Chris Tomlin Music Videos, Pictures and Photos including Love, I Will Rise, Take My Life (And Let It Be), Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) Music Videos on Yallwire

Chris Tomlin

Christopher Dwayne Tomlin (better known by his shortened stage name, Chris Tomlin) is one of the biggest figures in Contemporary Christian Music today. The recipient of numerous awards (including 14 Dove Awards), Chris was recently named the most sung Christian artist in the United States by the Christian Copyright Licensing International - no small feat. While popular acts like Hawk Nelson and Relient K take an edgy, rock-influenced approach to Christian music, Tomlin's worship music is softer and melodic, giving it widespread appeal amongst older and younger generations alike.

Quite possibly the most famous resident of his salt-mining hometown of Grand Saline, Texas (his only competitor for that distinction might be Wiley H. Post, a stunt pilot from the 1930's), Chris grew up the eldest child in a deeply religious family. He began playing guitar at age eleven, composing his first original song at age fourteen. Though he enrolled at Texas A&M University after high school for a time, Chris soon dropped out to write and perform worship music, a calling that he felt to be more important than a formal education.

In 1994 Chris began leading musical worship for Dawson McAllister, a traveling youth preacher, independently releasing a number of albums by himself on the side. This arrangement eventually caught the attention of Louie Giglio, a prominent Texas preacher and owner of Sixsteprecords (David Crowder Band, Matt Redman), an influential Christian music label backed by EMI. He made his major-label debut in 2001 with the release of his first full-length album on Sixsteprecords, The Noise We Make. The Noise We Make was a hit in the Christian music world, generating rave reviews and thrusting Tomlin into the spotlight. His second album, 2004's Arriving, was even more successful, producing three hit singles (among them "Holy Is the Lord" and "How Great is Our God") and receiving a coveted Platinum certification from the RIAA. Tomlin released his most recent record Hello Love in late 2008. Taking its name from the feeling of exhilaration he feels when communicating with God, Hello Love peaked at #9 on the mainstream Billboard 200 index - somewhat surprising for a worship record.