Remembering Shannon Childress

I first met Shannon at Mr. B’s restaurant in Burlington, NC during the Hoppers annual Christmas tour back in December 1988 when I did a radio interview with him for a radio station I was working for at the time. My last interview with Shannon was in 2006 when I interviewed him for SoGospelNews (you can read this feature via the following link: http://sogospelnews.com/index/features/comments/6154/). Over the years, I found Shannon to be an open, honest and sincere individual. I looked up to Shannon and highly respected him as a person and his talents as a singer, musician and songwriter.

Shannon was such a remarkable talent. I remember watching in awe at his vocal abilities and how effortlessly he played the piano. He added so much to the Hoppers sound during the 1980s and 1990s, vocally and musically; a void I feel is still there today. Shannon had a wide range vocally and could sing high and low. I loved watching him effortlessly bottom out on the end of “It is Well with my Soul” and hearing him do vocal flip flops on “Here I Am”, “Heavenly Sunrise” and others. As a songwriter, Shannon found no equal as he could pen tremendous, thoughtful lyrics and wrap them up in wonderful musical arrangements that completely complemented what he was trying to say. Some of his best works can be found in “Anchor to the Power of the Cross”, “Milk and Honey”, “Are You the Achan That’s Breaking God’s Heart”, “The Cross Now is Empty”, “One More Time”, “I’ve Set My Sights”, “Free Indeed”, “From Disgrace to His Grace”, “No Time at All”, “Take it to God in Prayer” and “Oh How Amazing is Amazing Grace”. Shannon didn’t write huge quantities of songs, but he wrote quality material that reached into your inner-most being.

Shannon was a good friend. While we lost contact with each other for awhile after he left the Hoppers and moved to Nashville, I never forgot his friendship and how he supported me and helped me as a singer and amateur songwriter. He and Dean Hopper produced a recording I did back in 1995. Shannon did a lot of the musical arrangements as well as the arrangements for the background vocals and that collaborative effort between Shannon and Dean produced a recording I am still very, very proud of.

Shannon also took an interest in my songwriting and helped me get my first song published through the Hoppers publishing company and subsequently pitched it to several groups and eventually the Down East Boys picked it up and recorded it and singled the song and it hit the Top 40. That song, “Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb”, was such a huge accomplishment for me. I owe part of that to Shannon, because he believed in me and was such an encouragement to me, and I will never forget it. But, that was who he was...always believing in the “little man” and trying to help others. That’s one of the big things I remember about Shannon.

A short story leading up to Shannon and Dean producing my recording...I went to see the Hoppers in Danville, VA in December 1994 and I was talking to Shannon about some songs and what I was looking for in preparation for the recording I was planning on doing the next year. I asked Shannon specifically if he had any songs related to 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (my favorite passage of scripture) and he said he did and it was a song he had just written called, “Anchor to the Power of the Cross”. During the first part of 2005, I received a demo in the mail with 3 songs from Shannon, with one of them being “Anchor...”. I absolutely loved the song and was excited about recording it and decided I definitely wanted to include it on my recording. Later in the year, I found out the Hoppers were going to record it as well (and the song subsequently made it #1 in the charts on the following year), and I appreciated Shannon allowing me to record his song, even though the Hoppers were going to do it as well. It was great seeing the Hoppers in Williamston, North Carolina later in 1996 when “Anchor to the Power of the Cross” went #1. Claude announced it from the stage and Shannon was just beaming. I know he was proud, and I was too.

I thank God for allowing me the chance to know Shannon. I have many great memories of Shannon and will miss him deeply. Shannon was at times quiet, but he had a huge sense of humor and was always a joy to be around. I could share several stories, and all of them hold a special place in my heart. But although he has gone to be with the Master, Shannon’s legacy will forever live on here on Earth through his music, and only eternity will tell the impact the man and the music has made on the lives of people everywhere.