Category: Music

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God History Ministry Music Scripture Travel

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday September 26TH 2021, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

Yesterday afternoon here in my hometown at our local small performing arts theatre downtown I experienced this awesome event:

What do you get when you combine #TravelThursday, #RetroFriday, #SundayScripture, and #Top10Monday ? Well besides a normal weekend here on my blog you also get that music show above. It was essentially the story of the history of this great nation of ours as told through 400 years of music from coast-to-coast. It traveled the country and highlighted the music that emanated from each region. It was quite patriotic and spiritual. It was pretty much a singalong and clapalong as our 4-piece band (led by Matthew Sabatella) performed on stage via numerous musical instruments.

Once we arrived in the 20TH Century I pretty much knew every song performed, and I joined the singalong. The small audience definitely got louder as the years progressed into our lifetimes. It was definitely a “feel-good” 100-minute show.

Be filled with the Holy Spirit – singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. (Ephesians 5:18b-19)

(That Scripture was featured during an early segment of the show.)

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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1980s Blogging Music Radio

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1986

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 15, 25, 30, or 35 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 4TH Friday of the month, so I go back 35 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday September 28TH 1986:

  1. “Stuck With You” – Huey Lewis And The News
  2. “Pretty In Pink” – The Psychedelic Furs
  3. “(Forever) Live And Die” – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
  4. “You Can Call Me Al” – Paul Simon
  5. “Brand New Lover” – Dead Or Alive

35 years ago next month – October 1986 – I saw Huey Lewis And The News (supported by Bruce Hornsby And The Range) LIVE in concert in London England at the historic Hammersmith Odeon. 9 days later I saw Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) LIVE in concert in Oxford England at the Apollo. They were two great concerts, and they were my 3RD and 4TH concerts ever in my life (at age 19).

OMD is my favorite electronic pop act of all-time, and “(Forever) Live And Die” is my favorite song from them. It was the lead single from perhaps my favorite album / cassette of all-time – “The Pacific Age”. I actually got to see OMD LIVE in concert again – nearly 33 years later in August 2019 in Fort Lauderdale Florida (just up the road from me). I sat near the front row (far-left corner), and me and a bunch of fellow concert-goers (all strangers) were singing and dancing so actively that during “Dreaming” Andy McCluskey came over and cheered us on from the stage as he sang and danced. It was an awesome sight to see and experience !

OMD

2 years ago here on RETRO I wrote about that concert experience. Read all about it.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Summer Of 2021

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from the previous week. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back 40+ years. But this week it’s a special chart of my Top 10 hits of this past Summer. Here’s this Summer’s chart:

COUNTUP MINISTRIES FOR THE SUMMER OF 2021 15 WEEKS
RK PK WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 15 Yes He Can Cain
2 1 15 When We Fall Apart Ryan Stevenson Ft. Vince Gill & Amy Grant
3 1 15 Gospel Song Rhett Walker
4 1 11 Be Alright Evan Craft X Danny Gokey X Redimi2
5 1 9 Fires Jordan St. Cyr
6 1 7 Help Is On The Way (Maybe Midnight) TobyMac
7 1 8 Into The Wild Josh Baldwin
8 4 10 Until Grace Tauren Wells Ft. Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts
9 2 6 House Of The Lord Phil Wickham
10 5 8 What If Matthew West

# 1 Summer Of:
2020 – “No Impossible With You” – I AM THEY
2019 – “Raise A Hallelujah” – Bethel Music
2018 – “Do It Again” – Elevation Worship
2017 – “Wonder” – Hillsong UNITED

WHAT A SUMMER ! – 15 weekly hit music charts and 22 positive and encouraging hits (4 less than last Summer) have created this cumulative hit music chart of my Top 10 hits of the Summer Of 2021 based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. This past Summer season is defined as U.S. Memorial Day Weekend (last Sunday of May) to U.S. Labor Day Weekend (first Sunday of September). This chart is an End-Of-Summer tradition for me.

CAIN IN THE SUMMERTIME – Cain reined this past Summer, as “Yes He Can” was my # 1 smash of the season by a wide margin. It was 1 of 3 hits that spent all 15 weeks of the Summer on my chart. That’s 3 weeks at # 1, 5 weeks at # 2, 3 weeks at # 3, and 4 weeks at # 4. “Yes He Can” is Cain’s follow-up to “Rise Up (Lazarus)” which was my # 4 hit of all of 2020. It actually debuted on my chart on the 2ND-to-last-week of the Summer Of 2020.

RYAN REPEATS – Ryan Stevenson repeats on my End-Of-Summer chart. “When We Fall Apart” is his biggest and longest-running hit thus far. He was # 6 last Summer with his hit “Amadeo (Still My God)”. Ryan also had a Summer Of 2018 hit (# 10) with “No Matter What”.

BACK TO NORMAL – My regular hit music chart returns next Monday September 27TH 2021.

This blog is # 34 worldwide on the Top 80 Christian Music Blogs and Websites in 2021 chart. Thank You for including us Feedspot !

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again this upcoming weekend – with 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Your likes, follows, and comments are always appreciated. Thank You for being part of my online ministry to share God’s Good News and win souls for Christ through His music. I’m also on Twitter and Flickr.

Be blessed my friends !  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
1990s Blogging Music Radio

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1991

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 15, 25, 30, or 35 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 3RD Friday of the month, so I go back 30 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday September 22ND 1991:

  1. “Shiny Happy People” – R.E.M.
  2. “I’ll Be There” – The Escape Club
  3. “Wind Of Change” – The Scorpions
  4. “It Hit Me Like A Hammer” – Huey Lewis And The News
  5. “Every Heartbeat” – Amy Grant

For this edition of RETRO I wanted to highlight the one song on my Top 5 exactly 30 years ago that I don’t remember. It’s because I haven’t heard it since 30 years ago when it spent 19 weeks on my chart. I’m talking about The Escape Club’s “I’ll Be There”. You probably remember their biggest hit – “Wild Wild West” – from 1988. You may even remember its immediate follow-up hit – “Shake For The Sheik”. I remember both. But I seriously didn’t remember “I’ll Be There”. That is – until I went on YouTube to watch the music video for it.

Now I remember it. Good song. Good video. It’s almost like a pop anthem for that time-period. It can easily bring tears to your eyes. That was their final song. It was their 3RD of 3 Top 40 hits here stateside. They were a British band out of London England, but they never charted in the U.K. with any single or album. They did achieve some success “down under” in Australia and New Zealand.

I just bought the single on iTunes. YES – I still buy music. Now THAT’S RETRO !

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 35 years ago to September 1986.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries