| Mylon LeFevre | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 6, 1944 |
| Origin | Gulfport, Mississippi, USA |
| Genres | Gospel, Rock and Roll, Southern rock, Christian |
| Website | http://www.mylon.org/bio/index.php |
Mylon LeFevre (born October 6, 1944 in Gulfport, Mississippi)[1] is the former Christian rock singer of the Grammy Award-winning band Mylon and Broken Heart and a Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame member[2]. He currently travels around the United States, ministering, teaching and singing. He frequently appears on such television networks as the Trinity Broadcasting Network and the Daystar Television Network.
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Mylon was born into a musical, touring, Southern gospel family, The Singing LeFevres, but stopped attending church when he left home. At 17 years old, while in the Army where he was paid $84 per month, he wrote his first song, "Without Him." The gospel song was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1963, and within the next year, 126 artists recorded his songs.[3][4][5] According to Mylon, writing the song took about 20 minutes and produced an initial royalty check of approximately $90,000. With that money he purchased his first car, a Corvette, one of many sports cars he would own.[6] In 1968, Mylon would release the only solo album he did in the Southern gospel vein, Your Only Tomorrow.[7]
In 1970, Mylon formed the Holy Smoke Doo Dah Band with Auburn Burrell and J.P. Lauzon on guitar, drummer Marty Simon, Tom Robb on bass and keyboardist Lester Langdale. In spite of the light-hearted name, the group was composed of some musical heavy-weights. Auburn Burrell had been a member of Classics IV, which charted with such hits as "Spooky" and "Traces." [8] J.R. Cobb, another member of Classics IV, would later form The Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS). Session artists from Holy Smoke's first album - Barry Bailey, Paul Goddard, and Dean Daughtry - joined Cobb as founding members of ARS. Mylon later appeared as a fill-in vocalist on several tracks for ARS's album Third Annual Pipe Dream.[9]
For his first album with Holy Smoke, Mylon borrowed the classic song "Gospel Ship" setting the familiar Southern Gospel melody to rock-n-roll tempo.[10] The album, originally entitled Mylon (and alternately titled We Believe) on Cotillion Records is regarded as one of the first Christian rock albums.
While the We Believe album contained many overt references to his Christian faith, these would become fewer on subsequent albums recorded through the 1970s. From 1970 through 1980, he recorded with Eric Clapton, Elton John, Alvin Lee, Billy Joel, Duane Allman, Berry Oakley, Little Richard, the Who[11], George Harrison, and Mick Fleetwood, among others.[12] This period of his life was marked by heavy drug use including a near fatal overdose in 1973.[13]
In 1980, LeFevre "committed [his] life to Jesus" and stopped performing secular music.[14] He got a job as a janitor at his church, Mt. Paran Church of God, in Atlanta. He started a Christian band called Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart in 1981 with some musicians he met in a Bible study: Kenny Bentley, John Hampton, Joe Hardy, and Dean Harrington. A small offshoot gospel label from MCA Records known as Songbird released his "comeback" album Brand New Start in 1981.[15] Over the years guitarists Scott Allen and Trent Argante would also be members, along with keyboardist Marshall Pratt. [16][17] [18]
Over the next ten years, he released ten albums and traveled over a
million miles. In 1987, the group attempted to cross over to
mainstream rock by rechristening itself Look Up! and releasing an
album on non-Christian industry label Columbia Records. The album contained
a retooled updating of "Peace Begins Within" from the We
Believe album and a cover of DeGarmo and Key's "Love is All You
Need" but it was not the breakthrough success the band had hoped
for.[19]
In 1987, the band received a Rock Album of The Year GMA Dove Award for Crack the Sky.[20] That same year, they received a Grammy for Best Gospel Performance by a Duo, Group, Choir, or Chorus.[21]
About this period (1982-1991), LeFevre said, "I was a Christian musician who preached a little, worshipped a little, and rocked a lot."[22] He suffered a massive heart attack in 1989 while on a tour bus that summer while touring with White Heart. Doctors advised him to stop singing and touring, but he went against their advice that same year, and the group released a couple more albums before it released a compilation of hits in 1992, which marked the end of Mylon & Broken Heart.
In 1992, LeFevre inked a solo recording deal with Star Song Records and began releasing material that was less musically "edgy" than past offerings. His first release for them, Faith Hope and Love, included guest appearances from Carman, 4Him,Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman among other popular Christian musicians of the day along with Broken Heart bandmates Bentley, Hardy and Hewitt.[23]
Following the 1989 heart attack, LeFevre increasingly turned to preaching and teaching as his vocation. He and his wife Christi minister in about 75 churches a year. He has also spoken at motorcycle rallies, NASCAR owner/driver chapel services, NFL and NBA chapel services, and in Russia, Australia, Canada, the Philippines, the Cayman Islands, and Mexico. His most recent music release is 2003's Bow Down, produced by his son-in-law Peter Furler of the Christian band Newsboys. The couple's home church is Eagle Mountain International Church in Newark, Texas.[24][25]
   | Mylon LeFevre Ministries - Mylon Le Fevre Ministries |
| | Tribute to Mylon LeFevre - Tribute to Mylon LeFevre Homepage |
| | Mylon LeFevre Ministries - Mylon Le Fevre Ministries |
| | Mylon LeFevre - allmusic ((( Mylon LeFevre > Overview ))) |
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