Profile: Dana Key Not Just Another Casual Christian - DeGarmo & Key Rocker Died June 6, 2010

In the 1980s, THE hot Christian group was DeGarmo and Key, made up of best friends since kindergarten, Dana Key and Eddie DeGarmo. On Sunday, June 6, 2010, Dana Key, lead guitar and lead singer for DeGarmo and Key died at 56 from a ruptured blood clot. (Examiner)

DeGarmo and Key Gospel Pioneers

DeGarmo and Key helped build and define Christian pop and rock music during the 1980s. Their best known songs include: "Destined to Win," "Let the Whole World Sing," "Boycott Hell," "Every Moment," "Casual Christian" and "Six, Six, Six." The song "Six, Six, Six" gained some notoriety when it was added to the MTV lineup, making DeGarmo and Key the first Christian group to have a music video appear on MTV. "Six, Six, Six" gained even more notoriety when it was subsequently pulled from MTV rotation for violent content due to a short scene of a man representing the Antichrist being set on fire.

During their career, DeGarmo and Key not only earned 7 Grammy Awards and 17 Dove Awards nominations, but they mentored and helped younger bands such as DC Talk who served as D&K's roadie crew for a time and also opened for the band. Even after their last album together in 1994, DeGarmo and Key had two "best-of" collections released, and they reunited to do a concert October 21 2007 at TLC Church in Cordova, Tennessee, as well as to play at the 2008 Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, IL.

Dana Key

Key was a direct descendant of Francis Scott Key, who penned The Star-Spangled Banner. He once commented, "As you might imagine, as an American, a musician, and a relative, I cringe when I hear 'The Star Spangled Banner' poorly performed. I take great pride in this song as I am sure we all do. For me it is not only the song that is important, it is knowing that Key was risking his life for a friend when he wrote it. This for me is a picture of Christ's love and what I hope is the true spirit of most Americans." (Christian Activities)

In addition to his career with DeGarmo and Key, he released two solo albums in the early 1990s. After his retirement, Key served as the head of Ardent Records, hosted a TV show featuring new Christian bands, and served as the pastor of a small church in Cordova, Tennessee.

1988 Interview with DeGarmo & Key

In 1988, I had the opportunity to interview Dana Key and Eddie DeGarmo when they were in Nashville filming their first live concert video, Rock Solid: Absolutely Live. That interview was my first "break" as a writer in the gospel music industry as well as my first real interview, and DeGarmo and Key were stars in the Christian music industry at the time. However, I was soon so interested in what the two men had to say, I forgot to be nervous, and the hour passed quickly.

Dana Key on Mission Aviation Fellowship Video

I asked about their participation with Aviation Fellowship Ministries, and Key explained that in a time when many Christians were skeptical about gospel rock bands, "It helped the casual observer to see something other than superficiality... We've always said, 'If you'll come to a concert and stay for the whole concert, not just the first two songs, or if you'll get the record and look at the Bible study that goes with the record, you'll see we're trying to communicate something with some strength and some depth.' I think the MAF video...made some people out there who were not necessarily anti-Christian rock, but borderline - it convinced them that there was depth in the message we're trying to present to kids." (Christian Activities)

Dana Key on DeGarmo & Key's Mission

"We have two goals. One is to win kids to Christ and the other is to encourage Christian kids to walk closer to Christ." He continued, "We've always become a tool in people's hands. We become a tract for people - a musical tract."

DeGarmo & Key Concert at TPAC

After the interview, the two men performed at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. In my original article I noted, The concert begins with Key in dark silhouette against the color-streaked smoke, singing an a capella version of "Casual Christian." "Casual Christian" was selected to head the evening because, "It's almost like an anthem for us," according to Key. "And I think it really sets the tone for the evening."

At the concert I was impressed by the music, energy and message of DeGarmo and Key. Dana Key told me they hoped every album, video and concert they did would be "a tool for evangelism." As a singer, industry lead and pastor Dana Key certainly lived that out, and he will be greatly missed by the Christian music industry he helped build and mentor.

Sources:

Dana Key of legendary Christian music pioneers DeGarmo & Key dead at 56

Interview with Dana Key

O, Say Can You See

More Obituaries
More Celebrity Profiles