MercyMe Trivia Quiz

Answer: Barry Graul

Barry Graul (bass) did not actually join MercyMe until 2003. He had previously played guitar with the Christian group Whitecross.

While lead singer Bart Millard was still attending college, he was invited by his youth pastor to work with his youth worship band. After travelling with them on an overseas trip (which included keyboardist Jim Bryson), Millard decided to pursue his music as a full-time career. Millard and Bryson joined together with friend Mike Scheuchzer (guitar) to form the original core of the group.

Answer: Bart Millard's

The anecdote from the question (source Wikipedia) happened during Millard's time in Florida working with his youth pastor's worship band.

Robby Shaffer and Nathan Cochran joined Millard, Bryson and Scheuchzer soon after the original trio began the group, and the five of them were MercyMe until the sixth member (Graul) joined in 2003.

Answer: Six

The six albums the MercyMe produced independently were released one per year from 1995 through to 2000. They were:

"Pleased to Meet You" (1995)
"Traces of Rain" (1996)
"Traces of Rain, Vol. 2" (1997)
"The Need" (1998)
"The Worship Project" (1999)
"Look" (2000)

Answer: I Can Only Imagine

"I Can Only Imagine" earned two Dove Awards that year: Song of the Year, as well as Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year. Despite its success in Christian music circles, however, it did not receive mainstream success until three years later.

At the end of the 2000-2009 decade, Billboard Magazine published a number of 'best of the decade' lists. The album "Almost There," on which "I Can Only Imagine" can be found, ranked number four on the 'Christian Album of the Decade' list.

Answer: Word of God Speak

"Word of God Speak" spent a record (at the time) twenty-two weeks on top of the Billboard Christian Songs chart. It earned the 2004 'Song of the Year' award at the Dove Awards, as well as the Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year. That same year at the Doves, MercyMe earned 'Artist of the Year' and 'Group of the Year' accolades.

At the American Music Awards that year, MercyMe also earned the 'Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist' award.

Answer: DVD

The "MercyMe Live" DVD release was not just a live concert from a tour, but rather a compilation of songs performed live at various times. It came in a 2-disc package with the first disc featuring over one hour of live performances, while the second disc had rehearsal footage, interviews with the band members, and other such things.

Answer: Steven Curtis Chapman

The group had actually just toured with Jeremy Camp for their "Undone" album tour. This time they teamed up with Steven Curtis Chapman, who has amassed an impressive resume of music and awards in his own right, earning multiple 'Artist of the Year' awards, and nearly (at the time) twenty albums. In fact, "All I Really Want for Christmas" was his 17th studio album release.

Answer: Coming Up to Breathe

"Coming Up to Breathe" was released on April 25th, 2006. With this album they changed their style somewhat away from a grunge-influenced style to a more rock-oriented sound. Even with this change in style, the album fared well enough on the charts, reaching number one on the Christian Albums chart, and number thirteen on the Billboard 200.

Answer: Coming Up to Breathe

Yes, that's right. Only two years after releasing "Coming Up to Breathe," the group did an acoustic version, suitably entitled "Coming Up to Breathe: Acoustic." It did not fare as well on the charts as the original, only reaching number 22 on the Christian Albums chart.

Answer: No

In fact, the combination CD/DVD album release that featured 15 studio recordings, as well as 11 live or concept videos and two documentaries - one entitled "Faith and Fame: MercyMe" and the other one about their song "I Can Only Imagine."

The album was called "10" in reference to one of the new release songs on the compilation album entitled "Ten Simple Rules" - referring to the ten commandments.