Bart Millard

When success in the music business brings an artist the freedom to make his dream project, all too many have used their long leash as a license for self-indulgence, recording albums so personal or experimental, few wanted to hear them. For Bart Millard, the voice of MercyMe, that freedom afforded him opportunity to create a personal project to be sure, but one that will undoubtedly touch the hearts of thousands.

As Bart tells it, "When my son Sam was born three years ago, my wife Shannon and I were talking about memories of our grandmothers singing these old hymns to us that we pretty much didn't understand when we were kids, but are now a huge part of who we are. And we were wondering if our son will have those songs in the future, because they're just not sung much in churches today. It's rare to even see a hymnal in a lot of the churches we play now. The praise and worship movement has been incredible, but so many of the songs are really incredibly similar, and the lyrics to many of them really just pale in comparison to the hymns."

Hymned No. 1 2005
01. Just A Closer Walk With Thee 02. Mawmaw's Song (In The Sweet By and By) 03. Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior 04. Have A Little Talk With Jesus 05. Precious Lord, Take My Hand 06. Softly and Tenderly 07. Sweetest Name I Know 08. Power In The Blood 09. My Jesus I Love Thee / 'Tis So Sweet 10. The Old Rugged Cross

Taking the production helm once again is Brown Bannister, who along with Millard’s passionate vocals and a famed line up of studio musicians, has created an impressive and diversified musical landscape on HYMNED AGAIN. Raised in East Texas relatively close to where many musical styles originated, Millard wanted to create an authentic sound with these old hymns, most of which date back to the 1800s and talk about sharing one’s faith during this era when evangelism was on the rise. Therefore, HYMNED AGAIN runs the stylistic gamut from New Orleans style horn-driven jazz to Texas blues-rock guitar, and country/bluegrass to banjo-featuring Dixieland, '70s soul/gospel flavor, and one song centered on nothing more than a ukulele.

To top it off, the sole original track on the CD, written by Millard and Thad Cockrell, “Jesus Cares for Me,” features a duet with country superstar Vince Gill.

Hymned Again Aug 2008
01. Leaning On The Everlasting Arms 02. Down At The Cross 03. What A Friend We Have In Jesus 04. I Saw The Light 05. I Stand Amazed 06. Victory In Jesus 07. Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus 08. Brethren We Have Met To Worship 09. Grace That Is Greater 10. What A Day That Will Be 11. Jesus Cares For Me