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Amy Grant concert to assist homeless

Photo from Amy Grant

Amy Grant, center back, is seen with her children, from left, Matt Chapman, 21, Millie Chapman, 19, Corrina Grant Gill, 8, and Sarah Chapman, 16.

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN Michelle Bearden

mbearden@tampatrib.com mbearden@tampatrib.com

Published: May 9, 2009

She really didn't want to go the Twitter route.

But Amy Grant is one of the most popular female solo artists in the country. And with record companies cutting back on promotions and marketing, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

So now Grant, who turns 49 this year, is part of the social network craze of Tweeters chronicling their comings and goings via text message (warning: 140 characters, max).

"The world was passing me by," laughs Grant in a phone interview from her home in Nashville. "I just don't think I have that much interesting to say. But you need to stay connected with your fans, so I'm in."

It's hard to imagine she doesn't have anything interesting to say. Grant is dynamic and down-to-earth, the kind of gal pal you'd like to meet at Starbucks on a rainy afternoon for chat and coffee. She's one of "us" - a sister, a daughter, a mom, a friend. She's got some baggage - Grant left her first husband for a man who left his wife - and she's helping take care of her aging parents. Her favorite escapes are to a country getaway outside of Nashville where she likes to sleep under the stars in the summer, and a hole-in-the-wall home near the beach in Destin, in the Florida Panhandle.

That's her regular side. But Grant's celebrity cannot be denied.

With a crossover career that spans more than three decades, the popular singer/songwriter has racked up six Grammys, 26 Dove Awards, record sales in excess of 30 million, a best-selling memoir and several other books, and a stint as host of the former NBC television series "Three Wishes." She's got her own star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and a blended family of five children ranging from age 8 to 26 with her second husband, famed country musician-guitarist Vince Gill.

Although she's made her name in contemporary Christian circles - she's regarded as the best-selling Christian music artist of all time - Grant moves just as comfortably in the secular world of pop and country. After the Sept. 11 attacks, a haunting version of her "I Will Remember You" spiked in popularity as radio jocks across the country mixed a special tribute version of the song.

Not bad for someone who got her start as a young teen sweeping floors and demagnetizing tapes in a Nashville recording studio.

Grant's discovery story is legendary: A producer friend loaned her a studio to make duplicate tapes of mainly original songs she had recorded to give to family members. A Word Records producer heard it and played it over the phone to company executives. Sign that girl, they told him. She was 15.

"I've been so blessed. And it's not over yet," says Grant. "I think the best years are still ahead. Not so much touring anymore. 'I Will Remember You,' that's for young people. I'm in the best place in the country to develop my songwriting, and that's the direction I seem to be going."

Another direction is giving back. The youngest of four daughters of a physician dad and entrepreneur mom, Grant grew up comfortable and secure. She knows that's not the case for thousands of other women raising children on their own in an uncertain world. So Grant donates time and money to nonprofit groups that help families in challenging situations.

On Monday, she comes to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center for a concert to benefit Metropolitan Ministries. And there's no better time: The Tampa-based homeless nonprofit agency has had a 20 percent increase in need this year from 2008. Some 40 families with a combined 70 children are on the waiting list for housing.

One hundred percent of the ticket sales will go to support the ministries' program, such as outreach and prevention services, an academy for at-risk youth, and a day care program to help parents seeking jobs and in school.

"It was just a matter of asking," says Morris Hintzman, president. "We knew we had to get a big name to get a big draw. This is the kind of event she's known to support. So we took a chance and went for it."

Grant is on a hiatus from touring as she works to complete a recording scheduled for a fall release. But accepting the invitation to help out Metropolitan Ministries was a no-brainer.

"I've never had to face anything like homelessness. I've had the same job my whole life," she says. "A child is a huge responsibility and it's your instinct to provide the best life possible. But things don't always work out the way you planned it."

She says she intends to make the arts center auditorium "feel like a living room" to remind the audience that we're all a community facing these difficult times together.

"I always want people to walk out feeling better than when they walked in," she says.

With Amy Grant, that won't be hard.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Amy Grant concert to benefit Metropolitan Ministries, which has served homeless families in Tampa for more than 36 years

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Monday

WHERE: Carol Morsani Hall, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center

HOW MUCH: $35, $50 and $75

INFORMATION: Call the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center at (813) 229-STAR or 800-955-1045 or go to www.Everybody LovesAmy.com

Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613.

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