I Can Only Imagine

Background:

“I couldn’t pick another song I’d rather have be with me the rest of my life because of what it meant to me. '(I Can Only) Imagine' will always be a part of us and we’ll play it every night.” Bart Millard

Contemporary Christian music group MercyMe is comprised of the three founding members Bart Millard (vocals), Jim Bryson ( keyboards) and Mike Scheuchze (guitar) and bassist Nathan Cochran, percussionist Robby Shaffer and guitarist Barry Graul. Formed in 1994, the group had six independent albums under their belt before enjoying mainstream success with their first major label studio album, “Almost There” (2001). Thanks to the crossover hit “I Can Only Imagine,” written by Millard for his father who died of cancer, the album went double platinum and brought the group three Dove Awards and an ASCAP Award. “I Can Only Imagine” peaked at No. 5 on the Billboards Adult Contemporary, No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 52 on the Billboard Hot Country. It also became a No. 1 hit on the U.S. Christian charts.

The Christian rock group has since scored three more No. 1 hits on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian Albums chart with “Undone” (2004), “Coming Up to Breathe” (2006) and “All That Is Within Me” (2007). They enjoyed two Top 10 hits with “Spoken For” (2002, #2) and “The Christmas Sessions” (2005, #3) and released the popular singles “Word of God Speak” (earned Dove Awards), “Spoken For,” “Here With Me,” “In the Blink of an Eye,” “So Long Self,” “Bring the Rain” and “God With Us.”

6 Member Band

Childhood and Family:

In 1994, MercyMe was formed by vocalist Bart Millard, keyboardist Jim Bryson and guitarist Mike Scheuchzer in Oklahoma City. Bart and Jim were friends and went to Europe as part of a praise band. Upon returning, the two decided to pursue music ministry professionally and founded a new group. Mike soon joined the lineup and MercyMe was born. The group later added percussionist Robby Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarist Barry Graul to the list. “I think these are a tremendously talented group of guys, but from the beginning we’ve always said we know there are lots of talented musicians out there. But spiritually, it would be hard for me to find more godly men. I really believe all of us have been called to be worship leaders. Each of us has a unique gift that kids relate to in different ways,” said Millard.

God with Us

Career:

Originally a trio, MercyMe quickly gained attention as an opening act for bands like Audio Adrenaline. They left Oklahoma City for Nashville, Tennessee, before eventually settling in Millard's hometown in Texas. It was during that period that Robby Shaffer and Nathan Cochran joined the group.

A regular presence on stage with about 200 gigs a year, MercyMe released a record in 1995 with “Pleased To Meet You.” It was followed by the independent albums “Traces Of Rain, Vol. 1,” “Traces Of Rain, Vol. 2” (both 1997), “The Need” (1998), “The Worship Project” (1999) and “Look” (2000), before the group was signed to INO Records in 2001, which is a Nashville based recording label specializing in Contemporary Christian music.

“We were literally fulfilling all the roles an artist usually hires out, management, booking, marketing. We finally realized that we had played for nearly 200,000 people during 1999 and were selling albums at the same pace as many nationally known artists. Administratively, we were in over our heads to the point where we couldn’t have CDs printed as fast as we were selling them. We knew we needed help in fulfilling what God had called MercyMe to do.” Bart Millard

On August 14, 2001, MercyMe released a debut album with INO Records called “Almost There.” The album was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Top Contemporary Christian and the Billboard Top Heatseekers and rose to No. 37 on the Billboard 200. The single “I Can Only Imagine” gained heavy play on mainstream and Christian radio stations and won the group Dove Awards in the categories of Song of the Year, Contemporary/Pop Recorded Song of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year (Bart Millard) as well as a 2003 ASCAP for Christian Songwriter of the Year (Bart Millard). The song also marked their only single to date to earn major airplay on Country radio, where it rose to No. 52. “Almost There” later received double platinum certification from RIAA.

Their sophomore effort, “Spoken For,” hit the music stores on October 1, 2002. It rose to No. 2 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart and became their next Top 50 hit on Billboard 200, where it went to No. 41. It spawned the No. 1 Christian hit singles “Spoken For” and “Word of God Speak,” from which MercyMe received Dove awards for Song of the Year and Pop Contemporary Song of the Year in 2004. “Spoken For” was certified gold. MercyMe was also nominated for Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist at the 2003 American Music Awards.

“Undone,” MrecyMe's third major label studio album, was launched on April 20, 2004. It was their second No. 1 hit on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian and their first Top 15 hit on Billboard 200, where it peaked at No. 12. The first single, “Here With Me,” rose to No. 1 on the U.S. Christian chart, No. 12 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and No. 38 on the Adult Top 40 chart. The subsequent singles “Homesick” and “In the Blink of an Eye” (both 2005) were No. 9 and No. 1 hits on the Top Contemporary Christian charts, respectively. “Undone” received gold certification from RIAA. Also in 2004, MercyMe collected Dove Awards for Group of the Year and Artist of the Year.

On September 27, 2005, MercyMe released “The Christmas Sessions,” which rose to No. 3 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart and No. 64 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The fifth studio album, “Coming Up To Breathe,” followed on April 25, 2006. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Christian album charts and No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and went gold. The album produced chart topper hits with the songs “So Long Self” and “Bring the Rain.” The acoustic version of the album rose to No. 22 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.

MercyMe resurfaced on November 20, 2007, with the album “All That Is Within Me,” which entered the Billboard 200 at No.15 and became their next No. 1 hit on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian. It sold about 84,000 copies in the first week of release. The lead single, “God with Us,” peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Christian Songs chart and the follow-up, “You Reign,” peaked at No. 21. MercyMe supported the album by embarking on the 2007 “All That Is Within Me Tour,” which they began in September. The tour also featured Monk and Neagle, Shane & Shane and Aaron Shust.

In January 2008, MercyMe became headliners on the WinterJam Tour, which ended in March. They were supported by bands such as NewSong, BarlowGirl and Skillet.

Awards:

• Dove: Artist of the Year, 2004

• Dove: Group of the Year, 2004

• Dove: Song of the Year, “Word of God Speak,” 2004

• Dove: Pop Contemporary Song of the Year, “Word of God Speak,” 2004

• ASCAP: Christian Songwriter of the Year, 2003 (Bart Millard)

• Dove: Song of the Year, “I Can Only Imagine,” 2002

• Dove: Contemporary/Pop Recorded Song of the Year, “I Can Only Imagine,” 2002

• Dove: Songwriter of the Year, “I Can Only Imagine,” 2002 (Bart Millard)