Sandi Patty

I mean, I was four years old, so I don't know, maybe I was more conscious because I think kids are really smart and really in tune.

My, so I grew up Southern Baptist and my mom was a big fan of Sandy Patty.

Have you heard of Sandy Patty? No.

She is a pop Christian artist, pop opera.

And we, she had this pink friendship company cassette tape that I was obsessed with and how

And as, what I remember is, as I'm walking off the stage, I can see my dad at the bottom of the stairs.

And this arm, or my arm gets grabbed by somebody.

And it's Sandy Patty.

Russ Tapp was just a monster singer.

And then, of course, you know, even earlier than that, going back to seventh grade, my first concert ever was a Sandy Patty concert in Portland, Oregon.

The first song I ever sang was by an artist by the name of Steve Green.

It was a song called Wounded Soldier.

But there was another song on there called Heaven that really spoke to me.

So all these songs, I just decided to go back and, hey, Let's do a remake of all these awesome songs and see if I can't get a few of these artists to jump on there with me.

And it was actually Sandy Patty who connected me to Russ Taff.

And he was very gracious and agreed to do this with me.

And she was, I mean, I played her ad nauseum.

Sandy Patty, I played her.

I mean, I listened to predominantly Christian, not predominantly, I listened to Christian music, but I also was in a Top 40 band.

And I never felt conflicted about not being a Christian singer because I think I was raised by parents who played big band music, but that served in the community and went to church and raised us in the church and raised us to be, you know... philanthropists and all of that.

Okay, so if you're excited, it's got to be Amy Grant.

Yes, yes, it's Amy Grant and Sandy Patty.

Sandy Patty, Amy Grant, and didn't Amy Grant, when she went mainstream, she married a real, like, was it Vince Gill? Vince Gill, yeah.

That's a great, I'm watching that halftime show.

There's your country music.

as a trio, so many of her songs, Never the Same Again, Mirror, you know, our family saying, come on, ring those bells, light the Christmas tree.

Like, those were the songs that I grew up as a younger, you know, and then Sandy Patty came on the scene.

Mm-hmm.

And for me...

All of them.

Those three were just great people.

So I really think it was more just about what can we add harmony to? We would take a Sandy Patty song and go, all right, let's, Our concerts were a

total conglomeration of, you know...

And if you've been following the controversy surrounding their former lead singer, Michael Tait, you'll understand why.

Even among women in CCM, contemporary Christian music, when Amy Grant had an album cover back in the '80s where she had two buttons of her blouse unbuttoned and you could see her throat, Sandi Patty Alba called her a whore, which was rich coming from Sandi Patty, who was banging her security guy." All right, we're going deep into it.

I love it.

"So Tim, Tim Lambesis may be more salacious and evil and murderous, but he's nothing new, and it's just ick.

Songs that don't merely describe faith, but they sit with people in hospital rooms, in the quiet hours of the night, like Friend of a Wounded Heart, Watercolor Ponies, Home Free, Almighty.

A duet with Sandi Patty that still sounds like two believers remembering heaven.

He's had twenty-three number ones, Dove Awards, Hall of Fame.

None of that is the point.

Hurry, friends, come on in to the Friendship Company.

Hi, I'm Sandy.

I'm so glad we can be friends.

Say, have I ever told you how the Friendship Company began? I haven't? Well, get ready.

It was me.

That's right.

Me, Sandy.

You see, I was taking a little walk that morning when I turned a corner and saw this cute wooden building.