 There is someone today in a dark place that needs your light. Guide and take them to his place of hope and grace. Born into a rich musical legacy, singer-producer, multi-instrumentalist Chris Golden, son of the Oak Ridge Boys William Lee Golden, began his music career almost as soon as he could walk. Despite number one hits, entertainer of the year awards, playing for six living presidents and performing around the world, Chris understands who he serves, Jesus. After being approached one night, by whom Chris calls an angel, he was told to quit playing for the ones who paid his check, but the one who gave him his gift. This is his story. This is today's Nashville. This is faith. Chris, it's so good to see you again. It's great to see you again. Welcome to my home. It's amazing. I love this room. There's just so much to see. Tell me about it. Well, this is my house of music. It's not just this room. It's just about every room. When I first moved in here, I had my cousin Dana come up here, and she was going to help me find my style. She said, you know, you don't really have a style. So music is your thing. You've got all these instruments around. You should put them all over the house. So, you know, I made a drum chandelier, I got a grand piano bookcase, you know, guitars on the wall. I tried to put, this is the first guitar I ever had right here. My uncle Rayford got us that guitar, and that's the one I learned to play on. But I wanted him to be able to work and get it off the wall and play it. So I call this the house of music. It's a home, H-O-M-E, house of music and entertainment. That is so wonderful. And I notice all the awards behind you. Yeah, they're just dust collectors. Dust collectors, no. You've had quite a few number one hits. I've been blessed. I have. You have. You've been all over the world. And take me back to where it all started, because you come from a very talented family. I do. I come from a long line. You do. I guess I'm about a, you know, it really started with my great-grandfather, Lee Rush Golden. He was a holiness preacher, and he played the fiddle. And he used to play at the Brush Arbors and stuff like that. And he had his own radio show in Bruton, Alabama, and that's where my father got his start as a little boy playing and singing on Grand Daddy Golden's radio show. My dad, you know, joined the Oak Ridge Boys when I was two years old. So we moved to Tennessee in a cattle trailer and brought the family up here. How long ago was it? I was about two and a half or three when we moved to Tennessee. So I basically just went to school in Tennessee, though. And all the rest of my growing up years, I spent on the farm in South Alabama. My mother and father were from the same small town in Bruton, Alabama. And my mama's family was very talented, too. She was one of eight brothers and sisters. They all played and sang, played different instruments. Her daddy played the fiddle as well. And fiddle is something that I never really got the hang of. I can play a lot of different instruments, but I think it skipped the generation. My daughter's plays very well, and she comes out and plays with the Golden son. But anyway, man, it was just something that always came easy for me, you know, music. And you're one of three sons, right? Actually, there's four of us. My mama's baby with my mom and dad had three, and I'm the baby of that. And dad had another son many years later. He's, like, he waited 40 years, and he was going to try to do it. We love your dad, too. Yeah, I do, too. So you came to Nashville. You went to school here? I went to school at Good Pastor Christian School. They put us in school pretty early on. And in Christian school, I started there. I went there most of 12 years. There was a little bit of a period where I lived with my grandparents for a while, and I went to school down there. But when I came back, I went back to Good Pastor Christian School. So we had Bible every day, you know, when you're in the first grade, they start you out with Joan in the Weld and Daniel in the Lineston, and by the time your senior year comes around, we spent our whole senior year on revelation, you know. So it got pretty heavy toward the end. And I'll probably learn more about the Bible from my grandparents than I did in Christian school, maybe it was because I wasn't paying enough attention at school, and you know, you might wonder some time, but uh... Did you have a personal relationship with Jesus at that time, or was it just...? I did not. Okay. I did not. Because I think a lot of people look at that and say, you know, you've been brought up in Christian school, and, you know. But there's a big difference between that, isn't it? It is. It is. I learned all about it. I learned everything about it, but I never had that personal relationship, and I guess I was probably about 14 years old, and one of the summers that I was with my grandparents, they didn't have a television. All it was to do was play music, and hang out in the kitchen, or pull weeds, and we'd rather play and sing. There was a little church down the road called Golden Memorial, holding his church, that we had a key to. It was built in honor of my great-grandfather. He had 13 children. My granddaddy was one of the identical triplets. It was Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and uh... You know I'm a triplet. Aren't you? Yes, I am. That's one thing we had in common, and I remember that. Okay, I might... So they were identical. They were identical triplets, yes. Did one pass away, or...? Two of them did. My granddaddy was the runt, and he was the only survivor. Really? He was a little bitty man, and my grandmother was a poet and wrote a lot of Christian poems and stuff, and they took us to the revivals all the time. Sometimes they'd start out as a week long, and turn into two and three weeks, and we'd go just about every night. And I can remember, that's when I first went to the altar, I felt that calling to go, as when I was about 14 years old. But you know, I got out of high school, and you'd think I forgot everything I ever learned, that I was taught, because I joined up with a rock and roll band, started living that life that came with it, and got good at being bad, and you know, it wasn't something that you think about, you made a...getting off the skids too bad, but it was just that time and distance thing for me. From 14, and did you know that you always were going to be a music? I did. It was something that always came easy for me. I never really had to try that hard to...you know, music just came really easy for me. I was able to pick up different instruments and play them by ear. You know, it was something that I feel like was a gift, and it was my gift. And I felt like I'd be turning my back on my calling if I...I knew it was my calling pretty early on. And even during those times where it looked like I'd forgot about God, I always felt His hand on me, and I know that He never forgot me. I was taking the long way around to what, you know, sometimes a man has to take the long way around to come back to what means the most. What was it like growing up with your dad always being on the road with the Oak Ridge boys? I had a great mama. I had a great mother. She was the mother and the father about three, two hundred and fifty days out of the year. You know, when my dad was home, he was usually at the office every day. He managed the group. So whenever he was home, they were still, you know, booking dates and doing radio interviews or stuff like this. And, you know, he was...he worked a lot even when he was home. So... Your mom, we're going to talk about her. She impacted your life tremendously. In a big time way, all of our lives, you know. Everybody she ever met, she impacted. I heard about her. We're going to talk about her when we come back. Okay. Chris, you were talking about, you were about 18, 19 joining the band. You were saved at 14, but you felt like you... I felt like I strayed there. You know, with the church I grew up in, backsliding was a bad deal. You know, that was worse than never being saved in the first place. And I felt like I was saved, but, you know, in the holiness church sometimes I never felt like I was saved enough. And I don't know if that's... Yeah, it was every experience of that, you know. I think a lot of people feel that way. And when it comes down to a relationship versus, you know, the rules, you know. And it's the relationship with the Lord that sets us free. It is, but I always felt the spirit with me, you know. I always felt that holy spirit on me. And it took me till I was even a little older to realize some of the things I was thinking about in my mind was actually that holy spirit whispering to me, you know, it took me a while to tune into that. You know, I was 17 years old about a month out of high school, you know, found myself in Los Angeles, California, playing in places I wasn't able to be in, you know. How long were you out there? For about 10 years, probably, out in LA. I was just, that was just a one trip. I mean, we were always on tour. I've never not been on tour since I was, you know, 15 years old. When I was 15, I played with him. You were talking about strain for 10 years. Yeah, I was saying, I was talking about strain for about 10 years. When you sat out there, I was thinking I was about 10 year period of my life. What was going on then? You know, nothing that I'm proud of, temptations and things that happened for us, women and different substances or whatever, you know. When did God get ahold of you and say, OK, Chris, it's... I always, maybe it was the thing that part of the deal of me going to the Lord when I was younger, it's like I always almost felt guilty ever, you know, a lot of the time. I'd always had that kind of that shame, you know, of all things that sometimes going on, but I got tired of that. I remember everybody has to have their pigsty moment, right? When you say, man, I'm not living like this anymore. I'm going back to what means the most to me. So I had that same kind of moment. And a lot of it was finding out I was going to be a father. And I thought, man, I wanted to be the kind of example that my grandparents were to me for my children and my grandchildren. And I knew that I had to... When I became a man, I put away childish things, you know. I remembered that verse all my life. I had to learn a lot of verses and that was one of them. So it was time to put away childish things. And I sort of rededicated my life to it. I had an experience that I feel like was a heaven sent. What