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Selah’s Story
By Todd Smith
This box set is coming out the same year that we are celebrating 10 years in music and ministry. It was March 9th, 1997 that we did our first concert at Brook Hollow Baptist Church in Nashville, TN. Later that year (on Father’s Day) we went into a small studio on the 8th floor of United Artist Tower to record an independent CD for friends and family. We had done several concerts since that first one in March, and Nicol had been asked to sing for a youth group in Indiana. She invited Allan and me along. I can remember driving up there wondering what we had gotten ourselves into.
We hadn’t had time to write any original material for that first concert back in March, so we picked our favorite hymns and worship songs. Now we were going to sing these hymns for teenagers. I knew they were going to be so bored and laugh us off the stage. But something happened that night. There was such a connection with those teenagers. They worshiped, raised their hands, and sang the songs that they knew with us. One young man came up to Allan afterward and said “That It Is Well song, that’s a great song, did you guys write that one?” Allan reached for a hymnal and said “It’s right in here.”
Our parents were at the concert and afterwards my mom said we needed to record these songs. My grandfather had just passed away and left her an inheritance. Allan had a roommate, Jason, who was an engineer and Jason said that he could probably get us a great deal at the studio he worked at. We recorded our first CD “Be Still My Soul” in one week. The final budget was $2,000. We had no intention of being a group. Nicol had just signed a contract a couple years earlier to Curb Records as a solo artist, Allan was trying to pursue session work in Country music, and I was going back to Detroit for two years to attend Bible College. We had no idea God used that night in Indiana to start a little trio called Selah.
Nicol and I are originally from Detroit, but we spent 8 of our formative years in Congo (Zaire), Africa. It was the winter of 1977 and our house in Hisperia, Michigan caught on fire and burned to the ground. Dad was in California singing and Mom, Shawn, Nicol, and I were back home. We lost everything we had that night except the pajamas we were wearing. I was four and trying to comfort my mom I said, “Well mommy, at least we won’t have to paint the house next summer.” Three days later my dad found out what had happened from my aunt. He got down on his knees right there and thanked God he wasn’t coming home to 4 funerals. He finally got in touch with my mom, and as they talked she asked, “Well Jim, what do think we should do now?”
My dad finally said the words of comfort she had been longing to hear. He said “Nancy, I think God is calling us to go to Congo.” The house was still smoldering and dad wanted to go to Congo! This was the last thing mom wanted to hear. She sensed it was from the Holy Spirit and she told dad to give her a week to think about it. She prayed and even though she didn’t want to go she knew it was what we were supposed to do. Dad told me later that it was like the Holy Spirit had sat down in the car with him after he found out what had happened and said “Jim what about the Congo? What about continuing the work your father started?”
My grandpa Laban and grandmother Marcella (cool names in the 1930’s) left for Congo in 1938. My uncle Jack and my dad were born out there. Grandpa had been a dentist in Detroit. When he sold the practice and moved to Africa he asked God for 10,000 souls. From 1938 to 1953 my grandparents started three mission stations. The last on was Nkara Ewa where we grew up. During that period my grandfather saw 10,000 people come to know the Lord Jesus as their savior. My grandfather wanted to start a Bible school, however; he died shortly after those conversions in a fall while building the house they were going to live in. My dad was 11 years old. He never wanted to go back to Congo, until that fire in 1977.
Nicol and I started singing when we were 3 years old. Dad was a music pastor at a church in Detroit, and he had us sing in front of the church and the ladies Sunday school groups. I would go around and ask for quarters, dimes, and gum before I would sing. We came from a musical family. My dad had made 4 solo records, mom was a pianist, and all three siblings at the time were singers. Shawn, Nicol, and I would sing trios and solos at all the churches that took our family on for support. We recorded a family album at Bill Gaither’s studio as a thank you to all those people who supported us before we left for Africa. Listening back to it Nicol often said she wasn’t so sure it was a thank you. Nicol was 8 and I was 5. As we sang, Nicol would say to Shawn, “You sing harmony and I will sing Germany.” I sang “Jesus, I Heard You Have a Big House, and Nicol sang “I Am a Promise.” My brother Jack, who is a music pastor in Detroit, was born six months after we moved out to Congo.
During our 8 years in Congo we had one year of furlough in the states. Our church in Detroit put on this huge Christmas concert every year, and the music pastor asked Nicol so sing an Evie song called “Come On and Ring Those Bells.” I remember hearing her in front of 2000 people every night. She was only 12 years old and she was amazing. People were blown away by her talent, and it was during that week that Nicol knew that she wanted to be a singer.
When I was a junior in high school that’s when I knew I wanted to be a singer. Nicol was finishing up at Wheaton College, and we were both moving down to Nashville to pursue our dreams. She started waiting tables and I started at Belmont University where I majored in Music Business. It was during that time period that two big things happened. Nicol met Mike Curb when he and his family would come into the restaurant where she worked. His daughters really liked her and eventually they found out she was a singer.
Mike asked for a tape of her singing and the next day he called her while she was at the restaurant and asked her if she wanted to sign a record deal. After a lot of thought and prayer she said she did want to. The second thing that happened was I went to a vocal session at the Belmont studios and met a fellow student named Allan Hall.
Allan grew up in Knoxville in east Tennessee. Allan’s mom said he loved music from the beginning. They had a multiple record player. She would put on the music and she could leave him in the family room while she cleaned the house. As long as the records played Allan would rock back and forth listening to the music, and never move from his spot. After Sunday services he would go up to the piano and play with the keys. The church pianist finally convinced his parents to buy him a piano. They found an upright for $100 and put it in the basement. He taught himself how to play out of a hymnal book.
