Biography
Eclectic as a singer, songwriter, arranger, and instrumentalist, Bruce Hibbard built his reputation chiefly through CCM-focused releases that continue to resonate with admirers of soulful West Coast soft rock, while his catalog of compositions has been recorded by high-profile acts including Amy Grant and the Gaither Vocal Band. The arc of his solo discography stretches from A Light Within (1977) and the Myrrh-released Never Turnin' Back (1980) to the 2023 instrumental jazz-pop project Cloud Street. An Oklahoma City native, he now lives near Salt Lake City, where he established and runs the residential facility Libelle Studio.
Hibbard’s musical beginnings took shape in Oklahoma City churches, where he first performed at age twelve and began composing during his teenage years. After providing support for other performers through live work, tours, and sessions with Ascension, Sonlight, the Amplified Version, Charity, Paul Clark, and Phil Keaggy, he issued his solo debut A Light Within in 1977. Andrus, Blackwood & Co. recorded a version of the track “Rescue Me” that same year, and three additional selections from the album—along with another original Hibbard piece—appeared on Tom Netherton’s 1979 Word release Hem of His Garment. Word subsequently brought Hibbard onto its staff as a writer and placed his follow-up album Never Turnin' Back with the Myrrh imprint; the project produced several 1980 Christian-radio successes, among them “You're So Good to Me” and the title track, both of which highlighted his warm vocal delivery and optimistic perspective.
Although two decades passed before another solo album arrived, Hibbard continued placing original material throughout the 1980s and 1990s on recordings by the Imperials, Amy Grant, First Call, Lisa Whelchel, and Dawkins & Dawkins, among others. He also contributed background vocals to sessions for Twila Paris and for longtime associates Paul Clark, Phil Keaggy, and Kelly Willard. Returning to his own catalog in 2000, he self-released Time Waits, which featured guitar work by Keaggy and introduced his wife Julie Hibbard as co-writer and backing vocalist. Eight years later came Heaven's Gold: Collection, a set of previously unrecorded songs drawn from across his career rather than a retrospective anthology. All-new compositions filled the 2013 album 40 Years, and a decade afterward he delivered Cloud Street, his first collection of instrumentals.
Hibbard’s musical beginnings took shape in Oklahoma City churches, where he first performed at age twelve and began composing during his teenage years. After providing support for other performers through live work, tours, and sessions with Ascension, Sonlight, the Amplified Version, Charity, Paul Clark, and Phil Keaggy, he issued his solo debut A Light Within in 1977. Andrus, Blackwood & Co. recorded a version of the track “Rescue Me” that same year, and three additional selections from the album—along with another original Hibbard piece—appeared on Tom Netherton’s 1979 Word release Hem of His Garment. Word subsequently brought Hibbard onto its staff as a writer and placed his follow-up album Never Turnin' Back with the Myrrh imprint; the project produced several 1980 Christian-radio successes, among them “You're So Good to Me” and the title track, both of which highlighted his warm vocal delivery and optimistic perspective.
Although two decades passed before another solo album arrived, Hibbard continued placing original material throughout the 1980s and 1990s on recordings by the Imperials, Amy Grant, First Call, Lisa Whelchel, and Dawkins & Dawkins, among others. He also contributed background vocals to sessions for Twila Paris and for longtime associates Paul Clark, Phil Keaggy, and Kelly Willard. Returning to his own catalog in 2000, he self-released Time Waits, which featured guitar work by Keaggy and introduced his wife Julie Hibbard as co-writer and backing vocalist. Eight years later came Heaven's Gold: Collection, a set of previously unrecorded songs drawn from across his career rather than a retrospective anthology. All-new compositions filled the 2013 album 40 Years, and a decade afterward he delivered Cloud Street, his first collection of instrumentals.
Albums