I feel like was a real angel that come and basically told me, you know, you need to quit playing for the people that are coming to see you and writing your check and play for the one that gave you the gift. Who was that? It was out in Cerritos, California. And it was something I was scared when it happened. I got the, you know, trembles all over. It scared me because I was in such a dark place at that time. Feeling unfulfilled and doubting my calling. I wanted to sing. I'd been a singer before I became a drummer. You know, actually I started drumming when I was a kid, but it was something that I never lost my desire to sing. I felt like I was just doing that to feed my family and kind of hard to jump off a moving train. I was working with the Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama and Restless Heart. And we were on the road all the time. So it's kind of hard to jump off of that. But anyway, I started making gospel music. I went home and sort of changed my trajectory and started singing gospel music and making gospel records. And I've been blessed ever since, you know. So was it an actual person that came and said, hey, stop? Yeah, it was a man. It was a man, yeah. But I don't know his name. I don't know him. I don't know who he was. I looked for him after the show and never saw him again. What did you think about it? It impacted my life so much. At the time that I called my family, I called my dad, I called my brothers, I called my mom, I called my aunt Lynette and said, I think I just saw an angel. And I believe in angels, you know. I believe in, in my heart, I even told him, I asked him twice if he was an angel. I said, are you an angel? He said, I'm just a messenger. I said, well, that's what angels are. That's what angels are. And I said, I don't know it. I may not know until I get to heaven if you were. But I do know who sent you. And it was, the timing was perfect. I love what you said. So I sort of rededicated my life at that time. And I hadn't looked back. I love that you state, that you play for Jesus now. For the one that gave me the gift. The one that gave you the gift. Tell me about some of your songs. I love The One, Your Son. That's fairly new, isn't it? It's a powerful song. It's on my latest album. And it's a song written by Jennifer Lane and Mark Normor. And it was written from the perspective of someone had told them not to bring their son back to church. He had come out as big and gay. And they told him not to come back to church. Well, what better place to have somebody come to? Right. To come. And that was her thing was, well, what if that were your son? Are you gonna cast him out? Or are you gonna love him through it till he finds his way? Let's show the love of Jesus. It's the most powerful one that I do in concert. And I wanted a lot of people that they wanna take it home with them. Or it impacts a lot of people. But it's not just about that circumstance. It could also be, they may wear the hair different there. They may be tatted up. And people judge. People judge. I had a lady come up to me at a church in Inglewood, Florida and say, you got off the long hair to be singing gospel music. I said, ma'am, I don't know if you know this, but I'm the cleanest cut guy in my whole family. What'd she say? She didn't know. Did she really want you to say that? I've seen a lot of pictures of Jesus, you know. But God has really changed your life. And we're gonna talk about some of your other songs coming out, what he's doing. And talk a little bit about your mom and her final days and how she was able to spend them here with you. She was. So we're gonna talk about it. She was right here. We're gonna talk about it in a minute. Chris, I love the fact that all your music is about Jesus. And that is your main goal now is to share his message, isn't it? It is. I'm still playing and singing for the one that gave me the gift. Every project that I've done for the last 10 years has been that, every song that I've recorded as a solo artist. Now I am doing some things with my family that is more secular, things with my dad and my brother and my daughter and my kids. But the first record that we recorded as a family, we're all gospel songs. And then it just kind of evolved into other things that we all love to play and sing like you are my sunshine. And you know, the American song book basically and it's all family friendly. It is a little on the secular side for what I've done the past 10 years. But as a solo artist, I play and sing in a lot of churches every week. I travel around the country and I share my story and try to encourage people and lift them up a little bit and let them leave a little lighter than they walked in and try to give them a good dose of hope and light. They light, you know. Will you sing one for me? I will, I will. What do you want to hear? Thank you. Thank you, Lord, for this day. Yeah, this is my, I know what I wake up singing every day. Lord, help me when I'm falling and running out of faith. Stop me when I'm doubting that things will be okay. Show me the way to find my way. Thank you, Lord, for this day. And help me when the war that I can take when I make myself half crazy trying to do it my own way. Give me the words I need to pray. Thank you, Lord, for this day. Catch me when