Medals
Studio album by
Released1985
RecordedSeptember 1984 – March 1985
Studio
GenreCCM, Christian pop
Length45:08
LabelMyrrh/Word Records
ProducerJack Joseph Puig, Russ Taff
Russ Taff chronology
Walls of Glass
(1983)
Medals
(1985)
Russ Taff
(1987)

Medals is the second studio album by Christian singer-songerwriter Russ Taff, released in 1985 on Myrrh Records.[1][2][3] Medals would prove to be his breakthrough album. Taff once again co-wrote with his wife Tori, along with his guitarist and songwriter James Hollihan, Jr. and contributions from other CCM artists and songwriters like Pam Mark Hall, Roby Duke and Chris Eaton.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]

Thom Granger of AllMusic said the album contained "'80s pop styles and hooky songs, resulting in a CCM classic".

Accolades

Songs like "Here I Am", "Silent Love", "God Only Knows", and "I'm Not Alone" were Christian radio hits, all hitting the top ten on the Christian AC chart. Music videos were made for "I'm Not Alone" and "Not Gonna Bow" to promote the album. CCM Magazine has ranked Medals at number 36 in their 2001 book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.[5] Taff won a GMA Dove Award for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for Medals at the 17th GMA Dove Awards.[6] In 1986, Taff was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male for Medals. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.

GMA Dove Awards

Year Winner Category
1986 Medals Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Vision"Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Chris Eaton, Chrissie Grossman Puig4:09
2."I'm Not Alone"Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Elizabeth Janz, Paul Janz4:19
3."Medals"Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Jonathan Sweet, Rodney Trott4:43
4."Not Gonna Bow"Russ Taff, Tori Taff, James Newton Howard, Michael Landau3:51
5."Here I Am"Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Chris Eaton4:11
6."I've Come Too Far"Roby Duke, James Hollihan, Jr.5:28
7."Silent Love"Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Elizabeth Janz, Paul Janz, Chrissie Grossman Puig, Robbie Buchanan4:45
8."How Much It Hurts"Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Chris Eaton4:05
9."Rock Solid"Tori Taff, James Hollihan, Jr. Raymond Brown4:08
10."God Only Knows"Pam Mark Hall, James Hollihan, Jr.4:34

Personnel

Production

  • Russ Taff – producer
  • Jack Joseph Puig – producer, recording, mixing
  • Mark Ettel – assistant engineer
  • Steve Ford – assistant engineer
  • Steve MacMillan – assistant engineer
  • Todd Van Etten – assistant engineer
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York City, New York)
  • Lynn Nichols – creative consultant
  • Stan Moser – crucial songwriting input (3)
  • Jeffrey Fey – art direction, design
  • Aaron Rapoport – photography
  • Zack Glickman – direction, devotion

Charts

Chart (1985) Peak
position
US Inspirational Albums (Billboard)[7] 2

Year-end charts

Year Chart Position
1985 U.S. Billboard Inspirational Albums 12[8]
1986 7[9]

Radio singles

Year Singles Peak positions
CCM AC[10] CCM CHR[11]
1985 "Silent Love" 1 3
1985 "Medals" - 3
1985 "Here I Am" 2 7
1986 "I'm Not Alone" 4 6
1986 "God Only Knows" 10 -

References

  1. Russ Taff: Medals. Myrrh Records. 1985.
  2. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1986-12-27). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1985-05-11). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. Granger, Thom. "Russ Taff – Medals". AllMusic.
  5. Granger, Thom, ed. (2001). The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. Harvest House. p. 132. ISBN 0-7369-0281-3.
  6. "Past Winners | The 53rd Annual GMA Dove Awards". Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  7. "Inspirational LPs" (PDF). Billboard. November 16, 1985. p. 53.
  8. "Inspirational LPs Year-end issue" (PDF). Billboard. December 28, 1985. p. T-31.
  9. "Inspirational LPs Year-end issue" (PDF). Billboard. December 27, 1986. p. Y-43.
  10. Brothers, Jeffrey Lee, ed. (2003). CCM Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 - 2001. AuthorHouse. pp. 206, 207. ISBN 1-4107-3294-0.
  11. Brothers, Jeffrey Lee, ed. (1999). CCM Hot Hits: Christian Hit Radio - 20 Years of Charts, Artist Bios and More. CCM Books. p. 159. ISBN 0-8230-7718-7.
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