Randy Stonehill

by Jason Ankeny Pioneering Christian rocker Randy Stonehill began playing guitar at age ten, within three years winning grand prize in a citywide talent contest held in his native San Jose, CA. He issued his debut LP, Born Twice, in late 1971, and in 1973 recorded Get Me Out of Hollywood, which was never officially released; Welcome to Paradise, his first major album, followed in 1976. After a four-year hiatus from recording, Stonehill resurfaced with The Sky Is Falling, his final collaboration with longtime producer Larry Norman; Between the Glory and the Flame, his first release for the Myrrh label, followed a year later. By now one of CCM's elder statesmen, Stonehill enjoyed his most prolific period during the mid-'80s, issuing at least on album annually between 1983 and 1986; after 1988's Can't Buy a Miracle, he began work on the next year's Return to Paradise, the long-awaited sequel to his breakthrough effort. With 1994's The Lazarus Heart, Stonehill inaugurated his own label, Street Level Records.