Home Sweet Home Records

Home Sweet Home Records is a United States record label founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1981 by singer, songwriter, and producer Chris Christian. The label became associated with the contemporary Christian music market during the 1980s and released recordings by a broad group of Christian and inspirational artists, including Steve Archer, Dan Peek, Chris Christian, White Heart, Mark Heard, Marilyn McCoo, Reba Rambo, and Tennessee Ernie Ford. Its catalog reportedly grew to more than one hundred projects, with many releases appearing on Christian music charts. The label's early identity was shaped by its position in the expanding contemporary Christian music sector. Rather than operating only as a vehicle for its founder, Home Sweet Home provided a platform for established performers and newer artists working across Christian pop, contemporary Christian music, gospel-oriented material, and related inspirational styles. The roster included musicians with different commercial and artistic profiles, ranging from mainstream Christian performers to artists whose work was more lyrically unconventional. One notable early release was Steve Archer's Through His Eyes of Love. Released by Home Sweet Home in 1983, the project is described as accompanying what is believed to have been the first contemporary Christian music video. This placed the label within the period's growing convergence of Christian recordings, television, and music-video promotion. Mark Heard became one of the label's most recognized associated artists. Home Sweet Home signed Heard at a time when other Christian labels were reportedly reluctant to release his more challenging and lyrically edgy material. He made five albums for the label in the early 1980s. After Heard died in 1992, Home Sweet Home revisited his catalog, issuing edited versions of earlier albums and releasing previously unavailable material on compact disc during the late 1990s. These reissues helped preserve the label's connection to Heard's work beyond the original album cycle. From 2005 onward, the label became known as CC Entertainment and YMC Records, while its catalog also began to be reissued on CD. The relationship among the Home Sweet Home, CC Entertainment, and YMC names reflects a later phase centered partly on catalog administration and re-release activity. The available reference material identifies YMC Productions as the parent company and states that it is owned by Chris Smith, Savannah Smith, Casey Smith, Courtney Smith, and Preston Smith. Home Sweet Home Records is therefore best understood as a historically significant Christian music label whose principal importance lies in its 1980s roster, its association with contemporary Christian music's developing media infrastructure, and its preservation and reissue of recordings by artists such as Mark Heard. Detailed information about its current release schedule, present corporate operations, headquarters beyond Dallas, and current leadership is not established in the available reference material.

Home Sweet Home Records began in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1981 under the leadership of Chris Christian, a singer, songwriter, and producer. Its emergence coincided with the growth of contemporary Christian music as a distinct commercial and cultural segment. During the 1980s, the label developed a substantial catalog and became a visible participant in the Christian music market, releasing more than one hundred projects according to the available reference material. Many of those releases charted on Christian music charts. The label's roster included Steve Archer, the Boone Sisters, Eric Champion, Steve Chapman, Chris Christian, Jeremy Dalton, Mike Eldred, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Luke Garrett, Glen Allen Green, Tami Gunden, Mark Heard, David Martin, Marilyn McCoo, Dan Peek, Reba Rambo, B. W. Stevenson, and White Heart. This roster connected Home Sweet Home with several strands of Christian and inspirational recording, including contemporary pop-oriented work and material by artists with established careers outside the label's immediate market. Home Sweet Home also participated in the early development of contemporary Christian music video promotion. In 1983, it released Steve Archer's Through His Eyes of Love, associated with what is described as the first contemporary Christian music video. The release illustrates how Christian labels were beginning to use visual media alongside recorded music to reach audiences and support artists. Mark Heard became particularly important to the label's historical identity. Christian signed Heard because of the strength and depth of his songwriting at a time when other Christian labels were unwilling to release music considered too edgy or unconventional. Heard recorded five albums for Home Sweet Home in the early 1980s. Following his death in 1992, the label returned to his recordings, issuing edited versions of earlier albums and bringing unreleased material to compact disc in the late 1990s. These activities gave the label a role in maintaining Heard's recorded legacy. After 2005, Home Sweet Home was known as CC Entertainment and YMC Records. The organization also began reissuing parts of its catalog on compact disc. The later corporate structure identified in the available material places the label under YMC Productions, owned by Chris Smith, Savannah Smith, Casey Smith, Courtney Smith, and Preston Smith. The supplied sources do not establish a complete chronology of the name changes, a detailed current release operation, or whether the original Home Sweet Home imprint remains actively issuing new recordings. Accordingly, its present status is recorded as unknown rather than assumed active or defunct.

• 2005

  Later names and catalog reissues

  [1]Home Sweet Home Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  From 2005 onward, the organization became known as CC Entertainment and YMC Records and began further compact-disc catalog reissues.

• 1992

  Mark Heard dies

  [1]Home Sweet Home Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  After the death of Mark Heard, whose early-1980s catalog included five Home Sweet Home albums, the label later revisited and reissued parts of his work.

• 1990

  Late-1990s Mark Heard reissues

  [1]Home Sweet Home Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  During the late 1990s, edited versions of Mark Heard albums and previously unreleased material were issued on compact disc.

• 1983

  Contemporary Christian music video release

  [1]Home Sweet Home Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Home Sweet Home released Steve Archer's Through His Eyes of Love, associated with what is believed to have been the first contemporary Christian music video.

• 1981

  Label founded in Nashville

  [1]Home Sweet Home Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Chris Christian founded Home Sweet Home Records in Nashville, Tennessee.

A Christian music record label focused historically on contemporary Christian recordings, artist albums, and later catalog reissues.

• Contemporary Christian music album and music-video project · 1983

  Through His Eyes of Love

  A Steve Archer release issued by Home Sweet Home in 1983. It is historically associated with what is believed to have been the first contemporary Christian music video, making it an important example of the label's early use of audiovisual promotion alongside Christian music recordings.

• Contemporary Christian music albums and reissues

  Mark Heard catalog

  A group of five albums that Mark Heard recorded for Home Sweet Home in the early 1980s. After Heard's death, the label reissued edited versions of albums and released previously unavailable material on compact disc, helping extend the availability of his work.

• Christian music recordings · 1981

  Home Sweet Home Records catalog

  The label's broader catalog comprises more than one hundred projects by Christian and inspirational artists. Releases span contemporary Christian music and related styles, with many projects reported to have charted on Christian music charts. Later activity included compact-disc reissues under associated names.

1. 1Home Sweet Home Recordsen.wikipedia.org