NASHVILLE--Gospel star Marvin Sapp turned personal pain into the biggest crossover hit of his career. “Never Would Have Made It”--his anthem praising God for helping him through difficult times--has touched a chord with radio listeners. They’ve kept it the No. 1 gospel song on USA Today’s airplay charts for 39 weeks, including the past 14.
The song has also been an urban adult contemporary success, peaking at No. 2.
“We have reached a plateau that very few gospel artists have reached, and for that we're grateful,” said Mr. Sapp, 41, whose album “Thirsty” was just certified gold.
“At some point, everybody has had a ‘Never Would Have Made It’ moment. People can connect with what we are sharing.”
Mr. Sapp’s moment came at a church service last year, a week after he had buried his father, Henry L. Sapp Jr.
The singer, who is pastor of Lighthouse Full of Life Center Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., said he didn’t think he'd be able to preach that day when the inspiration struck him.
“I started singing, ‘Never would have made it, never could have made it without you, I would have lost my mind.’
“The Lord told me that he would always be there for me.”
It originally wasn’t going on the album “because I didn’t think it was an entire song. We wrote verses and a bridge, but then we just decided to go with the essence of what it was.”
James “Jazzy” Jordan, senior vice president/general manager of Zomba Gospel, Mr. Sapp’s label, said stations are compelled to play the song because listeners request it, even after a year.
“There is a great saying in gospel that everyone has his own season, and this is his,” Jordan said. “He’s had other songs that were as good or better, but they did not touch that heartstring like this one has.”
Mr. Sapp, who started singing in church at age 4, came into prominence in 1990 when he joined Commissioned, Fred Hammond’s gospel group.
“Thirsty,” released in July 2007, is his seventh solo album. It returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s gospel charts this week after a previous 25-week run at the top.
Last month, he won best gospel artist at the BET Awards and sang a stirring “Never Would Have Made It.”
“It was mind-blowing to me, looking out and seeing certain [celebrities] knew the words and were singing along.”
He’ll spend the first three months of 2009 on the road on a 35-city “Never Would Have Made It” crusade tour.
With the album’s success, “People are going to want us to play large concert halls,” he said. “But I’m hoping we can find good-size churches so we can do what we really do best.”
