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From a troubled childhood in a small Pentecostal church in California’s San Joaquin Valley to the top of the charts, from impossible heights of creative success to his hard-won battle with the bottle, Russ Taff has told the story of his extraordinary life countless times over the course of his career – but never quite like this. Taff has of course had a landmark career by any standard, earning six GRAMMY® Awards, 16 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, and induction into the Gospel Music Association (GMA) Hall of Fame an unprecedented three times— as a solo artist as well as a member of both The Imperials and The Gaither Vocal Band. Praised by Billboard as “the single most electrifying voice in Christian music,” Taff has inspired like-minded artists from Kings of Leon to MercyMe with an influential singing style and body of work that includes such landmark albums as his GRAMMY® Award-winning solo debut, 1983’s Walls of Glass, 1985’s breakthrough Medals, and 1989’s chart-topping smash, The Way Home. Co-written by Taff with his beloved wife Tori, classic songs such as “We Will Stand,” “I Cry,” “Not Gonna Bow” and “Farther On” have related his spiritual journey with stunning power and deeply personal detail, how he was brought low by trauma and addiction and raised up again through the power of love and faith. In 2018, Taff’s story was further told in the acclaimed documentary, Russ Taff: I Still Believe, which saw a nationwide release in over 700 theaters. Taff has continued to be exceptionally candid regarding his private struggles over the years, most recently including an in-depth interview on Mark Laita’s hugely popular Soft White Underbelly podcast that has received more than half a million views via YouTube.
Now, with Cover Story, Taff has gathered all the threads of his life, all the tenderness, scars, and resilient humanity, into what is perhaps his most uniquely personal album thus far. Backed by an all-star band of session superstars, Taff chronicles his journey via songs by legendary artists and songwriters, finding within them a similar message of faith, authenticity, and inspiration that he’s brought to his own songwriting. Taff has always brought righteous power to his music, but his impassioned performances of songs like Bob Dylan’s “I Believe In You” and Duran Duran’s worldwide #1 favorite, “Ordinary World” display something altogether new and heretofore unheard, a thunderous vigor and breadth of spirit that he’s never before revealed on record. Taff’s famously formidable voice has somehow become more potent, strengthened by the hard fought lessons and deep wisdom he’s accrued along the way. Cover Story is more than anything a story of love – the love of good friends, the love of those lives have been moved by Russ Taff’s milestone body of work, and above all, his lifelong love of the redemptive, rejuvenating power of music.
Cover Story has been met by universal critical applause from a range of national publications, with V13.net hailing it as “an immediately unforgettable album of gospel music.” “There is nothing predictable about this album, which is part of its magic,” wrote CCM Magazine. “Throughout Cover Story, Russ’s raw, honest vocals send chills down my spine as he lays everything out on the table. All the pain. All the struggles. All the traumas. It’s audible. And yet, because it’s Russ, he makes it beautiful. This is an unapologetic collection of songs that say, No, everything isn’t alright. And we shouldn’t be afraid of that – not even on a gospel record…Russ’s music is unquestionably his ministry, even if it’s also been an arduous journey. Russ Taff is proof that even a man at war with his own demons can be used to save others from theirs. And Cover Story proves, his songs can still mine emotions out of listeners they may not have known they possessed.”
Hailed by Prism as a “renaissance man,” musician/ filmmaker/ writer/ producer/ entrepreneur Steve Taylor has created a remarkably diverse body of work over the past four decades that has garnered him multiple RIAA Platinum and Gold certifications, worldwide record sales exceeding 1M, two GRAMMY® Award nominations, and a wide array of Billboard Music Award, Dove Award, Telly Award, and American Advertising Award awards and nominations.
Taylor’s recording career began in 1983 and spans both solo work – including such GRAMMY® Award-nominated albums as 1984’s Meltdown and 1993’s Squint – as well as founding the groundbreaking alternative rock band Chagall Guevara and fronting the supergroup Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil. In 1994, Taylor’s wide-ranging songcraft was celebrated with the all-star tribute album, I Predict a Clone: A Steve Taylor Tribute. Meanwhile, Taylor has proven an in-demand producer with a track record that includes 1997’s Platinum-certified self-titled third album from Sixpence None The Richer (highlighted of course by the 3x Platinum, worldwide #1 hit single, “Kiss Me” and the Gold-certified “There She Goes”) along with three Gold-certified albums for Newsboys, 1994’s Going Public, 1996’s Take Me To Your Leader, and 2003’s Adoration, all four of which earned GRAMMY® Award nominations.
Taylor’s work as a music video director and filmmaker saw him make history as the only artist to twice win Billboard Music Video Awards for self-directed music videos and also includes iconic music videos for such artists as Sixpence None the Richer, Newsboys, Fleming & John, Rich Mullins, and more. Taylor has also crafted a remarkably award-winning body of work as the director, writer, producer of numerous feature films, documentaries, animated TV series, and more, including producing last summer’s acclaimed theatrical release, Sketch, with Tony Hale for writer/director Seth Worley. He has written essays on music and film for Talkhouse.com, and currently serves as Director of the School of Theatre and Cinematic Arts, Assistant Professor and Filmmaker-In-Residence at Lipscomb University in Nashville, where he resides with his wife, the artist D.L. Taylor, and their daughter.
