Michael Sweet
| Michael Sweet | |
|---|---|
Sweet performing with Boston, June 13, 2008 in Hinckley, MN
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael Harrison Sweet |
| Born |
July 4, 1963 Whittier, California, U.S. |
| Origin | Orange County, California |
| Genres | Christian rock, Christian metal, hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Associated acts | Stryper, Boston, Sweet & Lynch |
| Website | www |
Michael Harrison Sweet (born July 4, 1963) is a singer from Whittier, California; he is the co-founder, writer, lead guitarist, lead singer and front man of the Christian metal band Stryper. He was also singer and guitarist for Boston from 2007 to 2011.
In the early 1980s, Sweet and his brother started a band called Roxx Regime and played in small venues. They were a trio for a period of time with Sweet being the only guitar player in the band. This band would later become Stryper. The band challenged the stereotype of heavy metal being satanic and took Christian rock into mainstream.
With the band, Sweet was not only the lead vocalist and shared lead guitar duties, but he also wrote most of the music for the band as well as co-producing and arranging the music. The band recorded five successful studio albums. The band's reputation declined in the 1990s.
After nine years as the lead singer/lead guitarist of Stryper, Sweet left the band in 1992 in order to pursue a solo career. He first released a demo album titled Unstryped, which featured several songs allegedly intended for the band. Sweet later included some of these on his first full-length album.
His self-titled debut album was released in 1994 and sold over 250,000 copies. He followed it with a slightly softer album titled Real in 1996 earning him a Dove Award nomination. Soon after the release of Real, Sweet left Benson Records, with whom he had released the two albums.
During this time, Sweet and his wife Kyle moved to Massachusetts, where Sweet worked at his father-in-law's campground/cranberry business, Maple Park. In 1998, he released an independent demo album titled Truth which received critical acclaim. He was signed to Restless Records and re-released Truth in 2000 with a new song-list and new artwork.
...
Wikipedia