Jennifer Knapp Was Too Good For Us
David Sessions Apr 06, 2009 COMMENT SHARE
Inspired by my last post on social justice in Christian music—or, more precisely, by your nostalgic comments—I took another loving listen to the Jennifer Knapp catalog this weekend. (If the name is new to you, she was a spectacular Christian folk-rock artist who made three albums in an all-too-brief three years on Gotee Records.) No one knows what happened to her; her complete and utter disappearance from the public eye is one of the saddest Christian music career endings on record. Not that she left, just that the only way to enjoy her talent the past decade has been to go back and listen to the old stuff.
Jennifer Knapp was never exactly “edgy,” even for Christian music, but she was among the most brutally honest artists of the late 90s, never hiding her doubts, and managing to write about faith, God, and even theological concepts without the crutches of emotional sap or cliche. She wrote songs about “skin-art junkies,” covered Shawn Colvin, and all the while expressed hesitance about become a Christian “star.” Apparently the hesitance won out: after making an expensive, contractually-obligated third record (her least impressive), she left and, to anyone’s knowledge, hasn’t released any new material since.
It’s interesting to wonder what might happen should Jen return to the scene now. In many ways, she was today’s Christian musician a decade ago: a talented musician who took her doubts as seriously as her faith and excavated mysteries from all parts of life, not just the magical “Christian” parts her contemporaries were compelled to cover. She also did something different—rootsy, bluesy rock—before the indie obsession spawned Christian imitators of every genre imaginable. She cut her own path with a confidence that many post-CCM artists are still grasping for.
Here’s a few (okay, a lot) of her best songs. Click the links to buy them from Amazon; most are available for dirt cheap.
“A Little More,” from Lay It Down
“Romans,” from Kansas
“Lay it Down,” from Lay It Down
“Undo Me,” from Jennifer Knapp Live
“Hallowed,” from City on a Hill: Sing Alleluia
“By and By,” from The Way I Am
“Breathe on Me,” from The Way I Am
“Peace,” from Lay it Down.
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David Sessions is the editor of Patrol. His writing has appeared in Slate, New York, Politics Daily and elsewhere. Based at Patrol''s headquaters in New York City, he blogs about religion, politics, and media.
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Man, I’d give up half my library to hear new material from Knapp. So gifted and so raw. Even if her third album was her weakest, it was lightyears beyond most of the Christian music industry.
— Joshua Murray · Apr 6, 02:14 AM · #
i heard she had some battles with her sexual orientation. were these just rumors or any truth to them?
— annonymous · Apr 6, 03:05 AM · #
There are rumors but no evidence or way to verify them. It would explain the disappearance, but it would be unseemly to assume anything.
— David · Apr 6, 03:31 AM · #
Man, why’d you gotta go and reawaken my like for her music? That was unkind.
And Ann(onymous) prompted me to look at the hilarious drama over her disappearance on the internet. Try it sometime. It’s fun.
— Jason S. Kong · Apr 6, 08:46 AM · #
Along with my early Jars of Clay, her first two albums are among the only CCM products I would have kept when I purged my collection. But I lost them involuntarily during my college days.
— Daniel Archer · Apr 6, 10:19 AM · #
What a loss for CCM and music in general! I remember first hearing Jennifer in college and thinking, wowee!! This stuff is so good and just “real”.
I was wondering what happend to her too. Just just dropped off the radar and never knew what happend.
Apparently, people still don’t know where she is.
God bless her though, she was a memorably blessing through my college years and I hope wherever she is, she is doing what God intended her to do.
— Ken · Apr 6, 10:34 AM · #
Jennifer Knapp was amazing. It took me a while to recognize how great she was, but now I listen to her music and wish there were more artists like her today. I miss her!
Another artist “too good for us” was Chasing Furies. Anybody remember them? They were awesome. (I know one of the girls did a solo album last year, but it’s not quite the same…)
— Jen · Apr 6, 01:24 PM · #
great article, david! jennifer knapp is one of my favorite musicians. a few months ago i googled her to see what had become of her. she needs to come back.
— Carmen · Apr 6, 01:49 PM · #
Thanks for posting this. I’m going to go and dig out her CD’s again.
— Sarah · Apr 6, 06:50 PM · #
She really was (is?) fantastic. I’m glad to see Patrol approves of her work. Speaks well for your taste.
— Matt · Apr 7, 12:40 AM · #
Weird! I was just talking about her disappearance the other day with a friend.
— Gail Patches · Apr 7, 08:40 PM · #
I am not a personal friend of Jennifer Knapp but I can say because I have met her that she has a new life and a life that is no longer in the public eye . That’s her choice and should be respected .
— Marilyn Webber · Apr 12, 09:35 PM · #
Jennifer Knapp is still on consistent rotation on my iPod. Indeed, her disappearance is a loss for the community, but hopefully a gain in her personal life.
— Philip Su · Apr 15, 01:39 AM · #
I know one of her tour-band members. Yes, she became a lesbian. She also produced Katy Perry’s (“I Kissed A Girl” singer) first [Christian] album. From what I understand, as of about 3-4 years ago, Jennifer was living with her partner.
— Anonymous · Apr 29, 12:38 AM · #