Steven Curtis Chapman Biography

Steven Curtis Chapman (born November 21, 1962 in Paducah, Kentucky, USA) is a contemporary Christian musician who has won five Grammy awards and more Gospel Music Association awards than any other artist in history.

Steven Curtis Chapman is one of the biggest legends in contemporary Christian music. He was first signed to a songwriting deal in the early 1980s, based upon the strength of his song "Built To Last" which was recorded by popular gospel group The Imperials. Shortly after, he signed a record deal with Sparrow Records, where he rose to prominence. As of September, 2005, Chapman had sold over nine million records.

He and his wife Mary Beth live in Nashville, Tennessee, and have three biological children (Emily Elizabeth, Caleb Stevenson, Will Franklin) and three adopted daughters from China (Shaohannah Hope Yan, Stevey Joy Ru, Maria Sue Chapman). Chapman and his sons recorded under the name of "Stevenson" for the 2003 Veggie Rocks CD. (Song: "I Love My Lips", VeggieTales). Chapman starred in the 2003 film Christmas Child.

Together, Chapman and his wife have written three children's books with adoption themes, Shaoey And Dot (2004), Shaoey and Dot: The Christmas Miracle (2005), and Shaoey and Dot: A Thunder and Lightning Bug Story (2006). Together with minister Scotty Smith, Chapman authored two books for the adult inspirational market, Speechless (1999) and Restoring Broken Things (2005). Chapman's song "All About Love" has been featured in commercials for the Fox television show, Celebrity Duets.

In 2006, Chapman went on tour to several Asian countries. His web site claims his concert for U.S. troops serving in South Korea was the first Christian concert ever performed for the troops in that country, and a concert in Shanghai, China was "the first public performance by a Gospel recording artist event in the city open to China passport holders" and the third-largest concert in Shanghai that spring. The tour also took the artist to Australia, New Zealand, China, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore. During the same period, his song "The Blessing" reached number one on Thailand radio charts.

Chapman and his wife are recognized advocates for adoption. Together, they founded Shaohannah's Hope, a charity organization which offers grants to qualifying families to help defray the cost of adopting, at home and abroad. Both were awarded the Angels of Adoption award by a Congressional Committee for adoption in Washington, D.C. in September of 2001. Chapman also has promoted the international charity World Vision for at least a decade, currently serving as spokesperson for Project Restore, its program serving the U.S. Gulf Coast region in recovery from Hurricane Katrina, in cooperation with the Gospel Music Association.

In the late 1990s, Chapman became involved in youth violence prevention efforts following the 1997 Heath High School shooting at his alma mater in West Paducah, Kentucky. In addition to being asked to sing at the funeral of one of the victims, Chapman later gave a memorial concert and joined Charles Colson and others in creating a video designed to sensitize teenagers to signs of serious violence planning among peers and to encourage them to report plans that are told to them.

First Hand (1987)

Chapman is the all-time winner in GMA Music Awards (Dove Awards), with 50 awards in his career.

He and James Blackwood are tied with seven Male Vocalist titles.

When Chapman won Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year in 2005, breaking a three-year drought at the GMA Music Awards, he broke a 10-way tie with his third award in the category. Two artists (Sandi Patty and Michael English) had won the award twice but were not songwriters, one writer (Don Koch) had won the award twice with songs recorded by other artists, while Chapman and six other artists (Bruce Carroll, Ray Boltz, Bob Carlisle, Kathy Troccoli, Clay Crosse, Tim Hughes) had claimed two awards each for songs they wrote and recorded.

Chapman's proficiency at the GMA Music Awards led to one of the most famous lines in the history of the ceremony, at the 1999 Song of the Year presentation. Presenter Darrell Waltrip, the triple NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion, asked three-time Dove winner Kathy Troccoli if she could relate to the experience of a driver who has tuned his car to perfection, driving well, only to be blown away by another driver who leaves everyone in the dust to steal the win. The songstress responded, "We know the feeling, Darrell. It happens to us every time Steven Curtis Chapman releases a new album!"

In 2006, Chapman's win for Special Event Album gave him an unprecedented 50th career win.

Artist information courtesy of their Wikipedia entry, which is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.