Granting Wishes

Amy Grant never seems to slow down. After releasing a CD and DVD last year comprising her Greatest Hits 1986-2004, the singer hit the studio for her twentieth album, Rock of Ages … Hymns & Faith. The follow-up to 2002's Legacy … Hymns & Faith (which recently reached gold certification) features production by husband Vince Gill and frequent collaborator Brown Bannister. But now Grant has another trick up her sleeve-in the television department. This fall she'll host NBC's Three Wishes, a reality show in which a team of experts helps make contestants' hopes and dreams come true. We recently caught up with Grant via phone between the show's tour stops.

Why another hymns record so soon?

Amy Grant: Well, there's just a timelessness to a hymns record. It doesn't matter if someone discovers it next week or five years from now or twenty years from now. For any other kind of music, you're basically trying to get things on the radio. I felt like [2003's pop album] Simple Things was a great creative effort, but I didn't feel like all the pieces were firing at the same time to make it do well. What I don't want to have to worry about right now is any kind of radio success. I thought, if it doesn't seem like there's an open window for what I'm doing in the radio world, I'd rather do this pet project that I started with Legacy and invest my time and energy there. I think those records are beautiful; I think the hymns are beautiful.

My mom and dad are both in their 70s, and I feel fortunate that they're still alive and well. My mom came over today to visit her grandkids and just said, "Amy, I play this record all the time, and it's my favorite thing you've ever done." It means more to me right now to make a record that means a great deal to my mom than it does to go headlong pursuing radio. Nobody could've told me at 25 I would say that, but hands down this means more to me right now than having done something else.

What are the similarities and differences between Legacy and Rock of Ages?

Grant: I think Rock of Ages is a little more developed musically. We took longer to do it [and] I feel like the production was bolder. Even though they're both are collections of hymns, I didn't want it to be the exact same experience as Legacy. The record starts with "Anywhere with Jesus," which has kind of a bluesy feel, but instead of just sticking its toe in the water, it goes way in. Then the record ends with "Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go" and that's more of a long saxophone solo. So, just a little more production extremes as opposed to Legacy, which is a little more sparse.

How did you decide what songs to include the second time around?

Grant: I have a lot of songbooks around my house, hymnals, songbooks from the church I grew up in, and a couple of favorite publications I've purchased. I just flip through those and make a list, and then talk with Vince and Brown about the list. I made a master list of about 30 songs-each one was a song I grew up singing-and then we just tried to figure out musical directions to take the songs.

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