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 Last
spring, during a hectic three-and-a-half-month tour, Amy Grant squeezed
in a stop at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. The Grammy-
winning singer-songwriter wanted to see the ongoing construction of Target
House, where she is sponsoring an entertainment room. "We haven't
fleshed out everything that's going to be in the room," says Grant,
"but there will be musical instruments, and a big-screen television."
Apparently, health issues and music have always
been intertwined for Grant, 37, a longtime fundraiser for the American
Cancer Society as well as other charities. "My father is a physician,
specializing in radiology-oncology, and so my support of cancer organizations
is a progression of watching my dad treat patients," she says.
A
crossover career
Grant was just a teenager when she signed a con- tract with
Word Records, which releases her music in the Christian market. But she
is one of the few artists to cross over from gospel to pop - recording
for ARM Records. She considers her latest album, Behind the Eyes, her most
personal effort yet. "It was time to go below the surface," she
says, "to make a record that might shake up people's perceptions of
me. It shook me up most of all. I felt this need to confront the structure
of my life, who I am, what I believe and how that compels me to live."
As she had for past albums, Grant embarked on
a tour to promote her work. That meant saying good-bye to her husband,
singer-song- writer-music producer Gary Chapman, and their three children:
Matt, 11; Millie, 8; and Sarah, 5. Although Grant returns home between
concerts, her family joins her on the road as much as possible. "My
children have got their own interests and sports and social lives and school,
but they still like coming to visit me on tour," she comments.
Now that the tour has ended, Grant plans to spend the rest of the sum-
mer at home, a 250-acre farm outside of Nashville. Eight horses live in
the stables, and numerous family photographs - including some of Grant's
eighteen nieces and nephews - cover tabletops and mantel- pieces. "My
loved ones are my strength and support," she explains. "I need
to have them around me." Grant relaxes by sitting in the rocking chairs
on the front porch and by cooking some of her great-grand- mother's recipes,
including fried chicken and summer-squash casserole.
Grant's R & R will be short-lived. Come fall
she hopes to go back into the studio to record new songs. In November,
she'll begin a five-week Christmas tour with the Nashville Symphony and
artists Michael W. Smith and CeCe Winans After that? "I don't really
know until I get: there," she sighs. "There's enough details:
just of daily life. I'm married, have three: children...I just want to
enjoy that."
A
personal medical cause
Of all the health causes Grant currently: supports, one is personal:
eye care. "I was ." in a car accident in 1995," she says.
"The:: airbag deployed, and it tore and detached:. both my retinas.
I had to have surgery."
After her accident, Grant began raising."
money for the Tennessee Institute for the ' Prevention of Blindness, a
volunteer organization that screens young children for ." vision problems.
She still has a tiny bit of: residual vision loss, which she says is typical
with retinal detachment.
Her career, marriage and three children .: are
certainly enough to keep her busy, but ': Amy Grant will continue to support:
important causes. "I've always been ." blessed with good health,"
she says, "but: any health issue concerns you when you: slow down
enough to see who is being affected." And if that means children,
Amy: Grant will always make time to help.
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