Iin this episode of Music and meaninghost Charlie Peacock takes a narrative journey through the many ways Jesus has been represented in pop music: explicitly, implicitly, authentically, and mockingly.
He discusses Jesus Christ Superstar, the rock opera that brought a contemporary Jesus to a new generation. This brings us to a look at the 70s perspective of Jesus as a symbol of authenticity and rebellion, covering songs from Norman Greenbaum, James Taylor, The Velvet Underground and Black Sabbath, to name a few. some. Over the decades, Charlie reflects on how representations of Jesus in music have evolved, from controversial metal bands in the ’80s to Tupac Shakur’s rap in the ’90s to Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” in the ’90s. 2000, and more, including Taylor Swift, The Killers, U2 and Lauren Daigle. In his own words, “I’m simply highlighting the enduring Jesus motif in pop culture. Some musicians are simply name-checking Jesus. Others have incorporated the Jesus narrative into their music with curiosity and care.” The episode ends with Charlie sharing his personal philosophy regarding mentioning Jesus in music (and he might even be caught singing a little). Finally, he leaves us with a Spotify playlist of 50 songs which highlights some of these various musical critiques of Jesus, the co-opting of his name, as well as tributes, praises and genuine artistic reflection. The playlist offers listeners a second opportunity to soak in Jesus’ significant impact on pop music titles and lyrics. Contemporary interest in who people say about Jesus, through music and entertainment, is alive and well.
Charlie Peacock is a Grammy Award winner, Billboard chart-topping music producer, composer and recording artist. He is co-founder of the Art House, Wedgwood Circle, and founder/director emeritus of the Commercial Music Program at Lipscomb University. Charlie has produced music for film and television, including An unforgettable walk“Misery Chain” by Chris Cornell from the soundtrack of 12 years of slaveryand “Hush”, the main theme from the AMC drama Tour: Washington’s spies. Nominated by Billboard’s The Encyclopedia of Record Producers As one of the 500 most important producers in music history, Charlie is also a three-time recipient of the Gospel Music Award for Producer of the Year. His books include Why does everything that doesn’t matter matter so much?; New way of being human; At the crossroads; and a contribution to It was good: making music to the glory of God. Charlie is the senior music editor of Christianity today and host of the CT podcast Music and meaning. He has been married to the writer Andi Ashworth for almost 50 years and they have two married adult children and four grandchildren.
“Music and Meaning” is a production of Christianity Today:
Executive produced by Erik Petrik and Matt Stevens
Produced and written by Charlie Peacock and Mike Cosper
Original music and editing by David LaChance and Charlie Peacock
Mixing engineer: Mark Owens
Show theme, “Sound of the Room”, composed by Charlie Peacock, with bassist John Patitucci
