CCM legend Russ Taff shares his path to sobriety, God’s faithfulness through the ups and downs

Russ Taff has seen each the heights of success and the depths of despair, however God’s faithfulness has remained fixed by all of it. 

A six-time Grammy winner and a legend in Christian music, Taff’s highly effective voice has impressed generations. However behind the accolades was a person combating deep wounds.

Rising up in a house marked by his father’s alcoholism, Taff himself turned to alcohol to quiet the condemning voices in his thoughts.

“I have been very open about my story of rising up with household, with dad as a Pentecostal preacher and in addition an alcoholic,” Taff advised The Christian Publish. “I used to be 7 years outdated when I discovered my father drunk. I might by no means seen drunk earlier than. I used to be 13 years outdated after we have been requested to depart the church. And these have been the one those that I knew, and so they walked away from us. … I moved into my interval of attempting to quiet these condemning voices and started to drink.”

For years, the artist hid his dependancy behind his expertise, performing to hundreds whereas privately battling disgrace and despair. “I knew how one can do concert events, man, I knew how one can make data, and I knew how one can wow individuals,” he shared. “However once I reached the tip of myself, once I had nothing left, God confirmed up.”

“Right here I’m, this large Grammy-winning Christian artist, and who do I belief? On the finish of it, I used to be simply calling out, ‘God, in case you do not come by, in case you do not present up, I am going underneath.’ However every time, He would present up and say, ‘Russ, come this fashion.’ He would at all times convey individuals into my life that I wanted on the time.”

Now 18 years sober, Taff, who has been inducted into the GMA Corridor of Fame an unprecedented 3 times, credit his survival and redemption to God’s unwavering faithfulness. His newest album, Cowl Story, is his most private but chronicling the highs and lows of his journey by songs which have formed his life.

Not like his earlier albums, Cowl Story was by no means deliberate.

“I wasn’t out in search of a report deal or something like that,” Taff defined. “I used to be sitting at house in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, doing a few exhibits a month, when two individuals got here to me and stated, ‘We predict it is time so that you can make a report, and we expect you continue to have lots to say.'”

Produced by Steve Taylor and John Mark Painter, Cowl Story is a group of deeply private renditions of songs which have formed Taff’s life. The album contains reimagined tracks by Bob Dylan, U2, Prince, Simon & Garfunkel, The Nationwide and Depeche Mode, every chosen for its connection to a selected chapter in his journey.

“This report, every music takes me again to a spot in my life,” Taff stated. “A sure place the place there was heartache, ache, occasions once I did not know if my marriage was going to outlive, after which locations the place God would simply present up.”

Probably the most poignant moments on Cowl Story is Taff’s haunting rendition of “Demons” by The Nationwide, a music that resonated deeply together with his personal expertise of dependancy.

“That music simply depicts what it feels prefer to be caught in dependancy,” he stated. “When Steve Taylor performed it for me, I began crying. I do know what that worry is like. I keep in mind being terrified that I might by no means have the ability to pull my life collectively.”

“If any individual would ask me on this report, ‘clarify dependancy, clarify relapse, clarify the ache of all of that,’ I might play them ‘Demons,’ as a result of it is a darkish place. It truly is, and this music tells that story of how unhealthy it was.”

Recording the music was a transformative expertise, Taff stated, including that Taylor insisted he use a distinct recording technique that stripped away his traditional vocal strategies and luxury zones. 

“They tricked me,” Taff quipped. “I assumed I might return and re-sing it later, however they saved the primary takes as a result of they have been uncooked and actual. It was uncomfortable for me, however it pressured me to be sincere.”

Taff’s story is considered one of resilience, however he insists that his survival just isn’t about his power however God’s faithfulness. That, he stated, has been evident all through his life.

“He at all times confirmed up once I was on the finish of myself,” he stated. “I might be at my lowest, not understanding what to do, and that is when He would come by … the armor of God is actual, however it’s a job. You have to stick with it day by day. Your religion by no means stays the identical. Your religion is both shifting ahead or it is shifting backward. That is the way in which it’s with me. It’s important to be diligent, actually, actually diligent to do what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus.”

At 71, Taff has seen the highs and lows of life in Christian music and watched friends fall away from religion, some publicly deconstructing their beliefs. Reflecting on his personal struggles with doubt, the artist stated he is seen firsthand how tough it may be to carry onto the religion amid the pressures of the trade.

“I believe a number of it comes from exhaustion. You are consistently touring, consistently performing, and in case you’re not grounded in a neighborhood, it chips away at you. You get worn down. And in case you do not combat to maintain your religion alive, it begins to slide away,” he stated. “There’s all form of landmines of being a Christian artist or being any artist, and so many people over time fell away.

I needed to be taught this early on: If you do not have a neighborhood round you, it is a recipe for destruction,” he continued. “The enemy units himself in opposition to us, as quickly as we proclaim, ‘I will likely be a minister for the Gospel,’ or, ‘I’ll observe You,’ we turn into a goal.”

Greater than something, Cowl Story represents a shift in Taff’s imaginative and prescient, he advised CP. Whereas he stays dedicated to Christian music, he hopes the album will attain past church audiences and into the lives of those that may by no means set foot in a sanctuary.

“Jesus did not simply discuss to church people; He went the place the individuals have been,” Taff stated. “I need to take this report to individuals who do not go to church, who’ve been harm by the church, who do not know what to do with their lives.”

That mission is already unfolding, he stated. A gaggle in Norway has invited Taff to tour with Cowl Story, bringing his music into golf equipment and festivals throughout Europe. “Let me go the place the persons are,” Taff stated. “Let me share my songs, my religion and my story.”

“When God works a miracle in your life, you need to inform individuals about it,” he added. “I do not care if I present up in a Volkswagen van — I simply need to go the place they’re going to let me sing.”

Cowl Story is now obtainable.