A revolution has hit the international music world and it's one few pundits would have predicted. Country music is breaking all sales records. Tony Cummings looks at the new country explosion, the music's origins and how America's CCM industry, after decades of neglect, is rediscovering ITS country roots.

"I try to be a godly father and a godly husband and what I preach on stage and what I sing about and what I say, I try to live out to the best of my ability," Michael explains. "I always try to be honest with my little girl Brittany. When I mess up, I tell her I messed up and I have to apologise to her. I want her to know that I make mistakes, too." He strives for that same level of honesty in his music as well. "The one thing that I have always prayed people got through my records and through me singing was,'The guy's real and there's no baloney. He is who he is and it's evident in his music' "The problem is that men see the Scripture, 'Men are to be the heads of our homes; we are the authority over our wives' and they think of power and they think control."

But Michael, who speaks from nearly 14 years of experience, says, "When you understand it in reference to what God's word is and his love - to give up our lives as Christ has so loved the church - the accountability is overwhelming. "What that is is a call to us to be humble, (having) servants' hearts. Just go back to I Corinthians 13 and kind of insert your name," Michael advises, "in marriage, the love" is patient, it's kind, it's understanding. Now that's what being a spiritual leader is."

CHARLIE DANIELS
With his signature sound of blazing rock guitars and fiery fiddling, the reigning King Of Southern Rock has long been an intriguing anomaly. Too rowdy for some country fans and too rock for some rock aficionados he has never-the-less had a string of hits including "The Devil Went Down To Georgia", "Long Haired Country Boy" and "Simple Man". Now he has surprised both the mainstream country and CCM worlds by turning in his debut gospel album The Door' on Sparrow Records. He comments, "I'm just an old sorry sinner and I just marvel that God could even love me. I don't know why, because I haven't given him a whole lot or reason over the years and a lot of reasons not to."

Charlie makes it clear that The Door' was not created with a Christian audience in mind. "This album is not preaching to the choir. I want to talk to the ol' boy who comes in at 5 o'clock on Sunday morning after being out all night carousing, drinking, drugged up, sits down, flips on the television and sees something on there where there are people that never get down to his level."

Where they fail to communicate, Charlie believes he can connect. "I want to say, They're too good to associate with people like you but I will because I've been there and I know you and I know how you feel. You want out? There's a way out.'" It's there that Charlie wants to show listeners The Door' to salvation.

"I feel these lyrics are talking to a person that I know. I've seen so many lives turned around totally, completely. They're different people because somebody reached them. Somebody talked their language. Somebody knew where they were hurting and what holes needed to be plugged, which ones needed to be opened. Somebody got to them and explained what the deal is with the blood of Jesus."

Fuelled by his pumping southern boogie sound The Door' deftly drives home the message of the gospel with blunt portraits of people in need of hope. He also serves up a scorching chastisement of what he calls "new Phariseeism" and closes with a dramatic trilogy backed by Nashville's famed Christ Church Choir.

With two multi-platinum and four gold recordings to his credit, it's unlikely that Charlie's uncompromising statement of faith fill go unnoticed. Not only does his career span three decades, his legendary Volunteer Jam concerts have brought together such diverse artists as Don Henley, BB King, Little Richard, Amy Grant, Lynyrd Skynrd and Kris Kristofferson. If his boldness adds miles to his uneasy ride, Charlie doesn't mind. "The book says that angels rejoice when one person comes into the Kingdom. If it's that big a deal to God and to the angels, how can we possibly let one person fall through the cracks if we can do anything about it?"