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White Heart
White Heart, also listed as Whiteheart, was an American contemporary Christian music and 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 bandmates. In 1986, former roadie Rick Florian became the lead singer.
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, and the first two albums were produced by Bill Smiley and Dann Huff. These two friends were listening to groups like Toto, Boz Scaggs, Journey, and Steely Dan at the time they formed White Heart.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] After their self-titled debut album was released in 1982, the band went through 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.[citation needed]
The band released its second album, Vital Signs, in 1984. Douglas was with the band for two years before being charged with aggravated sexual battery on June 30, 1985. He was sentenced to prison in March 1986.
Dann Huff left the band shortly after to pursue his dream of being a studio musician, and recommended his high school friend, Gordon Kennedy as his replacement for the WhiteHeart album, Hotline. Later, in 1985, David Huff left the band to pursue other interests as well, including touring with Michael W. Smith. Eventually, he would join his brother Dann to form the hard rock band Giant.
With Douglas gone, the remaining band members began to audition singers. In 1985, they were surprised when they saw and heard their stage manager and roadie, Rick Florian, dancing around on the stage and "karaoke" singing along to the song "Every Time You Go Away", which the sound company used to sonically tune the room each night during soundcheck. A few weeks later, Florian came up to Smiley and asked if he could audition for the lead vocalist position, and he was later chosen as Douglas' replacement.[citation needed] He became a core member of the band and continued through the rest of White Heart's discography. Chris McHugh was also picked up to fill the drummer seat.
White Heart's 1986 release, Don't Wait for the Movie, was released with their first major headlining tour and had major support from Sparrow Records and Billy Ray Hearn, who had personally come out to meet and hopefully sign the band. He hired Smiley as the producer for the record.[citation needed] It continues to be one of the band's most successful selling albums with three No. 1 songs, and breaking all previous album sales. The album was ranked at number 74 from CCM Magazine from their 2001 book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. The band kept on touring and recording. Gary Lunn left the band to become a studio musician and was replaced with Tommy Sims.
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White Heart
White Heart, also listed as Whiteheart, was an American contemporary Christian music and 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 bandmates. In 1986, former roadie Rick Florian became the lead singer.
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, and the first two albums were produced by Bill Smiley and Dann Huff. These two friends were listening to groups like Toto, Boz Scaggs, Journey, and Steely Dan at the time they formed White Heart.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] After their self-titled debut album was released in 1982, the band went through 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.[citation needed]
The band released its second album, Vital Signs, in 1984. Douglas was with the band for two years before being charged with aggravated sexual battery on June 30, 1985. He was sentenced to prison in March 1986.
Dann Huff left the band shortly after to pursue his dream of being a studio musician, and recommended his high school friend, Gordon Kennedy as his replacement for the WhiteHeart album, Hotline. Later, in 1985, David Huff left the band to pursue other interests as well, including touring with Michael W. Smith. Eventually, he would join his brother Dann to form the hard rock band Giant.
With Douglas gone, the remaining band members began to audition singers. In 1985, they were surprised when they saw and heard their stage manager and roadie, Rick Florian, dancing around on the stage and "karaoke" singing along to the song "Every Time You Go Away", which the sound company used to sonically tune the room each night during soundcheck. A few weeks later, Florian came up to Smiley and asked if he could audition for the lead vocalist position, and he was later chosen as Douglas' replacement.[citation needed] He became a core member of the band and continued through the rest of White Heart's discography. Chris McHugh was also picked up to fill the drummer seat.
White Heart's 1986 release, Don't Wait for the Movie, was released with their first major headlining tour and had major support from Sparrow Records and Billy Ray Hearn, who had personally come out to meet and hopefully sign the band. He hired Smiley as the producer for the record.[citation needed] It continues to be one of the band's most successful selling albums with three No. 1 songs, and breaking all previous album sales. The album was ranked at number 74 from CCM Magazine from their 2001 book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. The band kept on touring and recording. Gary Lunn left the band to become a studio musician and was replaced with Tommy Sims.