Whiteheart
| White Heart | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Contemporary Christian music, Christian rock |
| Years active | 1982–1997 |
| Labels | Home Sweet Home, Sparrow, Star Song, Curb |
| Associated acts | Bill Gaither, Mylon LeFevre & Broken Heart |
| Past members |
Mark Gersmehl Billy Smiley Rick Florian Anthony Sallee Brian Wooten Chris McHugh Gordon Kennedy Dann Huff David Huff Gary Lunn Tommy Sims Mark Nemer Jon Knox John Thorn Steve Green Scott Douglas Kevin Mills Scott Bernard |
White Heart, also listed as Whiteheart, is a contemporary Christian music pop-rock band which formed in 1982. White Heart's discography includes thirteen albums, the most recent of which was released in 1997. Original members Billy Smiley and Mark Gersmehl worked with a continually-changing cast of band-mates. In 1985, former roadie Rick Florian became the lead singer.
Although White Heart has not officially "retired" as a band, remaining members Smiley, Gersmehl and Florian are each pursuing other interests. Smiley started his own label, Cul-de-Sac Records. Gersmehl continues to write music and has released solo efforts. Florian is a real estate agent in the Franklin, Tennessee area and also continues to sing for various recording projects.
White Heart formed in 1982 with two of its members coming from Bill Gaither's group. The first two albums were produced by Smiley and Huff, the two friends who formed the group and were listening to groups like Toto, Boz Scaggs, Journey, and Steely Dan at the time. The original lineup consisted of Billy Smiley (guitar, keyboards, and occasional lead vocals), Mark Gersmehl (keyboards and occasional lead vocals), Steve Green (lead vocals), Gary Lunn (bass), and brothers Dann and David Huff (guitars/vocals & drums respectively).
Whiteheart was pursued by every major Christian label until Chris Christian heard their demo and signed them to Home Sweet Home Records and gave them their first record deal. By the time they released their third album, they were selling in excess of 250,000 albums. After their self-titled debut album was released in 1982, the band suffered its first lineup change. Green left the band, saying that rock was not his style. They went on to tour with David Meece and Farrell and Farrell for the next two years, building their fan base, with Scott Douglas as Green's replacement as lead vocalist. Green continued to sing background vocals on Vital Signs, and they had their first No. 1 single, We Are His Hands, with Douglas singing the lead, and Smiley and Green singing the harmonies.
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