Daniel Amos (DA)

Founded (for the most part) in 1975, Daniel Amos, or DA (or Da or dä), has been one of the most creative bands in the history of Christian music; indeed, their aggressive creativity and song craftsmanship are seldom paralleled in the whole genre of pop music in general. Led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Terry Taylor, Daniel Amos has been on the forefront of pop music both musically and lyrically, with lyrics exploring the subject of spirituality and the relationship between God and humanity. Starting out as a country & western band in the early to mid-'70s, Daniel Amos -- then comprised of Steve Baxter, Terry Taylor, Marty Dieckmeyer, and Jerry Chamberlain -- had an almost instantaneous live appeal and their popularity and fame spread very quickly among the Jesus Movement scene. In the coming year, Baxter left the group and drummer Ed McTaggart and keyboardist Mark Cook enlisted. Shortly after the release of their 1977 album Shotgun Angel, the group signed on with Larry Norman's Solid Rock Records and began recording (with new percussionist Alex MacDougall) the album that came to be known as Horrendous Disc. The record was completed by the summer of 1978 and showed the band completely stripped of their country roots with a scorching guitar sound and intelligent, insightful lyrics. But due to apparently little more than foot dragging on the part of Norman, the album was not released until April of 1981. In between 1978 and 1981, the band was exposed to new things happening in the pop music scene, notably the work of Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, and other new wave luminaries. With the release of Horrendous Disc on hold, the band, with no other option, continued playing out and writing new material. MacDougall and Cook left, waiting for their record to come out of the...