I stumble and blindly lose my way. Help me find the answers to this mess I made. Keep sending those angels to keep me safe. Thank you, Lord, for this day. Thank you, Lord, for this day. Thread of grace. Thank you for this day. Lord, remind me to remember that life is not a race and teach me to surrender and live each day with grace. Show me how to walk on feet of clay. Thank you, Lord, for this day. Catch me when I stumble and blindly lose my way. Help me find the answers to this mess I made. Keep sending those angels to keep me safe. Thank you, Lord, for this day. Thank you, Lord, for this day. Thank you, Lord, for this day. Thread of grace. Thank you. I love it. I love your music, Chris. Every single one. Every time I hear your voice in your songs, it's just such a blessing. Thank you, Terry. Next time, maybe it'll be a little later in the day and I'll be warmed up for it. It's wonderful. So did you write this song? I did not. A good friend of mine wrote that and my brother, Ressie, recorded it first on the solo album he did called Sober. And I always loved it and he wasn't doing it live and he said, you know, I got two or three of these songs, I think it'd be good for you and it was a guy that I had known. His brother, only two piano lessons I ever had were from a guy named Costow Davis. His brother, Steve, wrote that but he wrote a big hit called Take Time to Know We're Back in the 60s and when he was just a kid, he was like 16, 17 years old but he had a re-awakening of his spiritual life and he wrote some gospel songs and I recorded a couple of them and he passed away just this past year but whenever he saw me do that on the hook of the show and he told me, he said, I've never liked anybody singing any of my other songs. He said, but it sounds like he wrote it. It does, it does. And, you know, I love too that you come from a family of musicians and singers and you have a solo career. You're also in a band with them. I am. The Golden's. Yes. And doing an album on my daughter right now is somewhere between Bluegrass and Broadway. If you can imagine that but she's a great singer and plays fiddle and I'm doing another album with her right now and also my son, Elijah, he's up at Brown University but he's writing songs. We're gonna be recording some before he goes back this year. My middle child is also super talented. She's a great singer and usually steals the show. So that's a whole another generation, you know? So that's fine. They're fifth generation players and singers. Well, we only have a few minutes left. I wanna talk about your mom and how you spent the last few months with her. Yeah, it was during the pandemic. We found out early on during the pandemic that she had pancreatic cancer. It was inoperable. We brought her to Tennessee for second opinion. She'd been sick and we found out that was going on and for where her treatments were, it was a long way from her house. She still lived in that same small town in Brewton, Alabama. Her brothers and sisters, you know, everybody was sequestered at home. So I said, why don't you come stay with me and I'll take you to your treatments and stuff like that. And so she came here to live with me for the last 10 and a half months. So it was for the first time since I was 15 years old, I didn't have one date in the book and we would set up in this living room every week and I was doing those Facebook lives and playing for people. You know, that's like, when they said music is non-essential, it's like then church is non-essential. Both of those hit me hard because I play music in churches. So it was a double whammy for me. But if they'd know anything about our family, it's like air and water. We gotta have music. So we set up here in the living room and I played and sang a lot. I did a Facebook live every weekend for a year and she was my audience. And she would clap and she would request songs and they would do that and we got to be with her. My brother had come from overseas and he was able to be with her too. We were all just kind of hung out here in this living room a lot. And I wouldn't take anything for that last time we got to spend together. She was a big part of my spiritual journey too because I know she always prayed for me and prayed. She was loved by a lot of people. She was, she was indeed. Chris, thank you so much. What an honor and blessing to sit down with you again. Terry, I appreciate you taking the time. I just love your family and everything that you guys are doing and the people that you're reaching. Well, I hopefully we're shining the light. You are shining the light, trust me. That's what we're gonna keep trying to do. Chris, thank you. As long as I have breath, I'll keep singing for her. And trying to make a difference, you know, because it's not just for doing it for other people. The closest I ever feel to God is when I'm playing music and singing songs to him and about him. That's when I feel closest and that makes me want to sing all day long. Chris, thank you. Thank you, Terry. My friends, my prayer for you today is to give the Lord the thanks for all your blessings. This is today's Nashville. This is faith. Cornerstone Television wishes to thank all our faithful viewers whose consistent prayers and financial support have made this program possible.