Paul Clark

Paul Clark

Paul Clark is a US Christian music artist from Leawood, born in 1951, who becomes established as one of the early figures in contemporary Christian music. He records under the label Minstrel’s Voyage Publishing Co. and is associated with Paul Clark & Friends.

Contemporary Christian music and the Jesus Movement

He records his first album, Songs from the Saviour Vol 1, in 1971. The songs on that release become part of the early spread of the Jesus Movement in the early 1970s. Clark records more than 17 solo albums and writes over 400 songs across his career.

Paul Clark & Friends and key releases

In 1974 and 1975, Clark records two albums as Paul Clark & Friends with guitarist Phil Keaggy, bassist Jay Truax, and drummer John Mehler. He later returns to solo recording with Hand to the Plow in 1977, an album that includes the duet “Woman/The Man That I Love” with Kelly Willard. He follows this with Change in the Wind in 1978 and Aim for the Heart in 1980, both of which include jazz influences. Aim for the Heart features Abraham Laboriel on bass, with Harlan Rogers, Hadley Hockensmith, and Bill Maxwell as session musicians. Those four later play together in the jazz band Koinonia. In 1981, he releases A New Horizon, which returns to the rock/jazz approach heard on Change in the Wind.

Style and later activity

Clark’s music combines rock with jazz elements, and his later recordings continue through the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. He is described as part of the wider history of Jesus Movement-era Christian music, with a catalogue that includes influential songs and albums from the early period of CCM.