Emory Atkins
Emory Atkins (born April 22, 1959) is an American songwriter, bass guitarist, audio-recording engineer, and producer. He performed with six Christian bands from 1975-1994, toured for eighteen years, credited with multiple Christian radio hits, nominated for a Dove Award and a Grammy Award as a member of the Mercy River Boys in 1979.[1][2]
Emory played bass guitar for The Singing Christians[3] from 1976-1979 recording two albums on Canaan Records.[4][5] During those years, he also made guest appearances playing bass guitar for singer-songwriter Governor Jimmie Davis (Canaan Records) and gospel music legend Wally Fowler, a founding member of the Oak Ridge Boys.[6] Emory performed at the Kerrville Gospel Jubilee in 1978 as a member of the Singing Christians[7] and the following year at the Kerrville Folk Festival with the Mercy River Boys.[8]
In 1979, Emory became one of the eight founding members[4] of the Grammy finalist, Mercy River Boys (Canaan Records, 1979-1984).[1] The Mercy River Boys toured for over five years, sharing the stage with many country music legends including the Oak Ridge Boys, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, and Larry Gatlin. The Mercy River Boys became one of Canaan Records most successful performing artists in 1979-80 when their BREAKOUT album crossed over from Southern Gospel into the country music radio market. Emory Atkins and his bandmates helped kickstart a new music genre, Christian country music.< It was a combination of traditional country music with a positive message. When the Mercy River Boys disbanded in 1984, Emory and three other members of the Mercy River Boys formed the band, Paradise (musical group). They continued to record four albums together, including the Invade the Darkness album that was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1989. Emory Atkins opened a digital twenty-four track recording studio in the famed, United Artist Tower on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee in the fall of 1990.[9] In 1991, Emory toured with Margaret Becker on the 'Immigrant's Daughter' tour. He also toured with Jerry Williams and Harvest (band) in 1993 on the 'Let's Fight for a Generation' Tour. He continued to tour and record until he retired from music in 1995.[10] Emory has performed on over twenty albums and recorded sessions for many other bands and solo artists.
In 2015, Emory Atkins was inducted into the Texas Gospel Music Hall of Fame as a member of the Mercy River Boys.[11][12]
A Mercy River Boys Greatest Hits album was released in 2020 on Englewood Records.
In 2019, Emory began working to revive his musical career. He wrote and produced an instrumental album that was released in 2020, Tales from the Caerulean Knight. It is the first in a series of artistic works to include a forthcoming novel by the same name and an audiobook to include the novel and the music combined. In 2020, Atkins produced a series of recordings for his old friend, Danny Hollis and they have a combined musical project that is set to be released in April of 2021. His solo album, The Long Journey Home was released on New Years Day in 2021. The Atkins musical experience began with Christian music 46 years ago but has evolved over time. Today, Emory primarily writes and composes instrumental music featuring everything from New Age to Rock. His genre has expanded to include country, rock, pop, and instrumental music. Emory's music is played around the world. Fans download his music on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, and YouTube Music around the globe. It is a rebirth of his life and his career as a writer, composer, and producer.
