DeGarmo & Key

I am hearing this AOR band for the first time (not really hard music but very good anyway).
I found a copy of one of their greatest hits albums (Destined to Win) at the library and have been spinning it.
So it looks like these guys have been making music together since the late 70's (up into the 90's). And I gotta say they have some great songwriting, very pop rock driven with lots of hooks.

Any fans? What are your favorite albums?

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I have all of their albums that were released on CD (very hard to find and very expensive typically). I love this band. They were described as having "bumper sticker theology" in their lyrics. They were very unbashful about proclaiming Jesus in their lyrics and made no apologies about their beliefs. The more recent albums are probably their hardest stuff, Destined to Win and Heat it Up are great albums. Their earlier stuff is very 70/80's rock albums. I don't really have a favorite album of theirs, any you can find have some great songs on them.

This is my Favorite band, period.

I wanted my username to be something with DKB in it, but I had so much trouble with the "ez" board registration, that I ended up with LFtP.

Anyway, have seen them in concert 4 or 5 times. My fav album is "No Turning Back" (live). I do not have any of their stuff on cd, and am sad to here that it is expensive.

Through moving, I somehow lost my cassettes of "Mission Of Mercy" and "Communication". I saw them on tour with "Communication" and Eddie Degarmo had a regular home computer monitor up there setting up his keys for each song, and back then (84'), it was almost like sci-fi .

Also, Eddie Degarmo has a solo lp "Feels Good To Be Forgiven" and I love side one. I still like to play that title track on my acoustic.

Dana Key had at least one solo project and was in a band I think called Mesa, for just one lp, but I could be wrong about that.

I had a friend that worked with them, at Benson, for the "Go To The Top" lp, and he had nothing but great things to say about them. I love that lp also, especially side one.

Dana Key also worked with Jonah33 on their first lp, which, was really cool for me, because I like that lp too.

Anyway, to answer the post, LOVE them. Was talking about them with a friend recently, we both agreed that we "got" to have some DKB now and again.

I would recommend checking out DeGarmo & Key's second album "Straight On". It has some real bluesy, hard rocking moments on it (particularly side one). "Jericho", "Bad Livin", "Go Tell Em" and "Living On The Edge Of Dying" are all classic tracks.

But I have to agree with the above statement about "No Turning Back (Live)". Definately one of the better live albums in the history of Christian rock.

Following is a link to the bands page at Christian Music Archive: http://www.ccmexchange.com/artist.php?id=893

Wow, looks like there are several D & K fans here. Thanks for all the info guys. I have added a couple of thier albums to my lala trade list. And I'll definately be keeping my eyes open for any of their stuff in the "used" bins.

Here is another link to their discography, with song titles and lyrics. http://www.croixsens.net/musique/degarmokey/discographie.php

This band, unlike any other, moves me. I don't listen to them everyday, but their songs still make me get goose bumps, tears in my eyes, and sing much louder than I should .

Dana Key is one of my favorite guitarists, right up there with Frampton and Clapton. He isn't a shredder, technical, or any of that stuff, but, he has such a great vibe, his guitar playing really speaks to me.

LateFortheParty wrote:

Dana Key is one of my favorite guitarists, right up there with Frampton and Clapton. He isn't a shredder, technical, or any of that stuff, but, he has such a great vibe, his guitar playing really speaks to me.

I know exactly what you mean, some of my favorite guitarists are the less "flamboyant" ones. It takes a controlled artists to get the proper guitar sound, and mood for a given song, and it doesn't always take lighting quick scales or excessive noise to do it.

Thanks for the link LFP, I see it includes their solo work as well. Looks like these guys have more than a few Greatest Hits/compilation packages as well.

I guy I know at work actually has a copy of "The Pledge" album he is letting me borrow it for a couple of days.

Yeah,they have been around for awhile. I have also seen them 4 or 5 times. I don't think they are together any more but maybe they are still involved with music to some degree.

The Pledge is a great one to check out!

Here are a few of their vids to check out.



666
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5830906127881579374&q=degarmo+and+key&total=19&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Rock Solid
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3686397480789450774&q=degarmo+and+key&total=19&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

Hand in Hand
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1228664813658302106&q=degarmo+and+key&total=19&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=2

God good/Devil bad
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4671045541166014534&q=degarmo+and+key&total=19&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=4

Every Moment
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7516540575589298427&q=degarmo+and+key&total=19&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=8

Family Reunion
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6357617600378160424&q=degarmo+and+key&total=19&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=9

Ultimate Ruler
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3202292788926301456&q=degarmo+and+key&total=19&start=10&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Thanks for all the video links Hardkore.

Having been a big White Heart fan for several years I am more than a little surprised that I have never heard any of Degarmo & Key's music.

