Amy Grant: from Christian music to pop star, her life and relationships
4 december 2024 в 06:13
Singer «Baby, Baby» Amy Grant, 63, began her career as a Christian musician but gained great fame in the 1980s and 1990s when she transitioned to pop music. Her first album debuted in 1977, and her most recent — a Christmas album titled «Tennessee Christmas» — was released in 2016. Accordingly, Amy is set to host a special Christmas show CMA Country Christmas 2024 with Trisha Yearwood on Tuesday, December 3. Amy also plans to perform alongside other country stars such as Cody Johnson, Ashley McBryde, and others.
In addition to being a beloved singer and songwriter, Amy is a caring mother of four children, whom she gave birth to in two marriages. Her husband, Vince Gill, and their children will surely support her when she takes the stage for the holiday show. Read on to learn about her current husband and her marriage to her ex-husband, Gary Chapman.
Amy and Gary, now 66, met when she was a freshman at Furman University. Gary, a singer and songwriter himself, immediately showed interest in her and invited her on several dates. She declined. However, Amy began to see Gary in a different light when her management added him as an opening act on her tour before her sophomore year of college, according to her 2003 biography by Bob Millard, «Amy Grant: The Life of a Pop Star».
In an interview for the biography, Amy said that their bond was a natural result of two young people (Amy was 19, and Gary was 22) spending a lot of time together. «We could have been any couple doing what we both loved to do. The result would have been the same», - she speculated.
Amy, known as the «Queen of Christian Pop», - later admitted that they «kind of fell in love», - but she felt that everything was almost planned. «I guess I didn’t realize he was courting me», - she said. «I thought we were just great friends, that’s all. He became part of my family. They accepted him because they thought he was just their little girl’s companion. It was pretty sneaky».
Amy and Gary married in 1982, although Amy said their union was difficult from the start. «It was hard from the beginning. I held on for 15 years to something that was not easy to hold onto», - she recalled in an interview with AARP in 2011.
Some problems in their relationship arose directly from Amy’s success. It was said that Gary was jealous of her success, and in a 1997 interview with Texas Monthly, he admitted to this. He openly recalled performing between Amy’s sets at her concerts and seeing the audience stop paying attention to him, engaging in their own conversations. During a performance in 1985, he even stopped a song to ask the audience if they were bored. «I had a lot of reasons to be angry», - he admitted. «I don’t think they were justified, but they were to me at the time. I know I felt shortchanged».
However, Gary’s marriage also had darker demons: drug use. «I had two clearly different lives. Different circles of friends, different preferences, actions, everything», - he said about his cocaine and marijuana use.
Amy and Gary lived together for 17 years and welcomed three children. In 1999, their divorce was officially finalized, and Amy had already given her heart to another man. In a 2001 article for CCM magazine, Gary recalled that Amy came to him in 1994 with the news that their marriage was over. «I don’t love you anymore», - he claimed she told him. «You're the biggest mistake I ever made… I’ve given my heart to another man».
Amy and Vince, now 66, met while collaborating in 1993 on a Christmas special show. «I knew from the tips of my fingers that he was unlike anyone I had ever met, and that I was connected to him on such a level that it just blew me away», - she marveled at her instant connection with him. «I was so blown away by him as a person that I finally came up behind him and hugged him with my hands»
In addition to being a beloved singer and songwriter, Amy is a caring mother of four children, whom she gave birth to in two marriages. Her husband, Vince Gill, and their children will surely support her when she takes the stage for the holiday show. Read on to learn about her current husband and her marriage to her ex-husband, Gary Chapman.
Amy and Gary, now 66, met when she was a freshman at Furman University. Gary, a singer and songwriter himself, immediately showed interest in her and invited her on several dates. She declined. However, Amy began to see Gary in a different light when her management added him as an opening act on her tour before her sophomore year of college, according to her 2003 biography by Bob Millard, «Amy Grant: The Life of a Pop Star».
In an interview for the biography, Amy said that their bond was a natural result of two young people (Amy was 19, and Gary was 22) spending a lot of time together. «We could have been any couple doing what we both loved to do. The result would have been the same», - she speculated.
Amy, known as the «Queen of Christian Pop», - later admitted that they «kind of fell in love», - but she felt that everything was almost planned. «I guess I didn’t realize he was courting me», - she said. «I thought we were just great friends, that’s all. He became part of my family. They accepted him because they thought he was just their little girl’s companion. It was pretty sneaky».
Amy and Gary married in 1982, although Amy said their union was difficult from the start. «It was hard from the beginning. I held on for 15 years to something that was not easy to hold onto», - she recalled in an interview with AARP in 2011.
Some problems in their relationship arose directly from Amy’s success. It was said that Gary was jealous of her success, and in a 1997 interview with Texas Monthly, he admitted to this. He openly recalled performing between Amy’s sets at her concerts and seeing the audience stop paying attention to him, engaging in their own conversations. During a performance in 1985, he even stopped a song to ask the audience if they were bored. «I had a lot of reasons to be angry», - he admitted. «I don’t think they were justified, but they were to me at the time. I know I felt shortchanged».
However, Gary’s marriage also had darker demons: drug use. «I had two clearly different lives. Different circles of friends, different preferences, actions, everything», - he said about his cocaine and marijuana use.
Amy and Gary lived together for 17 years and welcomed three children. In 1999, their divorce was officially finalized, and Amy had already given her heart to another man. In a 2001 article for CCM magazine, Gary recalled that Amy came to him in 1994 with the news that their marriage was over. «I don’t love you anymore», - he claimed she told him. «You're the biggest mistake I ever made… I’ve given my heart to another man».
Amy and Vince, now 66, met while collaborating in 1993 on a Christmas special show. «I knew from the tips of my fingers that he was unlike anyone I had ever met, and that I was connected to him on such a level that it just blew me away», - she marveled at her instant connection with him. «I was so blown away by him as a person that I finally came up behind him and hugged him with my hands»
© Artemenko Olga
