Charles Billingsley Celebrates Christian Music's Most Incluential Songs with 'Replay,' Out October 2

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NASHVILLE, Tenn.
Spanning styles and decades with his fresh take on some of the most influential songs in Christian music history, beloved singer/songwriter and worship leader Charles Billingsley returns October 2 with Replay. The long awaited StowTown Records set—Billingsley’s first full-length project in three years—boasts a quintessential lineup of 10 genre-defining selections.

Produced by Billingsley along with Bradley Knight, Wayne Haun, Matt Summers, and Adam Lancaster, Replay is highlighted by multiple guest turns, including GRAMMY®-winning Christian music pioneer Russ Taff who joins Billingsley for a new arrangement of The Imperials’ classic “Trumpet of Jesus.” In addition, multi-Dove Award winner Steve Green steps to the microphone with Billingsley for the poignant ballad “People Need The Lord,” while Billingsley's labelmate and frequent collaborator TaRanda Greene lends her voice to “The Home of the Lord,” a spirited duet first recorded by Sandi Patty and Russ Taff in 1981.

“Like millions of others, I’ve always been a huge fan of Russ Taff,” Billingsley shares. “I was a trumpet player growing up and loved ‘Trumpet of Jesus,’ so when Russ agreed to record it with me, it was an honor and a dream come true. And Steve Green is very near and dear to my heart. During college, God used his ‘People Need The Lord’ to define my ministry for the next 30 years. At the time I wasn’t sure if I was called to preach or sing, and as I was singing that song God told me I was called to preach, but the sermons would be four-minute songs.”

Showcasing full choir and orchestra arrangements throughout, Replay also includes Billingsley’s take on the Gold City standard “Midnight Cry”; the timeless Steven Curtis Chapman ballad “His Strength Is Perfect”; a stirring rendition of the popular hymn “It Is Well”; and a unique medley pairing Petra’s 1983 “Grave Robber” with Gospel mainstay “Ain’t No Grave.”

“The two key words for this album are nostalgic and fresh,” Billingsley explains. “These songs have all meant so much to me through the years, and to have new arrangements I can perform in concert is going to be a ton of fun. It’s really important to maintain the heritage of our great hymns, but the Bible also says to sing psalms and spiritual songs, so we need to keep ‘replaying’ the songs we grew up on. Theologically and musically they’re timeless, so let’s keep them alive for a new generation to enjoy.”

“For the last 25 years, a name I've heard over and over at churches across the country is Charles Billingsley,” says StowTown Records President and CEO Landon Beene. “With his unique ability to communicate the Gospel through song, he’s long been a sought-after worship leader and concert favorite. I’m excited that Replay brings us Charles’ versions of many of the songs that have impacted his life and ministry over the years. It’s also a wonderful bonus to offer churches the resources that will allow them to use these songs with their own choirs and orchestras.”

Billingsley is set to make the live performance debut of selections from Replay this Sunday, September 27, during an album release concert at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. The event will also be livestreamed beginning at 6:00 pm ET on YouTube.

In addition, multiple Replay selections have been specially designed for use by choirs and orchestras. StowTown Worship Resource is poised to make a comprehensive range of tools—including choral charts, full orchestrations, premium stems, rehearsal parts, accompaniment tracks, and split tracks—available for select songs from the project.