It was at this young age that he knew he wanted to pursue music. He really felt God had called him. Many times while other kids would go out to recess he would stay in and play the piano. He got teased a lot for this, but it was during these years that Allan learned to play with such depth and feeling. When he was in high school he had his first (official) lessons. His teacher was a no-nonsense Italian. The first time she heard him play she said, “Your technique is abominable, but you play from your heart. Your playing moves me. I can teach you the right form, but no one can teach you how to play with feeling.” Allan decided to go to Belmont in 1988 and majored in classical piano.
Several years later Allan and I met at a studio session. My freshman year I only knew him as a singer. I didn’t know he was this amazing pianist until my sophomore year, when around exam time, Allan called me up and asked if we could go to the practice rooms to sing. We were both stressed and needed a break. We would go down to the piano rooms and sing hymns. One day he asked if I would fill in for the music minister at the church he played at. I didn’t, and still don’t know how to read music, but I agreed to it and led the congregation in singing while doing an L motion with my hand. I didn’t know what I was doing but they liked it and asked if we would put on a concert. I didn’t want to do all the singing by myself so I roped Nicol into it.
It was only a couple of weeks away so we didn’t have time to write original material. We chose songs we all knew, many of them were the same hymns Allan and I would sing in the practice rooms. Nicol and I added a couple African songs and some worship songs we learned at our church. I was valet parking cars at the time and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to sing full time. I loved that night.
After that youth concert we made “Be Still My Soul” and thought that was it. I moved to Detroit and Allan and Nicol were pursuing their careers. Mr. Curb had allowed Nicol to sing on the project even though she was signed to his label. Nicol turned in a copy to the label, and one of the executives asked if Mr. Curb had heard it. Nicol told her we had approached him before about the project but he didn’t seem interested. She told Nicol she was going to give him that copy. The next day she got a call from Mr. Curb saying he wanted to put the group’s project out.
One of Allan’s roommates found the name “Selah” in the funnies section of the newspaper. We didn’t know what it meant but we liked it and eventually chose it. When we found out the meanings, “To lift the voices in praise,” or “to pause and reflect,” we thought it was so appropriate for the style of music we were doing.
The next CD we did was Press On. That was a break out song for us. It came out the summer of 2001. It’s a song that talks about how we press on in Jesus’ name. After 9/11 we heard a lot of stories of people who really connected to the lyrics in that song. Unrelated to 9/11 we received a letter from a lady who had been affected by the song. She didn’t listen to Christian music and she never had her alarm clock turned to a Christian station. She said one day she was so depressed that she finally decided to end it all. She went into her bathroom with a handful of pills and called out one last final time “God, if you really care who I am, show me.” She said the next thing that happened was her alarm clock radio started playing Press On and the words said, “When the valley is deep, when the mountain is steep, when the body is weary, and when we stumble and fall, when the choices are hard, when we’re battered and scared, when we spent our resources, when we’ve given our all, In Jesus Name we Press On.” She put the pills away. It always amazes me when the Lord allows you to be a part of someone else’s life. I am so grateful and humbled that we get to be in people’s cars, homes, hospital rooms, and funeral services.
I remember the first time I heard “You Raise Me Up.” It was the spring of 2002. A Swedish pop group and a Curb artist named Brian Kennedy did it as a duet. Our A&R rep. at Curb MP3rd us the song. We all listened to it over and over again. Eventually we recorded it with Brian, but nothing happened with it. We decided to put it on our Hiding Place CD. That song has had more impact than any song we’ve ever done. It’s incredible to see people singing along in concert and worshiping with their arms stretched out.
We toured for 8 years and recorded 4 CDs with Nicol. She has one of the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard. She was a huge part of Selah and I love her dearly. I’m grateful to her too because I would probably still be parking cars if it wasn’t for her recording contract with Curb. Nicol is married and has a one year old beautiful girl.
In the spring of 2005 we asked a former classmate, Melodie Crittendon to join the group. Melodie had been a studio session singer for many years. She had a country deal in 1997 and released a song called “Bless the Broken Road” which charted on the country charts. We asked her if there was a song she would want to do in concert. She wanted to sing Broken Road, and it was amazing to see how people would react. We recorded it for our next project; however, about 7 months into being a member Melodie called us and said she didn’t feel she could continue in the group. She had been used to being at home with her husband and wanted to start a family. We completely understood and respected her for doing it. While we were looking for a new member our label suggested doing a duets project with other artists and keeping Broken Road for the project. We thought it was a great idea and had so much fun getting to record with artists we love.
Even with the new CD idea, after Melodie left Allan and I both wondered if we would keep doing Selah. Would people still come to concerts? Would they buy our CDs? Would we be able to find someone who could sing lead and harmony and keep the sound we had created over the past 8 years? We prayed a lot, and wondered what God would do. We held auditions in Nashville and had 15 ladies come in and sing. Midway through the auditions God brought Amy Perry into our lives. We could sense her spirit too. We had her come back one more time and a month later Amy was out on the road with us. She has been with us for 2 years now, and has become a sister to us. We love her. When you come see us in concert you will feel like you know Amy already. She’s very warm and honest. She’s from the Rodeo, California near Oakland. Amy sang lead on two songs on the Broken Road CD, and the next CD we have coming out for next spring will be her first full recording.
It’s been an amazing run. We look forward to many more years with all of you. We are so grateful to all of you who have come to our concerts, and purchased our CD’s. Many of you have bought multiple copies and given them to friends (subliminal message). Thank you for supporting us. Thank you to all the churches and promoters who work so hard to bring us in. You all allow us to do what we do. We thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for everything He has allowed us to do. We thank Him that we get to do what we love. The very fact that He uses us to minister is awesome and humbling. We hope you enjoy this box set, and we pray that God will use these songs to draw you closer to Him.
- Todd
