercyMe Band Interview Part I

Watch MercyMe Band Interview Part II

Watch MercyMe Band Interview Part III

MercyMe Album Independent releases
1. InPleased To Meet You
2. Traces Of Rain, Vol. 1 & 2
3. The Need
4. The Worship Project
5. Look
6. Almost There

MercyMe Albums under INO Records
1. I Can Only Imagine
2. Undone
3. The Christmas Sessions
4. Coming Up to Breathe
5. All That Is Within Me
6. Compilation Albums (Singles: “God with Us”, “You Reign”, “Finally Home”)

MercyMe is now doing a new album set for release in May 2010. So watch out for it!