Michael Card

Emerging as a leading figure within contemporary Christian music, Michael Card distinguished himself as a musician, performer, and songwriter by issuing dozens of albums, authoring nearly as many books, and creating multiple religious successes such as “El Shaddai,” which Amy Grant later popularized. While attending college in Kentucky, Card first began composing songs, most often praise choruses for worship at a nearby congregation. Although one professor urged him toward a Ph.D., friends Randy Scruggs and John Thompson drew him into the studio to supply vocals for their production company’s demonstration recordings. The label then required Card’s own material to become the company’s inaugural release, allowing his acoustic folk approach to surface immediately on the 1981 debut First Light. Recognized for his concept-driven projects, including the Ancient Faith trilogy and a sequence of albums devoted to the four gospels, Card has most frequently worked with the Sparrow label.