Chuck Girard, Christian Rock Pioneer Who Fronted Love Song in 1970s After Hitting Top 10 With the Hondells, Dies at 81
Chuck Girard, who became one of the pioneers of Christian rock as Love Song's lead singer in the 1970s after having hits as a member of the Hondells in the '60s, died Monday at age 81. Girard had announced on social media earlier that he was battling stage 4 cancer. "It is with great sorrow, yet also great joy, to let you know that Chuck has moved to Heaven and will be eternally with Jesus," his wife, Karen, announced on social media. "He left this earth at rest and in total peace, surrounded by family. We praise the Lord for His great mercy and for His gift of Chuck's music, message, and heart." Love Song was short-lived, releasing a self-titled debut album in 1972 and then breaking up before a second LP, "Final Touch," hit stores two years later. (A reunion tour generated a live double-album, "Feel the Love," in 1977.) Yet their impact was widely felt in evangelical circles and beyond, as the Girard-fronted group became the first Christian rock band to receive national notoriety, at the same time as solo artists like Larry Norman were coming to greater attention as what was then called "Jesus music" emerged. That impact eclipsed the more chart-worthy success he had had a decade earlier, when he was a member of such groups as the Hondells and the Castells. The latter group cracked the top 20 with "Sacred" in 1961, and then the Hondells reached No. 9 with a Gary Usher-produced cover of the Beach Boys' "Little Honda" in 1964. The 1972 "Love Song" album was named by CCM Magazine as one of the 25 greatest Christian contemporary music albums of all time. A three-part documentary about the group, "A Band Called Love Song: The Music & Movement of the Jesus Revolution," is set to come out on Prime Video on Sept. 19. Following Love Song's initial breakup in the early 1970s, Girard embarked on a solo career, starting with a self-titled album in 1974 on which he was backed by members of Ambrosia. That solo debut included his most popular song, "Sometimes Alleluia," which became a staple of nondenominational church services that were seeking out fresher songs for worship in place of hymns. Although his profile was lower as succeeding generations of artists came along in what came to be known as CCM, Girard continued to enjoy respect as one of the pioneers of the genre, and — with several long pauses in his recording career — continued releasing albums up through 2024's "Moonrise Serenade." Christian music stars of the past and present reacted to Girard's death with expressions of sorrow and gratitude. "I am so grateful for the life Chuck lived and for the way he ran with endurance the race set before him," said Amy Grant, in a statement to CCM Magazine. "The hope-filled music he poured into the world, using his God-given gifts, has touched countless lives. I remember listening to 'Slow Down' as a young teenager and how that song helped direct the course of my life. Now he is seeing what we have yet to see and hearing what we have only dreamed about, joining that great cloud of witnesses. We will all be there in a blink of an eye." "There's no doubt that Chuck was not only a pioneer, he was a pastor," said John J. Thompson, founder of True Tunes and longtime CCM chronicler. "Love Song may not have been the first Jesus Music band, but they certainly took the genre to a whole new level of professionalism without losing an ounce of passion or heart. Most people think of him and his legacy through the lens of Love Song, but his solo work was so seminal too. 'Rock and Roll Preacher' and 'Slow Down' were equally influential — and critical— for completely different reasons." Girard released a memoir, "Rock and Roll Preacher," in 2020, named for a song on his first solo album. Initially raised in the Los Angeles area, Girard's family had moved to Santa Rosa when he began forming bands with fellow students in the area. He was still a senior in high school when the Castells' "Sacred" hit the top 20 in 1961. It was then that he met Gary Usher, the co-writer of Beach Boys songs like "In My Room," who invited Girard to become a part of his studio inner circle, recording with bands with ever-shifting monikers and lineups. "So I did that for about four years," Girard said. "I made records under all kinds of different names. We made hot rod albums, surf albums, monster albums." Nick Venel, an exec who had worked with the Beach Boys, asked Usher to come up with an album that would come out under the name of the Hondells. Usher was said to have handed Girard a copy of the brand new Beach Boys album "All Summer Long" and asked him to quickly learn the Brian Wilson/Mike Love-penned track "Little Honda," the Hondells' cover of which just as quickly took off. In the early '70s Girard was playing gigs in clubs with Tommy Coomes, Jay Truax and Fred Field. After experimentations with LSD and at least one drug bust in Las Vegas, the musicians were reading different spiritual texts when they were invited to what Girard called a Christian commune in Laguna Beach. An invitation to Calvary Chapel, before it became a megachurch, led to all four musicians becoming Christian coverts. Love Song became a house band of sorts at the Chuck Smith-led, counterculture-friendly church. Girard produced the first of a long series of compilation albums on Calvary Church's Maranatha label, "The Everlastin' Living Jesus Music Concert," although he said he was not credited as such on the album, "because I was told that would be giving the glory to man, not God," he said. (Producer credits were added on subsequent Maranatha releases.) There was little that counted as a Christian music industry in Love Song's day, with Word Records, which released Love Song's albums with the Good News imprint, being the only major label in the genre for a few years to come. "The things that are concerns today weren't even on our minds, he said in an interview. "Like nowadays everybody's looking at demographics and who your core audience is and radio-friendly records and all that. Our music was just music that came from our heart, our experiences with the Lord. We had some industry input. When we finally did get signed to a label and records started to come out there was input. But we really were blessed to be able to make the records that we wanted to without any considerations for industry kind of things." Love Song was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame at a 2012 ceremony, which included the later-joining members Bob Wall and Phil Keaggy (who toured with but did not record with the group). "I would like to thank the GMHOF sincerely for the honor; it is truly validating and appreciated," he wrote in a blog post at the time. But "what really matters is the heavenly Hall of Fame," he continued. "Whether or not such a thing would actually be a way that God would honor the greatest of His servants, if it did exist, we would probably be very surprised to see who might be on it and how they would be ranked. "#25, Billy Graham, #15, the apostle Paul, #3 Mildred Jones" Wait a minute, Mildred Jones? Who is she? God might say, 'Mildred, because you prayed without ceasing, fasted once a month, and continued to lift up Billy Graham in intercession, you are #3.' Silly? Probably. But you get my point. The real treasure is in Heaven. The real rewards will not be determined by outward achievement alone but by inner qualities, integrity, truthfulness, obedience. At the end of the day, what do we have that God did not give us?" He continued, "I pray that we will all be in Heaven's Hall of Fame someday and hear the most amazing words we will probably ever hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your lord." In June, Girard relayed to his followers that his cancer had metastasized to his lungs about a year ago, and that he had stopped chemo treatments. "Ultimately, it is in the hands of God," he said. "Karen and I, and the whole family, are walking in total peace with the comfort of the Holy Spirit, knowing that our lives are in His hands… I am deeply grateful for all of you. It's been an honor to share my music and ministry with you for the past 50 years. Your kind messages and support over the years have been a tremendous encouragement and inspiration." Girard is survived by his wife, Karen, four daughters, four granddaughters and two grandsons. Two of his daughters, Alisa Girard-Childers (formerly of the group ZOEgirl) and Kristin Girard-Thurston, formed the group Girard Girls in the late 2000s with two of his granddaughters, Lauren and Kailyn Thurston. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in August 2025 What's Coming to Netflix in August 2025 Sign up forVariety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram.
Chuck Girard, Christian Rock Pioneer Who Fronted Love Song in 1970s After Hitting Top 10 With the Hondells, Dies at 81 Chuck Girard, who bec...
