Robert C Jones

The 25 People Who Most Influenced the Music of Christianity Robert C Jones

Publisher Marketing: The focus of this book is on people who changed, influenced, or brought larger audiences to Christian music, whether it is music used during a worship service or to the broader public. It is not a musical history, but rather an historical one. It includes indivduals from the earliest days of the church (St. Gregory the Great, St. Benedict of Nursia) to today (Johnny Cash, the Gaithers). Being a musician is not an absolute criteria for making this list. Billy Graham makes the list, for example, because his Billy Graham Crusades exposed Gospel music to millions of people - or tens of millions of people - who may never had heard Gospel music before. The biographies of the individuals contained within are not meant to be a complete examination of the lives and careers of the people involved, but rather are intended to provide basic background information, especially in the tables. The text below the tables is limited to a discussion of why the individual had an impact on the music of Christianity. Also, many of the composers, musicians and vocalists in the list also produced secular music. Only their Christian music was considered for inclusion and positioning in the Top 25. So, for example, the fact that Mozart is #16 is not a comment on his overall place in the history of music, but rather a position based on his output of religious music. Contributor Bio:  Jones, Robert C Robert C. Jones is President of the Kennesaw Historical Society, and a member of the Executive Board of the Kennesaw Museum Foundation. He is also an at-large board member of the Civil War Roundtable of Cobb County (Georgia). He has written several books on Civil War and railroad themes, including "Civil War Prison Camps: A Brief History," "Famous Songs of the Civil War," "Retracing the Route of Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and March to the Sea," "The Battle of Griswoldville," "The Fifteen Most Critical Moments of the Civil War," "The Reading Railroad: An Illustrated Timeline," "The Pennsylvania Railroad: An Illustrated Timeline," "The Battle of Allatoona Pass," "The Ten Best - and Worst - Generals of the Civil War," "The Top 10 Innovations of the Civil War," "Bleeding Kansas: The Real Start of the Civil War," "The Top 20 Railroad Songs of All Time," "The Top 25 Civil War Spies and Irregulars," "The Top 20 Most Influential Leaders of the Civil War," "The Top 25 Most Influential Women of the Civil War" and "The W&A, the General, and the Andrews Raid: A Brief History." Robert has also written several books on ghost towns in the Southwest, including "Death Valley Ghost Towns - As They Appear Today," "Ghost Towns of the Mojave National Preserve," "Ghost Towns of Southern Arizona and New Mexico" and "Ghost Towns of Western Nevada." Another Western-themed book, "The Top 10 Gunslingers and Lawmen of the Old West," was published in 2012. Robert C. Jones is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church. He has written and taught numerous adult Sunday School courses. He is also the author of books such as "A Brief History of Protestantism in the United States," "A Brief History of the Sacraments: Baptism and Communion," "Heaven and Hell: In the Bible, the Apocrypha and the Dead Sea Scrolls," "Meet the Apostles," "Monks and Monasteries," "The 25 Most Influential Books in the Post-Apostolic Christian Church," "The 25 Most Influential People in the Post-Apostolic Christian Church," "The Top 25 Misconceptions About Christianity," "The 25 People Who Most Influenced the Music of Christianity" and "The Crusades and the Inquisition." In 2005, Robert co-authored a business-oriented book entitled "Working Virtually: The Challenges of Virtual Teams." In 2013, Robert authored a book on World War I, entitled "The Top 10 Innovations of World War I."