Medals (album)

Medals
Medals
Studio album by Russ Taff
Released	1985
Recorded	September 1984 – March 1985
Studio	Mama Jo's Recording Studio, Hollywood, California; Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles, California;
Genre	CCM, Christian pop
Length	45:08
Label	Myrrh/Word Records
Producer	Jack Joseph Puig Russ Taff;
Russ Taff chronology

Medals is the second studio album by Christian singer-songerwriter Russ Taff, released in 1985 on Myrrh Records.^[1]^[2]^[3] Medals would prove to be his breakthrough album.^{[citation needed]} Taff once again co-wrote with his wife Tori, along with his guitarist and songwriter James Hollihan, Jr. and contributions from other CCM artists and songwriters like Pam Mark Hall, Roby Duke and Chris Eaton.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]

Thom Granger of AllMusic said the album contained "'80s pop styles and hooky songs, resulting in a CCM classic".

Accolades

Songs like "Here I Am", "Silent Love", "God Only Knows", and "I'm Not Alone" were Christian radio hits, all hitting the top ten on the Christian AC chart. Music videos were made for "I'm Not Alone" and "Not Gonna Bow" to promote the album. CCM Magazine has ranked Medals at number 36 in their 2001 book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.^[5] Taff won a GMA Dove Award for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for Medals at the 17th GMA Dove Awards.^[6] In 1986, Taff was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male for Medals. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.

GMA Dove Awards

Year	Winner	Category
1986	Medals	Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Vision"	Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Chris Eaton, Chrissie Grossman Puig	4:09
2.	"I'm Not Alone"	Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Elizabeth Janz, Paul Janz	4:19
3.	"Medals"	Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Jonathan Sweet, Rodney Trott	4:43
4.	"Not Gonna Bow"	Russ Taff, Tori Taff, James Newton Howard, Michael Landau	3:51
5.	"Here I Am"	Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Chris Eaton	4:11
6.	"I've Come Too Far"	Roby Duke, James Hollihan, Jr.	5:28
7.	"Silent Love"	Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Elizabeth Janz, Paul Janz, Chrissie Grossman Puig, Robbie Buchanan	4:45
8.	"How Much It Hurts"	Russ Taff, Tori Taff, Chris Eaton	4:05
9.	"Rock Solid"	Tori Taff, James Hollihan, Jr. Raymond Brown	4:08
10.	"God Only Knows"	Pam Mark Hall, James Hollihan, Jr.	4:34

Personnel

Russ Taff – lead vocals, backing vocals (1-4, 9)
Robbie Buchanan – synthesizers (1-3, 5-10), synth bass (1, 3, 8, 9), Fender Rhodes (2, 5-7, 10), Roland drum programming (3), rhythm arrangements (10)
James Newton Howard – synthesizers (1, 2, 4)
Rhett Lawrence – Fairlight CMI (9)
Dann Huff – electric guitar, guitar solo (1, 3, 6, 9)
Paul Jackson Jr. – electric guitar (1, 6)
Michael Landau – electric guitar (2-5, 7-10), guitar solo (4)
Nathan East – bass (1, 3, 6, 9, 10)
Neil Stubenhaus – bass (2, 4, 5, 7, 8)
Paul Leim – drums, LinnDrum programming (1, 3, 5, 6, 9), Simmons programming (1, 5)
Lenny Castro – percussion (2-10)
Larry Williams – saxophone (2, 4, 10)
Bill Champlin – backing vocals (1-3, 5, 7, 8)
Tamara Champlin – backing vocals (1, 2, 5)
Tommy Funderburk – backing vocals
Harry Browning – backing vocals (3)
Carmen Twillie – backing vocals (3, 6, 9, 10)
Tata Vega – backing vocals (3, 6, 9, 10), scat (6, 9)
Lynn Nichols – weird backing vocal (3)

Production

Russ Taff – producer
Jack Joseph Puig – producer, recording, mixing
Mark Ettel – assistant engineer
Steve Ford – assistant engineer
Steve MacMillan – assistant engineer
Todd Van Etten – assistant engineer
Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York City, New York)
Lynn Nichols – creative consultant
Stan Moser – crucial songwriting input (3)
Jeffrey Fey – art direction, design
Aaron Rapoport – photography
Zack Glickman – direction, devotion

Charts

Chart (1985)	Peak position
US Inspirational Albums (Billboard)^[7]	2

Year-end charts

Year	Chart	Position
1985	U.S. Billboard Inspirational Albums	12^[8]
1986	U.S. Billboard Inspirational Albums	7^[9]

Radio singles

Year	Singles	Peak positions
Year	Singles	CCM AC^[10]	CCM CHR^[11]
1985	"Silent Love"	1	3
1985	"Medals"	-	3
1985	"Here I Am"	2	7
1986	"I'm Not Alone"	4	6
1986	"God Only Knows"	10	-

References

^ Russ Taff: Medals. Myrrh Records. 1985.
^ "Top International Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1986-12-27.
^ "GOSPEL Picks". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1985-05-11.
^ Granger, Thom. Russ Taff – Medals at AllMusic
^ Granger, Thom, ed. (2001). The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. Harvest House. p. 132. ISBN 0-7369-0281-3.
^ "Past Winners". GMA Dove Awards. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
^ "Inspirational LPs" (PDF). Billboard. November 16, 1985. p. 53.
^ "Inspirational LPs Year-end issue" (PDF). Billboard. December 28, 1985. p. T-31.
^ "Inspirational LPs Year-end issue" (PDF). Billboard. December 27, 1986. p. Y-43.
^ Brothers, Jeffrey Lee, ed. (2003). CCM Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 - 2001. AuthorHouse. pp. 206, 207. ISBN 1-4107-3294-0.
^ Brothers, Jeffrey Lee, ed. (1999). CCM Hot Hits: Christian Hit Radio - 20 Years of Charts, Artist Bios and More. CCM Books. p. 159. ISBN 0-8230-7718-7.

[Album-1] Russ Taff: Medals. Myrrh Records. 1985.

[2] "Top International Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1986-12-27.

[3] "GOSPEL Picks". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1985-05-11.

[4] Granger, Thom. Russ Taff – Medals at AllMusic

[5] Granger, Thom, ed. (2001). The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. Harvest House. p. 132. ISBN 0-7369-0281-3.

[6] "Past Winners". GMA Dove Awards. Retrieved 2022-10-08.

[7] "Inspirational LPs" (PDF). Billboard. November 16, 1985. p. 53.

[8] "Inspirational LPs Year-end issue" (PDF). Billboard. December 28, 1985. p. T-31.

[9] "Inspirational LPs Year-end issue" (PDF). Billboard. December 27, 1986. p. Y-43.

[10] Brothers, Jeffrey Lee, ed. (2003). CCM Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 - 2001. AuthorHouse. pp. 206, 207. ISBN 1-4107-3294-0.

[11] Brothers, Jeffrey Lee, ed. (1999). CCM Hot Hits: Christian Hit Radio - 20 Years of Charts, Artist Bios and More. CCM Books. p. 159. ISBN 0-8230-7718-7.

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v t e Russ Taff
Studio albums	Walls of Glass Medals Russ Taff The Way Home Under Their Influence Winds of Change Right Here, Right Now Now More Than Ever Faroe Islands I Still Believe
Christmas albums	A Christmas Song Another Sentimental Christmas
Compilation albums	We Will Stand/Yesterday and Today The Best of Russ Taff