Review of 'A Rebel for God' by Eddie DeGarmo

I found out about this book when I was on Skillet's facebook page (I think it was?). John Cooper of Skillet had posted a link to it and recommended it, but to be honest, even without John's recommendation my ears were already pricked!  As someone growing up with this era of Christian music, I was excited to get my hands on a copy of this book.  And my library was my means on this occasion.

I absolutely LOVED it!  I love the tone in which Eddie wrote - it was really easy to read and kept my interest the whole way though.  It was like he let me in on his world and all that he had been through behind the scenes of DeGarmo and Key etc.  I was fascinated with the fact that he and Dana Key went back so far and were a part of each others conversions.

He takes the reader through all the ups and downs, the adventures and mishaps, people and places.  I enjoyed seeing the familiar names from the music industry popping up throughout and was amazed to hear of Eddie's involvement in most of their careers!  He tells of when they found Rebecca Smallbone and how they came about changing her last name to St James for her career, he tells of John Cooper of Skillet, and the tragedy he had as a child... and many other stories.

Christian music and the artists were a true love for me through my teen years and I felt like this gave me a deeper glimpse into that world I so closely followed back then.  Those were the days before the internet so it's not like you had much information on artists journeys back then, it was just what was written on the tape or CD case that gave you a glimpse of who they were. And that wasn't very much.

I loved hearing references to Farrell and Farrell and Servant, which have all but disappeared these days.  It really is remarkable all that he went through and encountered and the friendship with he and Dana holding through it all until Dana's unfortunate passing not long ago.

This was a really satisfying read for me.  I am really impressed with all Eddie DeGarmo has achieved and what he continues to contribute to christian music.  He is the kind of person I would like to meet one day!

I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone familiar with DeGarmo and Key especially.  The thing that hugely comes across in this is Eddie's heart for God and reaching others.

I loved De Garmo and Key's songs a lot.  They were always very in your face and uncompromising and I love that. I think of 'Casual Christian' and 'Boycott Hell' - excellent songs that weren't overproduced, like christian music production can be.  Christian music has truly benefitted from both Eddie and Dana's incredible writing talents over the years, and hopefully will continue to, from Eddie.

You can purchase it here.