Oh say can you see?

Some of you may remember the Christian Rock band Degarmo and Key (D and K). Yesterday Dana Key passed away at 56 years old when a blood clot burst. Since I am 55 this hits close to home. We can be making our plans and plotting our future and in a heart beat our life on earth is over. We know he is now in heaven with no pain or suffering and enjoying the presence of our Lord. But, when someone passes over those of us that remain mourn. Jesus said “blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted,” so the mourning process is a good thing.

Degarmo and Key were pioneering Christian musicians. In the early eighties Christian music was not nearly as popular as it is today and secular media shunned Christian music and Christian artists. I remember trying to buy commercials on mainstream (secular) stations for our church and being told that there was a separation of church and state and that they couldn’t run them. Now we are used to hearing and seeing church commercials on main stream media. Degarmo and Key led the way with a music video that was played on MTV for their song “666”. This was revolutionary to have a Christian band on MTV. Within a short period of time the video was banned by MTV as too controversial. This is the same MTV that has broken all barriers for sex and violent content, but a Christian video was too hot to handle. D and K were great musicians but more than that they were unwavering in their faith. Songs like “Destined to Win” and “Casual Christian” were intended to get folks out of the pews and the comfort of the church to proclaim the faith to those around us. I was involved in bringing the first Christian music night to the New Mexico State Fair back in 1981. We had Degarmo and Key that September evening and over 5,000 people attended the concert. We wanted D and K because we knew they would represent the best in Christian music and they did not disappoint us. Their musical presentation was unmatched but the part I remember the most was when Dana Key shared the Gospel. He talked about how Christ changed his life and that Jesus died for sinners to set us free. This message is timeless but particularly important because none of us know when we will run out of time. They continued to put out great Christian music through the nineties and to produce other Christian artists. Dana was the head of Ardent records and was the great, great, great, great, great grandson of Francis Scott Key the author of the Star Spangled Banner. It is interesting to note that his ancestor through his music memorialized our struggle for freedom in America; Dana continued the tradition by musically music sharing the freedom that is found through Jesus Christ.