Discography[edit]
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Ride This Train (The Texas Amabasadors) | Rainbow Records |
| 1977 | Something For Everyone (Singing Christians) | Canaan Records[13] |
| 1978 | Refresh Our Spirit (Singing Christians) | Canaan Records |
| 1979 | Breakout (Mercy River Boys) | Canaan Records[14][15][16][1] |
| 1979 | Kerrville Folk Life Festival LIVE, 1979. (Mercy River Boys) | Kerrville Folk Festival |
| 1981 | A Canaan Country Christmas album, Oh Little Town of Bethlehem (Mercy River Boys) | Canaan Records[17][18] |
| 1982 | Arms of my Best Friend (Mercy River Boys) | Canaan Records[19][11][2][20] |
| 1985 | God Bless The U.S.A. Paradise (musical group) | Englewood Records[21] |
| 1986 | Show Them Paradise (musical group) (Single) | Englewood Records |
| 1987 | Hired Guns (Paradise (musical group)) | Englewood Records[24] |
| 1989 | Invade The Darkness Paradise (musical group) | Englewood Records |
| 1991 | The First Six Years (Paradise (musical group)) | Englewood Records |
| 2003 | The Early Years, Kerrville Folk Life Festival, Compilation, 1972-1981. (Mercy River Boys) | Kerrville Folk Festival[31] |
| 2019 | The Greatest Hits of the Mercy River Boys (Mercy River Boys) | Englewood Records |
| 2019 | Paradise Revisited (Paradise), Compilation, 1986-1989 (Produced by Emory Atkins) | Englewood Records |
| 2020 | The Lost Recordings (Paradise) | Englewood Records |
| 2020 | Songs of Life (Danny Hollis) (Produced by Emory Atkins) | Englewood Records |
| 2020 | Tales from the Caerulean Knight (Emory Atkins) | Englewood Records |
| 2021 | The Long Journey Home (Emory Atkins) | Englewood Records |
| 2021 | Flight of the Everlasting (Emory Atkins) | Englewood Records |
| 2021 | Time Goes By (Danny Hollis) (Produced by Emory Atkins) | Englewood Records |
External Links[edit]
Photo 1 Emory Atkins (1984) Last Mercy River Boys Concert Emory Atkins Live Performance 1984
Photo 2 Emory Atkins (1980) Emory Atkins 1980
Photo 3 Texas Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame D723567F-57C9-4F26-BC05-6B3701BA554B.jpeg - Click to see more photos
Photo 4 Grammy Award Grammy Award nomination Finalist 1979 Mercy River Boys Breakout Canaan Records
Photo 5 Dove Award Dove Award nomination Finalist 1979-80 Mercy River Boys Breakout Canaan Records
Photo 6 Mercy River Boys - Breakout Album 1979 Cover A Mercy River Boys Breakout Canaan Records 1979
Photo 7 Mercy River Boys - Breakout Album 1979 Cover B Mercy River Boys Breakout Album Cover B Canaan Records 1979
Photo 8 1979 Concert Handout Mercy River Boys Publicity Photos 1979-80 U.S. Tour
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Grammy Award Nominees 1980 - Grammy Award Winners 1980". www.awardsandshows.com.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "A History of the Mercy River Boys". March 1, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ https://scttx.com/articles/texas-gospel-music-hall-fame-inducts-singing-christiansmercy-river-boys
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://sghistory.com/index.php?n=E.Emory_Atkins
- ↑ http://www.uniqware.com/magazine11/level2htm/Christian1.htm
- ↑ "Southern Gospel History | M / Mercy River Boys". sghistory.com.
- ↑ http://happenstance-music.com/images/KFF-programs/1978-5.jpg
- ↑ Festival, Kerrville Folk. "Kerrville Folk Festival: An Inventory of Its Records, 1958-2014, at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library". legacy.lib.utexas.edu.
- ↑ "Reading the Row". Nashville Scene.
- ↑ http://sghistory.com/index.php?n=M.Mercy_River_Boys
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Arms of My Best Friend". February 27, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ https://www.easttexaspress.com/faith/singing-christiansmercy-river-boys-tx-gospel-music-hall-fame
- ↑ "The Singing Christians - Something For Everyone". Discogs.
- ↑ "Blow On Tempest". February 28, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "You Needed Me". March 3, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "FLAT TOP MARTIN GUITAR". March 3, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Various - Canaan Country Christmas". Discogs. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ↑ "O Little Town of Bethlehem". March 1, 2018 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Would They Love Him Down in Shreveport". March 1, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Mercy River Boys - In The Arms Of My Best Friend". Discogs.
- ↑ "Last Train To Glory by Paradise". February 25, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "You're So Good To Me by Paradise". February 26, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Antioch Church House Choir by Paradise". February 26, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Where Have All The Righteous Men Gone by Paradise". February 26, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Show Them by Paradise". February 26, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Don't Avoid The Truth by Paradise". February 26, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Praise to the Lamb by Paradise". February 26, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Dream by Paradise". February 27, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Aliens by Paradise 1987". February 27, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Breakaway by Paradise". February 26, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "The Early Years: Kerrville Folk Festival by Various Artists" – via rateyourmusic.com.
This page was moved from wikipedia:en:Emory Atkins. It's edit history can be viewed at Emory Atkins/edithistory
