Mylon LeFevre
Mylon LeFevre (born on October 6, 1944 in Gulfport, Mississippi) is a former Christian rock singer of his own Grammy Award-winning 1980s band, and a current preacher, who was born into a Southern Gospel family, The Singing LeFevres, but stopped attending church when he left home. At 17 years old, while in the Army (making the grand sum of $84 per month), he wrote his first song, Without Him. The gospel song was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1963, and within the next year, 126 artists had recorded his songs. Mylon's first royalty check for Without Him was for approximately $90,000. (This would be approximately $634,000 in 2008 dollars). He recorded his classic song Gospel Ship on his first album Mylon, We Believe on Cotillion Records. His early gospel songs and recordings sold millions of copies.
In his secular career, he recorded, toured or hung out with Eric Clapton, Elton John, Alvin Lee, Billy Joel, Duane Allman, Berry Oakley, Little Richard, the Who, Yes, Ten Years After, Rick Derringer, Traffic, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Charlie Daniels, Tina Turner, Willie Nelson, Mick Fleetwood, Mountain, Felix Pappalardi, ZZ Top, and Grand Funk Railroad, etc.
While he has claimed for many years to have been a founding member of seminal Southern Rock act, Atlanta Rhythm Section, the band's website disputes this claim. He did, however, appear as a fill in vocalist on several tracks from their album, Third Annual Pipe Dream. To Mylon's credit, three individuals who were part of his band and appeared on his first album, "We Believe", went on to become founding members of ARS: Barry Bailey, Paul Goddard and Dean Daughtry.
He used cocaine for ten years. After a heroin overdose in the early 1970s, he slowly began his return to the Christian faith.
In 1980, LeFevre "committed [his] life to Jesus", quit secular rock and roll and became a janitor at his church (Mt. Paran Church of God), in Atlanta, Georgia. He started a Christian band named Mylon and Broken Heart in 1981 with some musicians he met in a Bible study. Over the next ten years, he released twelve CDs and traveled over a million miles. In 1988 his band was honored with a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus for their album Crack the Sky. LeFevre and his band were awarded two GMA Dove Awards, and sold another million records. About this period (1982-1991), LeFevre said, "I was a Christian musician who preached a little, worshipped a little, and rocked a lot." He suffered a massive heart attack in 1989, while riding on the back of the bus that summer while touring with another rock group White Heart. The doctors advised him to stop singing and touring for his band, but he went against their advice that same year, hence, the group continued releasing a couple more albums before they released a compilation of hits in 1992, which marked the end of Broken Heart.
Later, LeFevre became a preacher and teacher, and his recordings focused on worship and praise music. He and his wife Christi minister in about 75 churches a year. He has also spoken at motorcycle rallies, NASCAR owner/driver chapel services, NFL and NBA chapel services, and in the former Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, the Philippines, Cayman Islands, and Mexico.
He is the father-in-law of Peter Furler of the Christian band the Newsboys.
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