Past Internet Articles About Amy Grant

INDIANA - Five-time Grammy award-winning artist Amy Grant is coming to IUP's Fisher Auditorium Saturday.

An established pop-icon and mother of modern Christian music, Grant is currently touring to promote her most recent album �Rock Of Ages ... Hymns and Faith� which was released May 5, 2005.

Grant is performing thanks to the Wilfred E. Helwig Distinguished Artist program, which has been inviting big name artists to IUP for nearly two decades.

Florence Helwig began the program after the death of her husband, Wilfred, in 1987. Wilfred owned an insurance agency in Indiana and was involved in investments and charity.

�He gave much to charity and to the town,� Florence said. �He was into earning and giving.�

After his death, Florence also wanted to give to the town and so the Distinguished Artist program came into existence.

�We always had to drive to Pittsburgh or Johnstown for good entertainment and come home late,� Florence explained. �We needed something close so we could get home in a hurry.�

Through her program, the likes of Dave Brubeck, Chita Rivera, Rosemary Clooney, Olivia Newton-John and Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain have graced the stages of IUP.

The Amy Grant concert will doubtless help to continue Helwig's program.

Grant began performing very early in life and released her first record in 1977 at the age of 17. Initially recognized as a white gospel singer, she is now credited by some with launching the Christian music genre.

The mid-1980s saw Grant crossover into the pop music medium with the album �Unguarded,� which went platinum as had her previous three albums, followed by her most popular and critically acclaimed �Lead Me On� in 1988 and the quintuple platinum �Heart in Motion.� That album launched Grant's break into pop stardom, led by the single �Baby, Baby.�

Some longtime fans saw this as a sell-out on Grant's part and sparked controversy among her followers. However, in the decades to follow, Grant managed to put out enough of her product to appease both crowds, and has now followed up her 2002 hit �Legacy ... Hymns and Faith� with �Rock of Ages ... Hymns and Faith.�

Grant worked with her husband, country singer Vince Gill, on those two albums, which feature a collection of classic hymns that Grant would like to reintroduce.

�I kept saying, OK, an alien has visited our planet. We have the opportunity to introduce them to this song for the first time. What's the most compelling way we can do it?� Grant explained. �I wanted to reintroduce these songs with the hope that people who grew up on them could also be moved again.�

Currently, Grant is also involved in hosting her television show �Three Wishes� on NBC. In the show, wishes are granted for �deserving people in towns all across America.�

Tickets for the IUP concert are available at all Indiana First Bank locations and the HUB ticket office. Tickets can also be purchased by phone at 724-357-1313 or 24 hours a day at www.OnstageAtIup.com.

In May 2002, the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society named the historic Mitchell home, 400 W. Mahoning St., the Lattimer House in memory of Helwig's parents, Harry R. and Ethel (Gourley) Lattimer, life-long residents of Punxsutawney.