I was a casual fan back in the day. I had This Ain't Hollywood,
Communication and Streetlight. Of the three, I preferred Streetlight,
but they were all good albums.



I remember that video for 666 was quite controversial because of the
scene with the guy on fire. I used to catch it on Matt Crouch's video
show.

Here is an interesting bit of info....

taken from Dana Key's Wiki page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_Key


Key, a direct descendent (great, great, great, great, great great grandson) of the famous Francis Scott Key, author of The Star-Spangled Banner.


It also says He is currently pastor at a church in Tennessee.

I never really got into D&K back in the day. I probably would like all of their more rocked out stuff, but all I heard back them was the sappy radio singles that WAY-FM played.

I do have to commend D&K, though. People might call their lyrical approach "bumper sticker theology", but their message was clear & concise. Their lyrics probably INSPIRED a lot of bumper stickers. Bands like D&K, Mylon & Broken Heart, Petra, Stryper, etc. just loved the Lord and wanted to sing about Him. No, their lives were not always perfect, but they sought to use music to reach people for Christ. You have a lot of artists who claim to want to do the same thing today, but the message is so vague that I am surprised that even the writers could tell you what it was about.

Instead of "bumper sticker theology", I think I'll refer to D&Ks lyrical style as transparent. You knew where they stood, and there was NO doubt!

Tall Tyrion wrote:

I remember that video for 666 was quite controversial because of the
scene with the guy on fire. I used to catch it on Matt Crouch's video
show.

I was reading up on them in wikipedia, and it seems that MTV actually banned that video for a while because of the guy on fire (and they also thought it was an anti-Christian song, obviously they didn't listen close enough to the lyrics). So the record company resubmitted an edited version that MTV put back into rotation.

Hardkore wrote:

Key, a direct descendent (great, great, great, great, great great grandson) of the famous Francis Scott Key, author of The Star-Spangled Banner.

I also found out that Diana Degarmo a 2nd place finalist on American Idol (a few years back) is the neice of Eddie Degarmo (or sumthin like that).

Alldat wrote:

Instead of "bumper sticker theology", I think I'll refer to D&Ks lyrical style as transparent. You knew where they stood, and there was NO doubt!

That is one of the great things about this band, you certainly know where they stand. And even if it isn't the most "hard rockin" music, the talent level is certainly up there. Good memorable songs.

Quote :

it seems that MTV actually banned that video for a while because of the guy on fire

Yep, that's right. I found it quite interesting and a bit "cool" that I could see a video on TBN that MTV had banned. My mom had blocked MTV anyways....

I wouldn't have saw it either way. We lived out in the country when I was a teenager. Cable television hadn't made it out that far. I didn't watch MTV until I was out of high school.

Quote :

Cable television hadn't made it out that far.

I didn't know that places existed that were behind us.

I hear ya, I was in highschool before we ever got cable tv too.

By that time I was so excited to have HBO, that I would stay up until 2am every other day. It was murder on my grades.

This seems to be an old thread, but here goes

I was a big fan of D&K in my youth, and I still love a lot of theri stuff today
As it has been already mentioned, I too think that "No Turning Back Live" was their best release.
Other favorites
- D&K
- Rock Solid and absolutely live
(for some reason, their live recordings stood out to me)
- Mission of mercy (their best lyrically)
I could never find their first release, and I never got their latter compilations, because I already had all the originals.

And it was very sad to hear of Dana's passing. He was not an old man.

Just got "D&K". Gonna give it a listen soon.

Never really got into this band, but they're definitely talented and legendary.

Howdy Pouncer, welcome to the CMR.

This is an old thread, I started it almost 4 years ago (yikes).
Still digging Degarmo and Key, I was just listening to their swan-song "To Extremes" earlier this week. Great band.

Staybrite wrote:

Howdy Pouncer, welcome to the CMR.

This is an old thread, I started it almost 4 years ago (yikes).
Still digging Degarmo and Key, I was just listening to their swan-song "To Extremes" earlier this week. Great band.

I have that, and I enjoy it, but it didn't measure up to their late 70's and 80's releases. One thing I enjoyed about 'De Boyz' was they were very unapoligetic about the message behind the music. They did not hold back in telling the truth. Lyrically, their message was/is very challenging to me still. On the album "No turning back Live" before the last song, Dana has a little message that affects me to this day.



And we hold the promise that we are "Destined to win".

Agreed. I really love the bands that are "up front" with their faith. DeGarmo and Key managed to do so without sounding uber preachy while still getting their message across loud and clear.

Keepin' this thread alive. Here is a link to a song from the album "No Turnin' back Live"

One of my favorites. Enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ydKvEA6ths

Lyric is simple, yet profound. Love the keyboard/guitar combo.